Palazzo Pubblico in Siena
Palazzo Pubblico
Built in the same period as Palazzo Vecchio, in
Florence (at the end of the 13th century), at present the
Palazzo Pubblico houses the offices of the town government and the Museo Civico.
The famous
Torre del Mangia, on the building`s left side, was designed by Lippo Memmi and built by Agostino di Giovanni around 1340. The name of the tower comes from the nickname of Giovanni di Duccio, the person in charge of ringing the tower bells in the 14th century, who was called "il Mangia". Below the tower, there is the
Cappella di Piazza, which was built in 1352-1376 for keeping a vow taken during the Black Plague that decimated
Siena in 1348.
On the first floor of the
Palazzo Pubblico there is the
Museo Civico, whose entrance is in an internal yard. Two of Simone Martini`s masterpieces are to be found in the Sala del Mappamondo (or Great Council Hall): the
Maestą (1315) and the
Guidoriccio da Fogliano (1328), wonderful examples of the Sienese style developped in the 14th century.
In the Sala della Pace (or Hall of the Nine) the walls are decorated with the cycle of frescoes known as
Allegory and Effects of Good and Bad Government, by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
Guidoriccio
The Anticappella and the Cappella feature frescoes by Taddeo di Bartolo and Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, also known as "il Sodoma".
A marble portal by Bernardo Rossellino (1448) opens on the Sala del Concistoro, whose walls are adorned with frescoes and 16th-century tapestries.
In the Loggia upstairs are to be found the original reliefs by Jacopo della Quercia for the decoration of the Fonte Gaia.
