Museums in Siena



Something has already been said in the page of this brief travel guide to Siena dedicated to sacred architecture. If you have planned to spend your holidays in Tuscany and you have decided to rent an apartment or a villa in Siena for one or more weeks, visiting the "Museo dell`Opera Metropolitana del Duomo" is a must.

The museum is situated next to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Or rather, the museum is in what should have been the right aisle, had the enlargement works been completed. The museum houses works by Duccio di Buoninsegna, Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Jacopo della Quercia, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti and it is within easy reach from whatever "terzo" or "contrada" your holiday house is in.

Just a few steps from the Museo dell`Opera del Duomo, the Town Hall in Piazza del Campo hosts the Museo Civico. Why is it worth a visit? Well, because the museum houses frescoes by Simone Martini (Maestà), in the so-called Sala del Mappamondo (Great Council Hall), and Ambrogio Lorenzetti (Effects of Good and Bad Government), in the Hall of the Nine.

Absolutely not to miss is the Complesso Museale di Santa Maria alla Scala, the result of the transformation of what was once one of the most ancient European hospitals in the third most important art centre in town. The complex hosts also the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Siena.

And then, there are the museums of the "contrade"..... In short, you have plenty of museums to visit during you stay in Siena!