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SIENA , a See also:city and archiepiscopal see of See also:Tuscany, See also:Italy, See also:capital of the See also:province of Siena, 59 M. by See also:rail S. of See also:Florence and 31 M. See also:direct. Pop. (1901) 25,539 (See also:town); 40,423 (See also:commune). The See also:area of the city within the walls is about 22 sq. m., and the height above See also:sea-level 1115 ft. The See also:plan, spreading from the centre over three hills, closely resembles that of See also:Perugia. The city possesses a university, founded in 1203 and limited to the faculties of See also:law and See also:medicine. Among the other public institutions the following are the more important: the town library, first opened to students in the 17th See also:century; the Archivio, a See also:record See also:office, instituted in 1858, containing a valuable and splendidly arranged collection of documents; the See also:Fine Arts Institution, founded in 1816; and the natural See also:history museum of the Royal See also:Academy of the Physiocritics, inaugurated in the same See also:year. There are also many flourishing charities, including an excellent See also:hospital and a school for the See also:deaf and dumb. The See also:chief See also:industries are See also:weaving and See also:agriculture. The public festivals of Siena known as the " Palio delle See also:Con-See also:trade " have a See also:European celebrity. They are held in the public square, the curious and historic Piazza del Campo (now Piazza di See also:Vittorio Emanuele) in shape resembling an See also:ancient See also:theatre, on the 2nd of See also:July and the 16th of See also:August of each year; they date from the See also:middle ages and were instituted in See also:commemoration of victories and in See also:honour of the Virgin See also:Mary (the old See also:title of Siena, as shown by See also:seals and medals, having been " Sena vetus civitas Virginis "). In the 15th and 16th centuries the celebrations consisted of See also:bull-fights. At the See also:close of the 16th century these were replaced by races with mounted buffaloes, and since 165o by (ridden) horses. Siena is divided into seventeen contrade (wards), each with a distinct appellation and a See also:chapel and See also:flag of its own; and every year ten of these contrade, chosen by See also:lot, send each one See also:horse to compete for the See also:prize See also:patio or banner. The aspect of Siena during these meetings is very characteristic, and the whole festivity bears a See also:medieval See also:stamp in See also:harmony with the See also:architecture and history of the town.
Among the noblest fruits of Sienese See also:art are the public buildings adorning the city. The See also:cathedral, one of the finest examples of See also:Italian See also:Gothic architecture, obviously influenced in plan by the See also:abbey of S. Galgano (infra), built in See also:black and See also: The cathedral See also:pavement is almost unique. It is inlaid with designs in See also:colour and black and white, representing Biblical and legendary subjects, and is supposed to have been begun by Duccio della Buoninsegna. But the finest portions beneath the domes, with scenes from the history of See also:Abraham, See also:Moses and See also:Elijah, are by Domenico See also:Beccafumi and are executed with marvellous boldness and effect. The See also:choir stalls also deserve mention: the older ones (remains of the See also:original choir) are in tarsia See also:work; the others, dating from the 16th century, are carved from Riccio's designs. The See also:Piccolomini Library, adjoining the duomo, was founded by See also:Cardinal See also:Francesco Piccolomini (afterwards See also:Pius III.) in honour of his See also:uncle, Pius II. Here are See also:Pinturicchio's famous frescoes of scenes from the See also:life of the latter pontiff, and the collection of choir books (supported on sculptured desks) with splendid illuminations by Sienese and other artists. The See also: It contains some good pictures by See also:Pacchia and other works of art, but is chiefly visited for its historic See also:interest and as a striking memorial of the characteristic piety of the Sienese. The Accademia di Belle See also:Anti contains a good collection of pictures of the Sienese school, illustrating its development.
The communal See also:palace in the Piazza del Campo was begun in 1288 and finished in 1309. It is built of See also:brick, is a fine specimen of Pointed Gothic, and was designed by Agostino and Agnolo. The See also:light and elegant See also:tower (Torre del Mangla) soaring from one See also:side of the palace was begun in 1338 and finished after 1348, and the chapel See also:standing at its See also:foot, raised at the expense of the Opera del Duomo as a public thank-offering after the plague of 1348, begun in 1352 and completed in 1376. This See also:grand old palace has other attractions besides the beauty of its architecture, for its interior is lined with works of art. The See also:atrium has a fresco by Bartolo di Fredi and the two ground-See also:floor halls contain a See also:Coronation of the Virgin by Sano di Pietro and a splendid Resurrection by Sodoma. In the See also:Sala dei Nove or della See also:Pace above are the See also:noble allegorical frescoes of Ambrogio Lorenzetti representing the effects of just and unjust See also:government; the Sala delle Balestre or del Mappamonido is painted by See also:Simone di Martino (Memmi) and others, the Cappella della Signoria by Taddeo di Bartolo, and the Sala del Consuitorio by Beccafumi. Another See also: Doveri and erected in 1816, although modern, has an historic interest as the work of an academy dating iiom the 16th century, called the Congrega de' Rozzi, that played an important See also:part in the history of the Italian comic See also:stage. The city is adorned by many other noble edifices both public and private, among which the following palaces may be mentioned—Tolomei (1205); Buonsignori, formerly Tegliacci, an elegant 14th-century construction, restored in 1848; Grottanelli, formerly Pecci and anciently the See also:residence of the See also:captain of See also:war, recently restored in its original See also:style; Sansedoni; Marsilii; Piccolomini, now be-longing to the Government and containing the See also:state archives;i Piccolomini delle Papesse, like the other Piccolomini See also:mansion, designed by Bernardo See also:Rossellino, and now the Banca d' Italia; the enormous See also:block of the See also:Monte de' Paschi, a See also:bank of considerable See also:wealth and antiquity, enlarged and partly rebuilt in the original style between 1871 and 1881, the old Dogana and Salimbeni palaces; the Palazzo Spannochi, a fine early Renaissance building by Giuliano da Maiano (now the See also:post office) ; the Loggia di Mercanzia (15th century), now a See also:club, imitating the Loggia dei See also:Lanzi at Florence, with sculptures of the 15th century; the Loggia del Papa, erected by Pius II.; and other fine buildings. We may also mention the two celebrated fountains, Fonte Gaia and Fontebranda; the former, in the Piazza del Campo, by Jacopo della Quercia (1409-1419), but freely restored in 1868, the much-damaged original reliefs being now in the Opera del Duomo; the Fonte Nuova, near Porta Ovile, by Camaino di Crescentino also deserves See also:notice (1298). Thanks to all these architectural treasures, the narrow Sienese streets with their many windings and steep ascents are full of picturesque See also:charm, and, together with the collections of excellent paintings, See also:foster the local See also:pride of the inhabitants and preserve their See also:taste and feeling for art. The medieval walls and See also:gates are still in the See also:main preserved. The ruined Cistercian abbey of S. Galgano, founded in 1201, with its fine church (1240–1268) is interesting and imposing. It lies some 20 M. See also:south-west of Siena. History.—Siena was probably founded by the Etruscans (a few tombs of that See also:period have been found outside Porta Camollia), and then, falling under the See also:Roman See also:rule, became a See also:colony in the reign of See also:Augustus, or a little earlier, and was distinguished by the name of Saena Julia. It has the same arms as See also:Rome—the she-See also:wolf and twins. But its real importance dates from the middle ages. Few memorials of the Roman era 2 or of the first centuries of See also:Christianity have been preserved (except the See also:legend of St Ansanus), and none at all of the See also:interval pre-ceding the Lombard period. We have documentary See also:evidence that in the 7th century in the reign' of Rotaris (or Rotari), there was a See also:bishop of Siena named Mauro. Attempts to trace earlier bishops as far back as the 5th century have yielded only vague and contradictory results. Under the See also:Lombards the See also:civil government was in the hands of a gastaldo, under the See also:Carolingians of a See also:count, whose authority, by slow degrees and a course of events similar to what took See also:place in other Italian communes, gave way to that of the bishop, whose See also:power in turn gradually diminished and was superseded by that of the consuls and the See also:commonwealth. We have written evidence of the consular government of Siena from 1125 to 1212; the number of consuls varied from three to twelve. This government, formed of gentiluomini or nobles, did not remain unchanged throughout the whole period, but was gradually forced to accept the participation of the popolani or See also:lower classes, whose efforts to rise to power were continuous and determined. Thus in 1137 they obtained a third part of the government by the reconstitution of the See also:general council with too nobles and 5o popolani. In 1199 the institution of a See also:foreign podestd (a form of government which became permanent in 1212) gave a severe See also:blow to the consular magistracy, which was soon extinguished; and in 1233 the See also:people again See also:rose against the nobles in the See also:hope of ousting them entirely from office. The strife was largely economic, the people desiring to deprive the nobles of the See also:immunity of See also:taxation which they had enjoyed. The See also:attempt was not completely successful; but the government was now equally divided between the two estates by the creation of a supreme magistracy of twenty-four citizens—twelve nobles and twelve popolani. During the rule of the nobles and the mixed rule of nobles and popolani the commune of Siena was enlarged by fortunate acquisitions of neighbouring lands and by the submission of feudal lords, such as the Scialenghi, Aldobrandeschi, Pannocchieschi, See also:Visconti di Campiglia, &c. i In these are especially interesting the painted covers of the books of the bicchierna and gabella, or See also:revenue and tax offices. 2 There are, however, remains of See also:baths some 22 M. to the See also:east; see P. Piccolomini in Bullettino Senese de See also: Ghibelline Siena soon See also:felt the effects of the See also:change in the defeat of its army at Colle di Valdelsa (1269) by the See also:united forces of the Guelf exiles, Florentines and See also:French, and the See also:death in that battle of her powerful citizen Provenzano Salvani (mentioned by Dante), who had been the leading spirit of the government at the See also:time of the victory of Montaperti. For some time Siena remained faithful to the Ghibelline cause; nevertheless Guelf and democratic sentiments began to make See also:head. The Ghibellines were on several occasions expelled from the city, and, even when a temporary reconciliation of the two parties allowed them to return, they failed to regain their former See also:influence. Meanwhile the popular party acquired increasing power in the state. Exasperated by the tyranny of the Salimbeni and other patrician families allied to the Ghibellines, it decreed in 1277 the exclusion of all nobles from the supreme magistracy (consisting since 1270 of See also:thirty-six instead of twenty-four members), and insisted that this council should be formed solely of Guelf traders and men of the middle class. This constitution was confirmed in 128o by the reduction of the supreme magistracy to fifteen members, all of the humbler classes, and was definitively sanctioned in 1285 (and 1287) by the institution of the magistracy of nine. This council of nine, composed only of burghers, carried on the government for about seventy years, and its rule was sagacious and peaceful. The territories of the state were enlarged; a friendly alliance was maintained with Florence; trade flourished; in 1321 the university was founded, or rather revived, by the introduction of Bolognese scholars; the See also:principal buildings now adorning the town were begun; and the charitable institutions, which are the pride of modern Siena, increased and prospered. But meanwhile the exclusiveness of the single class of citizens from whose ranks the chief magistrates were See also:drawn had converted the government into a close See also:oligarchy and excited the hatred of every other class. Nobles, See also:judges, notaries and populace rose in frequent revolt, while the nine defended their state (1295–1309) by a strong body of citizen militia divided into terzieri (sections) and contrade (wards), and violently repressed these attempts. But in 1355 the arrival of Charles IV. in Siena gave fresh courage to the malcontents,who, backed by the imperial authority, overthrew the government of the nine and substituted a magistracy of twelve drawn from the lowest class. These new rulers were to some extent under the influence of the nobles who had fomented the See also:rebellion, but the latter were again soon excluded from all See also:share in the govern-, ment. This was the beginning of a determined struggle for supremacy, carried on for many years, between the different classes of citizens, locally termed ordini or monti—the lower classes striving to grasp the reins of government, the higher classes already in office striving to keep all power in their own hands, or to See also:divide it in proportion to the relative strength of each monte. As this struggle is of too complex a nature to be described in detail, we must limit ourselves to a See also:summary of its leading episodes. The twelve who replaced the council of nine (as these had previously replaced the council of the nobles) consisted—both as individuals and as a party—of ignorant, incapable, turbulent men, who could neither rule the state with firmness nor confer prosperity on the republic. They speedily See also:broke with the nobles, for whose manoeuvres they had at first been useful tools, and then split into two factions, one siding with the Tolomei, the other, the more restless and violent, with the Salimbeni and the noveschi (partisans of the nine), who, having still some influence in the city, probably fomented these dissensions, and, as we shall see later on, skilfully availed themselves of every See also:chance likely to restore them to power. In 1368 the adversaries of the twelve succeeded in See also:driving them by force from the public palace, and substituting a government of thirteen—ten nobles and three noveschi. This government lasted only twenty-two days, from the 2nd to the 24th September, and was easily overturned by the dominant See also:faction of the dodicini (partisans of the twelve), aided by the Salimbeni and the populace, and favoured by the See also:emperor Charles IV. The nobles were worsted, being driven from the city as well as from power; but the See also:absolute rule of the twelve was brought to an end, and right of participation in the government was extended to another class of citizens. For, on the See also:expulsion of the thirteen from the palace, a council of 124 plebeians created a new magistracy of twelve difensori (defenders), no longer drawn exclusively from the See also:order of the twelve, but composed of five of the popolo minuto, or lowest populace (now first admitted to the government), four of the twelve, and three of the nine. But it was of See also:short duration, for the dodicini were See also:ill satisfied with their share, and in See also:December of the same year (1368) joined with the popolo minuto in an attempt to expel the three noveschi from the palace. But the new popular order, which had already asserted its predominance in the council of the riformatori, now drove out the dodicini, and for five days (lrth to 16th December) kept the government in its own hands. Then, however, moved by fear of the emperor, who had passed through Siena two months before on his way to Rome, and who was about to See also:halt there on his return, it tried to conciliate its foes by creating a fresh council of 150 riformatori, who replaced the twelve defenders by a new supreme magistracy of fifteen, consisting of eight popolani, four dodicini, and three noveschi, entitled respectively " people of the greater number," " people of the middle number," and "people of the less number." From this renewal dates the formation of the new order or monte dei riformatori, the title henceforth bestowed on all citizens, of both the less and the greater people, who had reformed the government and begun to participate in it in 1368. The turbulent See also:action of the twelve and the Salimbeni, being dissatisfied with these changes, speedily rose against the new government. This time they were actively aided by Charles IV., who, having returned from Rome, sent his militia, commanded by the imperial See also:vicar Malatesta da See also:Rimini, to attack the public palace. But the Sienese people, being called to arms by the council of fifteen, made a most determined resistance, routed the imperial troops, captured the See also:standard, and confined the emperor in the Salimbeni palace. Thereupon Charles came to terms with the government, granted it an imperial patent, and See also:left the city, consoled for his humiliation by the See also:gift of a large sum of See also:money. In spite of its wide basis and great See also:energy, the monte dei riformatori, the See also:heart of the new government, could not satisfactorily See also:cope with the attacks of adverse factions and treacherous allies. So, the better to repress them, it created in 1369 a chief of the See also:police, with the title of esecutore, and a numerous association of popolani—the See also:company or casata grande of the people—as bulwarks against the nobles, who had been recalled from banishment, and who, though fettered by strict regulations,were now eligible for offices of the state. But the appetite for power of the " less people " and the dregs of the populace was whetted rather than satisfied by the See also:installation of the riformatori in the principal posts of authority. Among the See also:wool-carders—men of the lowest class, dwelling in the precipitous lanes about the Porta Ovile—there was an association styling itself the "company of the See also:worm." During the See also:famine of 1371 this company rose in revolt, sacked the houses of the See also:rich, invaded the public palace, drove from the council of fifteen the four members of the twelve and the three of the nine, and replaced them by seven tatterdemalions. Then, having withdrawn to its own See also:quarter, it was suddenly attacked by the infuriated citizens (noveschi and dodicini), who broke into houses and workshops and put See also:numbers of the inhabitants to the See also:sword without regard for See also:age or See also:sex. Thereupon the popular rulers avenged these misdeeds by many summary executions in the piazza. These disorders were only checked by fresh changes in the council of fifteen. It was now formed of twelve of the greater people and three noveschi, to the See also:total exclusion of the dodicini, who, on See also:account of their growing turbulence, were likewise banished from the city. Meanwhile the government had also to contend with difficulties outside the walls. The neighbouring lords attacked and ravaged the municipal territories; See also:grave injuries were inflicted by the See also:mercenary bands, especially by the Bretons and Gascons. The rival claims to the Neapolitan See also:kingdom of Carlo di Durazzo and See also: Gian Galeazzo lightened their yoke. In that year the first See also:plot against the Viscontian rule, hatched by the twelve and the Salimbeni and fomented by the Florentines, was violently re-pressed, and caused the twelve to be again driven from office; but in the following year a See also:special balia, created in consequence of that See also:riot, annulled the ducal suzerainty and restored the liberties of Siena. During the interval the supreme magistracy had assumed a more popular form. By the partial readmission of the riformatori and exclusion of the twelve, the permanent balia was now composed of nine priors (three of the nine, three of the people, and three of ther iformatori) and of a captain of the people to be chosen from each of the three monti in turn. On 1th April peace was made with the Florentines and Siena enjoyed several years of tranquil prosperity.
But the great Western See also:schism then agitating the See also:Christian world again brought disturbance to Siena. In consequence of the decisions of the council of See also:Pisa, Florence and Siena had declared against See also:Gregory XII. (1409); See also:Ladislaus of See also:Naples, therefore, as a supporter of the pope, seized the opportunity to make incursions on Sienese territory, laying it See also:waste and threatening the city. The Sienese maintained a vigorous resistance till the death of this monarch in 1414 freed them from his attacks. In 1431 a fresh war with Florence broke out, caused by the latter's attempt upon See also:Lucca, and continued in consequence of the Florentines' alliance with See also:Venice and Pope See also:Eugenius IV., and that of the Sienese with the duke of Milan and See also:Sigismund, See also: During this period of See also:comparative tranquillity Siena was honoured by the visit of Pope Eugenius IV. (1443) and by that of the emperor Frederick III., who came there to receive his See also:bride, Eleanor of See also:Portugal, from the hands of Bishop See also:Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, his secretary and historian (1452). This See also:meeting is recorded by the memorial See also:column still to be seen outside the Camollia See also:gate. In 1453 hostilities against Florence were again resumed, on account of the invasions and ravages of Sienese territory committed by Florentine troops in their conflicts with See also:Alphonso of Naples, who since 1447 had made Tuscany his battle-ground. Peace was once more patched up with Florence in 1454. Siena was next at war for several years with Aldobrandino See also:Orsini, count of See also:Pitigliano, and with Jacopo Piccinini, and suffered many disasters from the treachery of its generals. About the same time the republic was exposed to still graver danger by the See also:conspiracy of some of its leading citizens to seize the reins of power and place the city under the suzerainty of Alphonso, as it had once been under that of the duke of Milan. But the plot came to light; its chief ringleaders were beheaded, and many others sent into exile (1456); and the death of Alphonso at last ended all danger from that source. During those See also:critical times the government of the state was strengthened by a new executive magistracy called the balia, which from 1455 began to See also:act independently of the priors or See also:consistory. Until then it had been merely a provisional See also:committee annexed to the latter. But henceforward the balia had supreme See also:jurisdiction in all affairs of the state, although always, down to the fall of the republic, nominally preserving the See also:character of a magistracy extraordinary. The See also:election of Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini to the papal See also:chair in 1458 caused the utmost joy to the Sienese; and in compliment to their illustrious See also:fellow-citizen they granted the See also:request of the nobles and readmitted them to a share in the government. But this concession, grudgingly made, only remained in force for a few years, and on the death of the pope (1464) was revoked altogether, See also:save in the See also:case of members of the Piccolomini house, who were decreed to be popolani and were allowed to retain all their privileges.. Meanwhile fresh discords were See also:brewing among the plebeians at the head of affairs.
The conspiracy of the Pazzi in 1478 led to a war in which Florence and Milan were opposed to the pope and the king of Naples, and which was put an end to by the peace of 13th
March 1480. Thereupon Alphonso, duke of See also:Calabria, who was fighting in Tuscany on the side of his See also:father See also: But " in perpetuo " was an empty form of words in those turbulent Italian republics. The noveschi, being " See also:fat burghers " with powerful connexions, abilities and traditions, gained increased strength and influence in exile; and five years later, on 22nd July 1487, they returned triumphantly to Siena, dispersed the few adherents of the popolo who offered resistance, murdered the captain of the people, reorganized the state, and placed it under the See also:protection of the Virgin Mary. And, their own predominance being assured by their numerical strength and influence, they accorded equal shares of power to the other monti. Among the returned exiles was Pandolfo See also:Petrucci, chief of the noveschi and soon to be at the head of the government. During the domination of this See also:man (who, like Lorenzo de' See also:Medici, was surnamed " the Magnificent ") Siena enjoyed many years of splendour and prosperity. We use the See also:term " domination " rather than " signory " inasmuch as, strictly speaking, Petrucci was never See also:lord of the state, and left its established form of government intact; but he exercised despotic authority in virtue of his strength of character and the continued increase of his See also:personal power. He based his foreign policy on alliance with Florence and See also:France, and directed the internal affairs of the state by means of the council (collegio) of the balia, which, although occasionally reorganized for the purpose of conciliating rival factions, was always subject to his will. He likewise added to his power by assuming the captainship of the city guard (1495) , and later by the See also:purchase from the impoverished commune of several outlying castles (r 507). Nor did he shrink from' deeds of bloodshed and revenge; the assassination of his father-in-law, Niccolo See also:Borghesi (1500), is an indelible blot upon his name. He successfully withstood all opposition within the state, until he was at last worsted in his struggle with Cesare See also:Borgia, who caused his expulsion from Siena in 1502. But through the friendly See also:mediation of the Florentines and the French king he was recalled from banishment on 29th March 1503. He maintained his power until his death at the age of sixty on 21St May 1512, and was interred with princely ceremonials at the public expense. The predominance of his See also:family in Siena did not last long after his decease. Pandolfo had not the qualities required to found a dynasty such as that of the Medici. He lacked the lofty See also:intellect of a Cosimo or a Lorenzo, and the See also:atmosphere of See also:liberty-loving Siena with its ever-changing factions was in no way suited to his purpose. His eldest son, See also:Borghese Petrucci, was incapable, haughty and exceedingly corrupt; he only remained three years at the head of affairs and fled ignominiously in 1515. Throughthe favour of See also:Leo X., he was succeeded by his See also:cousin Raffaello Petrucci, previously See also:governor of St Angelo and afterwards a, cardinal. This Petrucci was a hitter enemy to Pandolfo's See also:children. He caused Borghese and a younger son named Fabio to be proclaimed as rebels, while a third son, Cardinal Alphonso, was strangled by order of Leo X. in 1518. He was a tyrannical ruler, and died suddenly in 1522. In the following year See also:Clement VII. insisted on the recall of Fabio Petrucci; but two years later a fresh popular outbreak drove him from Siena for ever. The city then placed itself under the protection of the emperor Charles V., created a magistracy of " ten conservators of the liberties of the state " (December 1524), united the different monti in one named the " monte of the reigning nobles," and, rejoicing to be rid of the last of the Petrucci, dated their public books, ab instaurata libertate year I., II., and so on. The so-called See also:free government subject to the See also:empire lasted for twenty-seven years; and the desired protection of See also:Spain weighed more and more heavily until it became a tyranny. The imperial legates and the captains of the See also:Spanish guard in Siena crushed both government and people by continual extortions and by undue interference with the functions of the balia. Charles V. passed through Siena in 1535, and, as in all the other cities of enslaved Italy, was received with the greatest pomp; but he left neither peace nor liberty behind him. From 1527 to 1545 the city was torn by faction fights and violent revolts against the noveschi, and was the See also:scene of frequent bloodshed, while the quarrelsomeness and See also:bad government of the Sienese gave great dissatisfaction in Tuscany. The balia was reconstituted several times by the imperial agents—in 1530 by See also:Don See also:Lopez di See also:Soria and Alphonso Piccolomini, duke of See also:Amalfi, in 1540 by See also:Granvella (or Granvelle) and in 1548 by Don Diego di See also:Mendoza; but government was carried on as badly as before, and there was increased hatred of the Spanish rule. When in 1549 Don Diego announced the emperor's purpose of erecting a fortress in Siena to keep the citizens in order, the general hatred found vent in indignant remonstrance. The historian Orlando Malavolti and other special envoys were sent to the emperor in 1550 with a See also:petition signed by more than a thousand citizens praying him to spare them so terrible a danger; but their See also:mission failed: they returned unheard. Meanwhile Don Diego had laid . the See also:foundation of the citadel and was carrying on the work with activity. Thereupon certain Sienese citizens in Rome, headed by Aeneas Piccolomini (a kinsman of Pius II.), entered into negotiations with the agents of the. French king and, having with their help collected men and money, marched on Siena and forced their way in by the new gate (now Porta See also:Romana) on 26th July 1552. The townspeople, encouraged and reinforced by this aid from without, at once rose in revolt, and, attacking the Spanish troops, disarmed them and drove them to take refuge in the citadel (28th July). And finally by an agreement with Cosimo de' Medici, duke of Florence, the Spaniards were sent away on the 5th August 1552 and the Sienese took possession of their fortress. The government was now reconstituted under the protection of the French agents; the balia was abolished, its very name having been rendered odious by the tyranny of Spain, and was replaced by a similar magistracy styled capitani del popolo e reggimento. Siena exulted in her recovered freedom; but her See also:sunshine was soon clouded. First, the emperor's wrath was stirred by the influence of France in the counsels of the republic; then Cosimo, who was no less jealous of the French, conceived the design of annexing Siena to his own dominions. The first hostilities of the imperial forces in Val di See also:Chiana 0-552–1553) did little damage; but when Cosimo took the See also: In 18J9 Siena was the first Tuscan city that voted for See also:annexation to See also:Piedmont and the See also:monarchy of See also:Victor See also:Emmanuel II., this decision (voted 26th June) being the initial step towards the unity of Italy. See also:Literary History.—The literary history of Siena, while recording no gifts to the world equal to those bequeathed by Florence, and without the power and originality by which the latter became the centre of Italian culture, can nevertheless boast of some illustrious names. Of these a brief summary, beginning with the See also:department of general literature and passing on to history and See also:science, is sub-joined. Many of them are also dealt with in separate articles, to which the reader is referred. As early as the 13th century the vulgar See also:tongue was already well established at Siena, being used in public documents, commercial records and private See also:correspondence. The poets flourishing at that period were Folcacchiero, See also:Cecco Angiolieri--a humorist of a very high order—and Bindo Bonichi, who belonged also to the following century. The chief See also:glory of the 14th century was St Catherine Benincasa. The year of her death (138o) was that of the See also:birth of St Bernardino Albizzeschi (S Bernardino of Siena), a popular preacher whose sermons in the vulgar tongue are See also:models of style and diction. To the 15th century belongs Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pius II.), humanist, historian and political writer. In the 16th century we find another Piccolomini (Alexander), bishop of See also:Patras, author of a curious See also:dialogue, Della bella creanza delle See also:donne; another bishop, Claudio Tolomei, diplomatist, poet and philologist, who revived the use of ancient Latin metres; and Luca Contile, a writer of narratives, plays and poems. See also:Prose fiction had two representatives in this century—Scipione Bargagli, a writer of some merit, and Pietro Fortini, whose productions were trivial and indecent. In the 17th century we find Ludovico Sergardi (Quinto Settano), a Latinist and satirical writer of much See also:talent and culture; but the most original and brilliant figure in Sienese literature is that of See also:Girolamo Gigli (166o-1722), author of the Gaz_ettino, La Sorellina di Don Pilone, Il Vocabolario cateriniano and the Diario ecclesiastico. As humorist, See also:scholar and philologist, Gigli would take a high place in the literature of any See also:land. His resolute opposition to all See also:hypocrisy—whether religious or literary—exposed him to merciless persecution from the See also:Jesuits and the Della Cruscan Academy. In the domain of history we have first the old Sienese See also:chronicles, which down to the 14th century are so confused that it is almost impossible to disentangle truth from fiction or even to decide the See also:personality of the various authors. Three 14th-century chronicles, attributed to See also:Andrea Dei, Agnolo di Tura, called I1 Grasso, and See also:Neri di See also:Donati, are published in See also:Muratori (vol. xv.). To the 15th century belongs the See also:chronicle of Allegretto Allegretti, also in Muratori (vol. See also:xxiii.); and during the same period flourished Sigismondo Tizio (a See also:priest of Siena, though See also:born at See also:Castiglione Aretino), whose voluminous history written in Latin and never printed (now among the See also:MSS. of the Chigi Library in Rome), though devoid of literary merit, contains much valuable material. The best Sienese historians belong to the 16th century. They are Orlando Malavolti (1515-1596), a man of noble birth, the most trustworthy of all; See also:Antonio Bellarmati; Alessandro Sozzini di Girolamo, the sympathetic author of the Diario dell' ultimo guerra senese; and Giugurta Tommasi, of whose tedious history ten books, down to 1354, have been published, the See also:rest being still in See also:manuscript. Together with these historians we must mentionthe learned scholars Celso Cittadini (d. 1627), Ulberto Benvoglienti (d. 1733), one of Muratori's correspondents, and Gio. Antonio Picci (d. 1768), author of histories df Pandolfo Petrucci and the bishopric of Siena. In the same See also:category may be classed the librarian C. F. Carpellini (d. 1872), author of several monographs on the origin of Siena and the constitution of the republic, and Scipione Borghesi (d. 1877), who has left a See also:precious See also:store of See also:historical, See also:biographical and See also:bibliographical studies and documents. In See also:theology and See also:philosophy the most distinguished names are: Bernardino See also:Ochino and Lelio and Fausto Soccini (16th century) ; in See also:jurisprudence, three Soccini: Mariano See also:senior, Bartolommeo and Mariano junior (15th and 16th centuries) ; and in political See also:economy, Sallustio See also:Bandini (1677-1760), author of the Discorso See also:sully See also:Maremma. In See also:physical science the names most worthy of mention are those of the botanist See also:Pier Antonio Mattioli (1501-1572), of Pirro Maria Gabrielli (1643-1705), founder of the academy of the Physiocritics, and of the anatomist See also:Paolo See also:Mascagni (d. 1825). Art.—Lanzi happily designates Sienese See also:painting as " Lieta scuola fra lieto popolo " (" the blithe school of a blithe people "). The special characteristics of its masters are freshness of colour, vivacity of expression and distinct originality. The Sienese school of painting owes its origin to the influence of See also:Byzantine art; but it improved that art, impressed it with a special stamp and was for long See also:independent of all other influences. Consequently Sienese art seemed almost stationary amid the general progress and development of the other Italian See also:schools, and preserved its medieval character down to the end of the 15th century, when the influence of the Urnbrian and—to a slighter degree—of the Florentine schools began to penetrate into Siena, followed a little later by that of the Lombard. In the 13th century we find Guido (da Siena), painter of the well-known Madonna in the church of S Domenico in Siena. The 14th century gives us Ugolino, Duccio di Buoninsegna, Simone di Martino (or Memmi), Lippo Memmi, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Andrea di Vanni (painter and statesman), Bartolo di Fredi and Taddeo di Bartolo. In the 15th century we have Domenico di Bartolo, Sano di Pietro, Giovanni di Paolo, Stefano di Giovanni (I1 Sassetta) and Matteo and Benvenuto di Giovanni See also:Bartoli, who See also:fell, however, behind their contemporaries elsewhere, and made indeed but little progress. The 16th century boasts the names of Bernardino Fungal, Guidoccio Cossarelli, Giacomo Pacchiarotto, Girolamo del Pacchia and especially Baldassare See also:Peruzzi (1481-1537), who while especially celebrated for his frescoes and studies in See also:perspective and See also:chiaroscuro was also an architect of considerable attainments (see RoME) ; Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, otherwise known as 11 Sodoma (1477-1549), who, born at See also:Vercelli in Piedmont, and trained at Milan in the school of Leonardo da See also:Vinci, came to Siena in 1504 and there produced some of his finest works, while his influence on the art of the place was considerable; Domenico Beccafumi, otherwise known as Micharino (1486-1550), noted for the Michelangelesque daring of his designs; and Francesco Vanni.
There may also be mentioned many sculptors and architects, such as Lorenzo Maitani, architect of Orvieto cathedral (end of 13th century) ; Camaino di Crescentino; Tino di Camaino, sculptor of the See also:monument to See also: G. See also:Gardner, The See also:Story of Siena (London, 1902) ; St Catherine of Siena (London, 1908) ; W. Heywood and L. Olcott, See also:Guide to Siena (Siena, 1603) ; A. See also:Jahn Rusconi, Siena (See also:Bergamo, 1904). (C. PA.; T. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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