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THE
ELEGANCE OF SIENA
You
will discover the elegant face of Siena if you walk along Via
Banchi di Sopra, lined with beautiful Medieval palaces,
such as Palazzo Tolomei from the 13th century, and rich
with shops, cafés and historical bakeries.
|
Discovering the Cities |
| Atmosphere of the past |
| The Palio of Siena |
| Sienese pastries |
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 The
walk goes to Piazza Salimbeni, a small square with the
palace with the same name, a Gothic building with a façade
from the 19th century which features a precious collection of
art works. The Chiesa di San Domenico and Chiesa di
San Francesco, great example of Gothic architecture, are
also worth a visit.
Beside the Chiesa di San Francesco lies the monumental building
Oratorio di San Bernardino, which are two chapels: the
inferior chapel holds frescoes by the best Sienese painters
of the 17th century, while the upper chapel is an admirable
example of Late Renaissance, with frescoes by Beccafumi,
Sodoma and Pachia. In the premises beside the
Oratory you find an important collection of works from the Seminario
Archivescovile and from churches and convents of the Diocese
of Siena which represent the first section of the Museo Diocesano
di Arte Sacra. Following Via Camporegio, you get to the
Santuario Cateriniano, raised close to the house of Santa
Caterina in the 15th century. In the interior you can visit
the upper oratory, called the kitchen, with caisson ceiling
and majolica floor. From the small loggia you get to the Portico
dei Comuni d'Italia, built in 1941, and the Oratorio
del Crocifisso. You can also visit the Oratorio della
Camera which preserves frescoes by Alessandro Franchi from
the 19th century. The frescoes are inspired by seven events
of the Saint. |
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