Siena (ancient Saena Julia), city in central Italy, capital of Siena Province, in Tuscany (Toscana) Region. Siena retains its medieval architecture, including walls and gates that surround the city. The city is a tourist center and a market for the wine and marble produced in the area. Manufactures include chemicals, fertilizers, and textiles. Terra (or raw) sienna, used as a pigment in paints, is produced in the vicinity. The cathedral (11th-14th century) is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Italy. The Gothic style municipal palace, begun in 1288 and finished in 1309, contains numerous paintings by Sienese artists. Among the city’s noteworthy public institutions is the University of Siena (1240), with faculties of medicine and law. An ancient Roman town, Siena became an independent commune in the 12th century. In the 16th century Siena was subjugated by its rival, Florence. Population (2007) 53,893.

July 2 and August 16 are the dates when the Palio di Siena is held. The Palio is a traditional medieval horse race is run around the Piazza del Campo each year. This event is attended by large crowds, and is widely televised. Seventeen Contrade (which are city neighbourhoods originally formed as battalions for the city’s defence) vie for the trophy: a painted flag, or Palio bearing an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ten of the seventeen run in each Palio: seven run by right (having not run in the previous year’s corresponding Palio) together with three drawn by lot from the remaining ten. A horse is assigned to each by lot. Though often a brutal and dangerous competition for horse and rider alike, the city thrives on the pride this competition brings. This event is not without its controversy however, and recently, there have been complaints about the treatment of the horses and to the danger run by the riders. In order to better protect the horses, steps have been taken to make veterinary care more easily available during the main race.

The medieval Cathedral of Siena (Italian: Duomo di Siena), dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church and now to Santa Maria Assunta (Our Lady of Assumption), is the seat of the Archbishop of Siena-Colle di Val d’Elsa-Montalcino.

The cathedral itself was originally designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The dome rises from an octagonal base with supporting columns. The lantern atop the dome, was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with addition of red marble on the façade. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, detiologically linked to black and white horses of the legendary city’s founders, Senius and Aschius.

In the interior the pictorial effect of the black and white marble stripes on the walls and columns strikes the eye. Black and white are the colours of the civic coat of arms of Siena. The capitals of the columns in the west bays of the nave are sculpted with allegorical busts and animals. The horizontal moulding around the nave and the presbytery contains 172 plaster busts of popes dating from the 15th and 16th centuries starting with St. Peter and ending with Lucius III. The spandrels of the round arches below this cornice exhibit the busts of 36 emperors. The vaulted roof is decorated in blue with golden stars, replacing frescoes on the ceiling, while the formerets (half ribs) and the tiercerons (secondary ribs) are adorned with richly elaborated motifs.

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