Piazza del Campo, Siena

3 more images

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!

This beautiful slender tower dominates the Piazza. The tower is called after the first but very lazy bell ringer Giovanni di Duccio, whose nickname was "Mangiaguadagni" or more simply "Mangia".

This 102 m-high tower is the second highest medieval tower of Italy. There are 306 steps to reach the top from where you will have an excellent view over the Piazza and the city

When visiting the lovely Piazza del Campo, you just can't ignore this wonderful building. It's the Palazzo Pubblico, surrounded by remarkable buildings. The slender tower is the Tower of Mangia and at its foot, you can see the Cappella di Piazza.

4 more images

The Campo is nice and big-it needs to support thousands of tourists daily. Even in Octobre, it was packed. It is circular and bigger than 3-4 football fields. There are some nice sites just off the Campo to see, museum, duomo, etc. The tower is 330 feet high, and the second highest in Italia.
Siena was first founded by the Etruscans in about 900BC and the fame continued until 400BC. Romans considered it not to be of great importance, so the popularity did not thrive until 145th century. It was fought over by Florence for regional control.
The Palazzo Pubblico is the town hall which is actually a palace, and the adjacent bell tower, called Torre del Mangia was built between 1325-1344. It is about 330 feet tall. The clock was added in 1360. The marble loggia was a commemoration of relief from the black plague. Surrounding the CAmpo is a loggia that continues along the whole length made of marble. The town hall was curved to conform to the curvature of the square. The town hall was built in 1297 and the square also served to be a drain of water problems around the area. The town hall has a lot of frescoes that adorn the interior. Obviously the palio is held twice a year.

We entered the 'piazza del Campo' at the 'via rinaldina'.
Piazza del Campo is the famous fan-shaped or shell-shaped square where the unesco protected horseride and festivities are held.

It is divided into nine marked sectors , symbolizing the council of nine.
That council was responcible for the government of the medieval city.

Did you know that the people of Siena at that time were famous for the making of bricks?
This pavement dates back from 1347 , carefullmy laid down in fishbone pattern.

Have a closer look at the pavement.

You won't find much flat grounds in Siena. Even the 'Piazza del Campo' slants completely to one site.
That makes it very inviting to lay down a bit and enjoy the Italian sun we missed so much in Belgium.

Actually , I believe it is the same sun over here , only in Belgium she isn't that nice at the end of october.

Okay before we leave 'piazza Del Campo' I want to point out some last spots of interest.
'Palazzo chigi-zondari , palazzo sansedoni and the loggia dellaercabzia' in front of the palazzo publico.

In particular the ornaments 'once again' are quit exuberant and original.
Imagen yourself a sculpturer back then. The themes were rather limited : the bible , the bible and the bible. Only for gargoyles and ornaments it was allowed to set loose your imagination to depict evil for an example.

I'm not complaining about religious art...all those magnificent churches , cathedrals and paintings wouldn't be made without religion.

4 more images

Fonte Gaia, constructed by Jacopo della Quercia between 1409 and1419, occupies centrally position of the semi-circular Piazza. This work of art anticipates in an extraordinary way some of the features which were to develop in the Renaissance period. The original reliefs of the fountain are now housed in the Loggia of the Palazzo Pubblico.