PART
7: Siena’s Duomo
This is the Duomo (Cathedral) di Siena. In the notes I made while we were in Siena I
said this is the most fantastic art building I had ever been in. Every inch of the floor is carved pictorial
marble. The Picolomini Library (in the north Transept) is fresco
after fresco on wall and ceiling; old missals and graduals are lined along the
walls and in the center of the room.
Even after seeing the Duomo in Florence and St Peter’s in Rome, the
Siena Duomo remains my favorite. The
piazza in front of Florence’s Duomo is too small to allow you to see the whole
of the building. Getting into St Peter’s
is a major wait.
“The interior is a renaissance riot of striped columns, intricate
marble inlays, Michaelangelo statues and Bernini sculptures.” (Rick Steves
Guidebook). We were there on a Saturday
and the inside was crowded, but not enough to keep you from easily seeing what
you wanted to see. For 2 euros you can
rent a tablet that is an excellent guide to the art in the Duomo and in the
Baptistry which is a separate but attached building to the east of the
Duomo. And you can take pictures – but
no flash.
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| The pillars are made of black and white marble which are the colors on the emblem of Siena |
.
The cathedral itself was designed and completed between 1215 and
1263 on the site of an earlier church built
around 950.
There are 56 marble panels on the floor, some as big as 20 feet
across. They were not completed until
the 16th Century.
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Chapel of John the Baptist honors the relic of John the Baptist: his arm. Statue by Bernini. |
.
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Michelangelo sculptures of St Peter and Paul on either of the altar
The Piccolomini Library is a 20 x 60 ft (guesstimate) room off the
left side of the Duomo. The ten frescoes
there depict 10 events in the life of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, a Sienese bishop
who became Pope Pius II in 1458. The
works were commissioned by Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, then archbishop of Siena and the
future pope (Pius III) and nephew of Enea. Nepotism is not always a bad thing. But still
you might want to read Pius III’s bio on Wikipedia.
Pinturicchio painted the frescos in the early years of the 16th century, but they may have been designed by Raphael.
This is the canonization of St Catherine by Pius II, and a close-up showing Raphael
Marvelous ornate psalters line the walls underneath the frescos.
The entire Library has a floor with marble moons
These are the stairs leading out of the Library back into the Duomo.
The Altar
This altar was built in 1532 and designed by Baldassare Peruzzi. The enormous bronze ciborium was done about 1470. It was intended for the Hospital of Sts Maria della Scala across the plaza from the duomo. How do you access this monster?
The Pulpit
The pulpit was carved from Carrera marble by Nicola Pisano, considered the father of modern sculpture. It sits in front of and to the left of the Altar, actually blocking the sight line to the altar.
The Choir
Originally there were 90 stalls in two rows behind the altar. Today there are 36. Each stall is crowned with the bust of a saint.
The Organ
The Baptistery
The Baptistry is behind and underneath the main altar. It was completed in 1325. To enter it you have go outside the Duomo and down a long steep set of stairs.The Baptistry was completed about 1325, about 100 years after the Duomo.
The six-sided baptismal font designed by Donatello dominates the interior.
Ceiling of the Baptistery
Be careful of how you dress when you go into churches in Italy. Because if you wear something like this
They will give you something like this to cover up. Not cool.
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