Piazza del Campo, Siena

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The Piazza Del Campo is the plaza where people congregate, ate, sit, hang out, wander around, and just relax. In other words, it's a place where the residents spend their spare time. It is also a city center where you can shop as the plaza is surrounded by small shops and restaurants.

This plazza has been in existence since the medieval times and the buildings were not renovated or changed.

After a long walk on narrow brick streets from where our bus was parked, and looping around in between old brick buildings, we finally saw the Piazza Del Campo. It is beautiful.

In the medieval ages, this site was used for execution, bullfights, festivals, markets and used for forums. Today, the Piazza del Campo is used for the Palio, a fast racing of horses that attracts thousands of Italians to come to Siena.

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The watchtower built in 1348 is named after its original keeper who is said to have eaten all the profits o fthe builder. It costs 6 euros to climb up the tower for a fantastic view over Siena and the surrounding countryside

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Even today, this old city retains its magnetism and it is the center of not only tourist groups, but locals out for the day. You will see of course the magnificent structures around the Piazza, but also restaurants lining the sides with locals sitting back and enjoying the hub-bub of daily life. There is also a 14th century fountain in the Piazza, the Fonte Gaia, but my photos of that object did not come out, sorry. Found this website that has some 360° views -
http://www.360cities.net/image/siena-piazza-del-campo-tuscany#0.20,-8.40,110.0

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I know I'm not the first person to write a tip on the Piazza and I'm not sure I can add anything more to make this a worthwhile tip to read than what you may have already read from the other VTers. First of all, if you go to Siena, you have to go to the Piazza del Campo. It is larger than life! You can look at all the photos you possibly can but to actually see it in person is fantastic. The feel of what a large open space that it is, is incredible!

For more information on the piazza and some of it's history, you can look at the link below.

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Oh my. The famous Campo of Siena. Wikipedia says that it is one of Europe’s greatest medieval squares and renowned for its beauty and architectural integrity. Says Wikipedia and say, I am sure, a lot of other people. I don’t understand this though. Yes, it might be beautiful but to me it is dead. The original idea of a piazza being the centre, the place where life is bustling in an Italian town is completely gone in the case of Siena’s Campo. Yes, countless people sit there and look at Palazzo Pubblico, but these are most probably tourists and students. Locals? No, I am sure they would rather sit in one of the bars and cafés around the square. I also sat there, very often, and every time I asked myself why this place didn’t impress me. I think it was because I had the feeling that it is dead, no life, no nothing. And its architecture? It might have been a challenging task, but there are many other real masterpieces in architecture of the Medieval times, especially when I consider Piazza Grande in Gubbio, although this becomes obvious only in rare aerial photos.
I hope, no one from Siena reads this; I might be thrown out of town next time….

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Siena's Piazza del Campo is one of Italy's most famous piazze, mostly because of "Il Palio", a horse race that dates back to the Middle Ages and that still takes place on the piazza every year. But Siena's main piazza is also famous because of its unique shell-shaped and slanting design. At the top of the piazza, there's a beautiful fountain called Fonte Gaia (Fountain of Happiness). The fountain's rectangular marble basin was once decorated by panels carved by Jacopo della Quercia, but these were replaced by slightly altered copies during the 19th century (the originals can still be seen at the Santa Maria della Scala museum). Taking a picture of the fountain proved to be quite a challenge - not only were there dozens of people hovering around, but it's nearly impossible to get a picture of one of the fountain's statues without a pigeon sitting on its head!

The Piazza del Campo's brick design makes up nine sections that represent the members of the Council of Nine, Siena's governing body that ruled over the city during the Middle Ages. From the top of the piazza, these sections converge towards the Palazzo Pubblico, which was the seat of the Sienese government at the time the piazza was built. The other beautiful palazzi that surround the piazza are now home to restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops. Once again, the piazza's sunny terraces and fun atmosphere proved to be impossible to resist and so we stopped for what turned out to be a very good lunch, followed by delicious home-made gelato. Definitely a great way to spend a couple of hours in Siena!

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The Piazza del Campo is the civic and commercial center of Siena. Dominated by the huge Palazzo Publico, this is one of Europe's most beautiful medieval squares.

The Palazzo Publico was finished in 1310, and served as the seat of government in the old Siennese Republic. Today, it's the city hall. The most prominent feature is the Torre del Mangia. Inside are a number of art treasures, notably Ambrogio Lorenzetti's panoramic paintings Effects of Good Government and Effects of Bad Government. I don't know if Machiavelli was consulted for these two works.

Strolling about the Piazza del Campo, one comes to the magnificent 13th century Palazzo Sansedoni. Its curve fits gracefully into the design of the piazza. It once had a tower even taller than the Torre del Mangia.

The Gaia Fountain lies in front of the Palazzo Sansedoni. Tuscan artist Jacopo della Quercia completed this work in 1419. Look closely at the statues, representing scenes from the Bible.

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The Campo is an oval-shaped piazza that has long served as the city's civic and social heart. The Campo is the point of intersection for the city's fiercely independent contrade (parishes) and therefore the only neutral patch of ground in a combative city. Every year, on 2 July and 16 August, the Palio takes place at the Campo. The Palio involves a breathtaking bareback horse race around the Campo, together with many prepatory days of drama, processions, drumming, flag waving and colourful pageantry. The spectacle and celebration are living and vivid expressions of rivalries and traditions dating back over 700 years.