Siena is one of the great medieval cities of Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built across three hills of warm red brick. Its heart is the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, the magnificent public square where the Palio horse race is run twice each summer, overlooked by the soaring Torre del Mangia and the Gothic town hall. As a flourishing banking and merchant republic astride the Via Francigena, Siena grew enormously wealthy on the pilgrim road to Rome, caring for travellers at the great hospital of Santa Maria della Scala.
Highlights
- The shell-shaped Campo fanning in nine brick segments from the Fonte Gaia
- The Torre del Mangia soaring over the Gothic Palazzo Pubblico
- The Palio horse race run twice each summer around the square
- She-wolf legend of Senius and Aschius, sons of Remus
- Santa Maria della Scala, the ancient pilgrim hospital, with a timbro
At a glance
| Period | Medieval (12th–14th century) |
|---|---|
| Stage | 17 — Trépail to Châlons-en-Champagne |
Take care
- Sloping pavement turns slippery when wet
- Dense, slow-moving crowds on Palio days — plan an exit route
- Summer heat radiates fiercely off the brick
History
The square took shape under the Government of the Nine, which ruled Siena from 1287 to 1355: the Palazzo Pubblico rose from 1297, the Torre del Mangia between 1338 and 1348, and in 1349 the Campo received its brick paving divided into nine segments in the council's honour. The plague of 1348 ended the golden age, and after a long siege Siena surrendered to imperial and Florentine forces in 1555, passing to the Medici. The Palio in its present circling form has been run here since the 17th century.
Myth & legend
Siena cherishes a Roman foundation legend: the city was supposedly founded by Senius and Aschius, the sons of Remus, who fled Rome and brought with them the she-wolf suckling the twins. That is why the wolf nursing Romulus and Remus appears as the emblem of Siena throughout the city.
Geology
Siena is built on Pliocene marine sands and clays left by a sea that filled this basin a few million years ago, and its colour is pure geology: brick fired from local clay, and iron-rich earths that gave painters the pigments raw and burnt sienna. South-east of the city the same marine clays are carved by rain into the bare badland crests of the Crete Senesi.
Wildlife & nature
Swifts pour round the brick towers and over the square through summer evenings, joined by swallows and house martins, while kestrels hang above the walls and jackdaws nest in the cornices. Beyond the gates the Crete Senesi roll away in bare clay hills, green with young wheat in April and bleached gold by July.
The view
The shell-shaped Campo tilts like a brick amphitheatre towards the Palazzo Pubblico, the Torre del Mangia soaring overhead and nine paved segments fanning from the Fonte Gaia.
Photography
Climb the Torre del Mangia or the Facciatone viewpoint for the full shell shape; at ground level, low evening sun brings out the curve and the warm red brick.
When to visit
Spring and autumn are ideal; around the Palio in early July and mid-August the city is exhilarating but packed, and August heat radiates fiercely off the brick.
Getting there
Trains from Florence via Empoli arrive below the centre, linked uphill by escalators; fast buses from Florence are often simpler, and the Francigena walks in from the north.
Where to stay
Convents and religious guesthouses welcome credential-holding pilgrims, and hotels fill the contrade lanes; reserve far ahead for any dates near the Palio.
Food & water
Drinking fountains around the centre and abundant cafes keep bottles full; the Fonte Gaia itself is ornamental, so use the taps and fountains in the side streets.
Safety
The shell-shaped pavement slopes and turns slippery when wet, and crowds are heavy in season — on Palio days expect dense, slow-moving masses and plan an exit route. Summer heat radiates off the brick. In an emergency dial 112.
Accessibility
The Campo floor slopes and its rim is stepped, though ramped entry points exist; the tower is a long, narrow stair climb, and surrounding streets rise and fall steeply.
Visitor tips
Visit Santa Maria della Scala, the ancient pilgrim hospital opposite the cathedral, ask for a timbro there or at the tourist office, and give Siena a slow rest day.
The guide, in full
The written guide to this site.
Nothing quite prepares you for the moment you step out of Siena's shaded lanes into the great bowl of light that is the Piazza del Campo. Pause at the rim and let your eye travel across it. The square tips and curves like a scallop shell, and its red brick paving is divided by lines of pale travertine into nine segments, fanning out from the lowest point like the folds of a cloak. Those nine sections honour the Government of the Nine, the council of merchants who ruled Siena from twelve eighty-seven to thirteen fifty-five and gave the city its golden age; they laid out this square as a stage for civic life on the neutral ground where the city's three hills meet. At the base of the shell stands the Palazzo Pubblico, the town hall, its Gothic windows and battlements as crisp as the day they were cut; inside, the Nine commissioned Ambrogio Lorenzetti's famous frescoes of Good and Bad Government, a painted sermon on what wise and wicked rule do to a city. Beside it the Torre del Mangia rockets eighty-eight metres into the sky, a slender shaft of brick crowned in white stone. Finished in the thirteen forties, it takes its name from its first bell-ringer, nicknamed Mangiaguadagni, the earnings-eater, because he spent his wages as fast as he rang the hours. At the top of the square, water splashes in the Fonte Gaia, the fountain of joy, named for the celebrations that erupted when water first reached this spot through more than twenty-five kilometres of tunnels dug by hand beneath the city; the carved panels you see are careful copies, for Jacopo della Quercia's weathered originals now rest indoors nearby. Twice each summer, on the second of July and the sixteenth of August, this civilised square becomes a cauldron. Earth is laid around the perimeter, tens of thousands pack the centre, and the Palio erupts: ten bareback riders representing the contrade, Siena's fiercely proud neighbourhood clans, hurtle three times around the Campo in barely ninety seconds, chasing an honour their districts have contested for centuries. Siena owes all this splendour to the road you are walking. The Via Francigena passes straight through the city, and along its urban stretch, the street called Banchi di Sopra, Sienese money-changers set up the tables that grew into great banking houses; one of them, founded in fourteen seventy-two, still trades as the oldest bank in the world. Pilgrim traffic built more than banks: opposite the cathedral stands Santa Maria della Scala, among the oldest hospitals in Europe, which for nearly a thousand years fed, sheltered and cared for travellers on this road, a duty proudly painted across the frescoed walls of its pilgrim hall. Before you leave the Campo, look for Siena's emblem: a she-wolf suckling twin boys. Legend says the city was founded by Senius and Aschius, sons of Remus, who fled Rome with the wolf of their father's house, so Siena carries the badge of Rome's own story. Find a spot on the warm brick, as everyone eventually does, and let the square hold you for a while. Then follow the flagstones south towards the city gate and the bare golden hills of the Val d'Orcia beyond. The road knows the way.
Common questions
How old is Siena and the Piazza del Campo?
Siena and the Piazza del Campo dates from the Medieval (12th–14th century) period.
How do I get to Siena and the Piazza del Campo?
Trains from Florence via Empoli arrive below the centre, linked uphill by escalators; fast buses from Florence are often simpler, and the Francigena walks in from the north.
Is Siena and the Piazza del Campo accessible?
The Campo floor slopes and its rim is stepped, though ramped entry points exist; the tower is a long, narrow stair climb, and surrounding streets rise and fall steeply.
When is the best time to visit Siena and the Piazza del Campo?
Spring and autumn are ideal; around the Palio in early July and mid-August the city is exhilarating but packed, and August heat radiates fiercely off the brick.
Is there food and water at Siena and the Piazza del Campo?
Drinking fountains around the centre and abundant cafes keep bottles full; the Fonte Gaia itself is ornamental, so use the taps and fountains in the side streets.
Where can I stay near Siena and the Piazza del Campo?
Convents and religious guesthouses welcome credential-holding pilgrims, and hotels fill the contrade lanes; reserve far ahead for any dates near the Palio.
What should I know before visiting Siena and the Piazza del Campo?
Visit Santa Maria della Scala, the ancient pilgrim hospital opposite the cathedral, ask for a timbro there or at the tourist office, and give Siena a slow rest day.
Is Siena and the Piazza del Campo safe to visit?
The shell-shaped pavement slopes and turns slippery when wet, and crowds are heavy in season — on Palio days expect dense, slow-moving masses and plan an exit route. Summer heat radiates off the brick. In an emergency dial 112.
Nearby on the route
Plan the visit
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