On the south side of the Piazza del Campo in Siena is the Palazzo Púbblico (Town Hall), an imposing Gothic building of travertine and brick (1288-1309). The top floors of the lower side wings were added in 1680. The construction of the palazzo involved much upfilling and extensive underbuilding. The facade is relieved by rows of elegant windows and cornices of round-headed arches and topped by battlements.
The black and white escutcheon of Siena, the Balzana, is constantly repeated in the arches over the windows. At either end of the central block is a bell-cote, and under its battlemented top is a roundel with Christ's monogram (IHS), the distinctive attribute of San Bernardino of Siena (1380-1444), who preached in the Piazza del Campo. In the center of the first floor is the coat of arms of the Médici (who from 1569 were Grand Dukes of Tuscany). On the facade, and also on a column in front of it to the right, are a number of representations of the She-Wolf of the Capitol.
On the first and second floors of the Palazzo Pubblico the Museo Civico houses drawings, paintings and other documents of the history of the town. On the third floor is a loggia in which the original sculpture from the Fonte Gaia has been assembled.
The paintings include important Renaissance pieces. In addition there are numerous examples of Renaissance and Baroque silver pieces.
At the left-hand end of the Palazzo Púbblico is the Torre del Mangia, one of the most daringly conceived of medieval towers. The shaft is of brick, the battlemented platform with its supporting brackets and its superstructure of travertine. The tower has a total height of 102m/335ft to the tip of its metal bell-cage (with bells of 1666). It was built between 1338 and 1348 by two brothers, Minuccio and Francesco di Rinaldo; the project was regarded as so foolhardy that they were required to bear the whole risk themselves. From the platform of the tower there are magnificent views of the city and the surrounding country. At the foot of the tower is the Cappella di Piazza, built in 1352 in thanksgiving for the town's deliverance from the 1348 plague; it was considerably altered in 1463. Its Renaissance architecture, following ancient models, is in striking contrast to the restrained facade of the Palazzo Púbblico.
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Torre del Mangia in Siena.
