Part of the charm of Siena is its rather rumpled, lived-in look. This is because after a disastrous war with Florence, and a devastating episode of the plague which reduced the population by two thirds, Siena was on its knees economically, and stagnated while Florence and other cities thrived in the succeeding centuries. The result is that, due to this lack of development, the streets and buildings of the city, within the still-intact city walls, remain more or less as they were in the 1500s.
On Tuesday, we revisited both the the cathedral museum, and also the Pinacoteca - Siena's national gallery. The pinacoteca houses works by the great Siena masters - Duccio, Simone Martini and Lorenzetti.
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| The untouched streets of Siena |
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One of the images in the Pinacoteca which we remember from last time
- it shows the Byzantine influence in early Sienese painting |
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| A fresco in a later renaissance style, also in the pincoteca |
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| The Tuscan countryside seen through the haze over the rooftops |
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| The famous Maesta by Duccio in the museum of the duomo |
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| More ancient stuff in Siena - the street our flat was in ... |
Fabulous pictures. Looking at a map I thought the recent big earth quake might be felt in Siena. Were you there then?
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn, and thanks for the comments. No, we were back in Barga, and felt nothing - but as I write this (Sunday morning), I see there has just been another earthquake in the same region - they are having a hard time of it.
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