Historic Center of Siena

Via Pantaneto

At the end of the Banchi di Sotto opens the airily wide via Pantaneto. This has a number of noble buildings and the Fonte di Pantaneto – Fountain of Pantaneto – which gives the street its name. The fountain was put up in 1457, and redecorated in 1807 by Serafino Belli.

Palazzo Piccolomini
Here the most striking building is the Palazzo Piccolomini, designed in the Florentine renaissance style by Rossellino, who also worked with the Sienese Pope Pius II in Pienza.

Palazzo Piccolomini

The first stone was laid in September 1469 on behalf of Pius II's nephews. The façade – like that of the Palazzo Chigi Saracini – has three rows of rustication.

Palazzo Piccolomini

The slender, elegant doorway leads to the Archivio di Stato – the State Archives – and most importantly to the Museo delle Tavolette Biccherna. This museum contains a collection of small masterpieces originating from the Biccherna and Gabella archives. The Biccherna works are the painted covers of administrative registers, the earliest are scanty and schematic but gradually the treatment and handwriting become clearer, developing into masterpieces that bear witness to Sienese history. Amongst these are Le finanze del comune in Tempo di Pace e in Tempo di guerra – The City's Finances in Times of War and Peace – by Benvenuto di Giocanni (1467), Al tempo de tremuoti – in Time of Earthquakes – by Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1467) and S. Girolamo e il leone – Saint Jerome and the Lion – by Giovanni di Paolo (1436). The palazzo also contains a picture gallery and gothic rooms.

Palazzo Piccolomini

Logge del Papa

Logge del Papa

Facing the palazzo are further commissions of the Piccolomini family, the Logge del Papa. The logge open through three large travertine arches onto the via di Pantaneto. Pius II commissioned the Logge in 1460 from Antonio Federighi – they bear the name of Pope Piccolomini above the arches: PIUS II PONT. MAX. GENTILIBUS SUIS PICOLOMINEIS.

Logge del Papa, View from the San Martino church

Logge del Papa

These logge are striking examples of the classicism of the Renaissance and lead to the final stretch of the street and its palazzo. The first, on the left, also belongs to a branch of the papal family, the Chigi Clementini. Further along is the Palazzo de Vecchi. The work of Paolo Posi, this is a stately sixteenth century building with rustication and a bust of Francesco I of Tuscany.

The San Martino Church

Church of San Giorgio
Opposite Palazzo Bruchi are the magnificent eighteenth century columns of the church of San Giorgio. Although a structure with medieval origins, the church was restored and renovated by Cardinal Zondanari between 1730 and 1738. The Latin cross layout is subdivided by arched pillars that form a row of niches. The rich stuccoes, unusual for the city, illuminate a central space and set off rich paintings, amongst them a Pietà by Francesco Vani and a San Giorgio by Sebastiano Conca. The funerary monument to Cardinal Zondanari is also fascinating.

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