On the two main streets of Siena the merchants and moneychangers once had their banco or benches. The first, the di Sopra Upper street starts at the Piazza San Cristoforo and ends in front of the Tribunale della Mercanzia. Here it makes a sharp left turn, skirting the buildings facing the Campo. It is known as the Banchi di Sotto because this second stretch is lower than the first. A shorter street it nonetheless has a special charm because it encircles part of the conch shell of the Campo.
Nearby is the elegant Loggia della Mercanzia, another icon of Siena's artistry, now headquarters of the Circolo degli Uniti.
Loggia della Mercanzia
Loggia della Mercanzia
The building was designed by Sano di Matteo in 1417 and lies between the Banchi di Sotto and la via di Cittΰ.
Its elegant portico fortunately escaped those eighteenth century renovations which transformed other parts of the district. In the niches between its
pillars are five statues brought together in the mid-fifteenth century. These are Federighi's S. Savino and S. Ansano, Vecchietta's S. Pietro, and the
powerful S. Vittore. In the last column stands S. Paolo. Below the loggia, enclosed by a chain since the 1900s, are two fascinating seats. The first is by Federighi, the second by Urbano da Cortona. Both have secular scenes: the splendid Ercole e Onfale Hercules and Onfale form the
arms of the first seat, while Sfingi Sphinxes perform the same function for the second.
Antonio Federighi, Saint Ansano
Vecchietta, Saint Paul
The Loggia della Mercanzia contains remarkable stuccoes and frescoes, decorating the top of the first vault. These were finished in 1549
and 1553 by Pastorino dei Pastorini and Lorenzo Brazzi, known as il Rustico. Where the Logge now are was once a club for the local aristocracy
the oldest such in Italy and possibly in Europe founded in November 1657.
Comune di Siena 2010 - accessible version -
