Piazza del Campo

This is one of the most famous piazzas in the world, noted for the descending half-moon form which goes from its upper side to its lower side. Twice a year the famous Palio of Siena takes place here.
It is dominated on its lower, or western side, by the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall), a brilliant example of Tuscan Gothic architecture built between the end of the 1200's and the beginning of the 1300's in stone and terracotta. It was enlarged with the construction of the Salon of the Grand Council and the prisons.

The imposing façade is composed of a central building flanked by two lower central buildings. Within the Palace is the Civic Museum, where one finds admirable works of art. The heart of the museum and of the Palace itself is without a doubt the Mappamondo (world map) Room, which is also the headquarters of the Council. Some excellent frescoes by Simone Martini are conserved here, including works by Guidoriccio da Fogliano ("The Maestà") and Sodoma.
In the next room, called the Peace Room, one can admire the celebrated cycle of allegorical frescoes by Lorenzetti, which explain the effects of good government and bad government on the city and its countryside. Next to the Mappamondo Room is the "Anticappella" (chapel annex), containing the frescoes of Taddeo di Dartolo, and the Chapel which houses a splendid wooden chorus by Domenico di Niccolo. In the Loggia of the Nine ("Nove") are the original low reliefs of the Gaia Fountain, the work of Jacopo della Quercia.
On the left side of the Palace is the Mangia Tower, 90 meters high. Its construction was directed by Minuccio and Francesco di Rinaldo, in 1325. At its base is the Chapel of the Piazza, built between the 1300's and the 1400's. At the upper end of the piazza is the "Campanaria" (bell tower) Cell, built entirely out of stone. From the top of the tower one can enjoy a matchless view of the city and its surroundings. On the higher side of the piazza, above the Palace, one finds the Gaia Fountain, a rectangular basin built in 1419 by Jacopo della Quercia. It owes its name to the happiness with which the Sienese welcomed the arrival of water in the Piazza del Campo.

Piazza Salimbeni
Leaving the Piazza del Campo and traveling along the Banchi di Sopra Road, the urban section of the Via Francigena, one arrives at Piazza Salimbeni, made in the 19th century by Giuseppe Partini. In the center is the monument to Sallustio Bandini, also from the 19th century. Along the left side of the piazza is the Tantucci Palace, from the 1500's. On the right is the Spannocchi Palace, from the Renaissance. Its faÁade was completed only in the 19th century. The lower part of the piazza contains the Gothic Salimbeni Palace, from the 1300's. This is the headquarters of the Monte di Paschi Bank. To the left rises the Tower of the Rock.

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