Siena and the Piazza del Campo: The Best Medieval Square in Italy

The Piazza del Campo is a shell-shaped brick-paved square in the centre of Siena, sloped gently toward the base where the Gothic Palazzo Pubblico stands. It was built in the 13th and 14th centuries and has been the civic heart of Siena ever since. Twice a year, July 2 and August 16, it becomes the track for the Palio di Siena: a bareback horse race that lasts 90 seconds and generates months of preparation, political manoeuvring, and inter-neighbourhood rivalries that outsiders rarely fully comprehend.

The Square

The Campo is divided into nine brick segments representing the Governo dei Nove (Government of the Nine) who ruled Siena during its 14th-century peak. The division is subtle and becomes clear when you stand at the upper end. The Fonte Gaia at the upper end is a reconstructed marble fountain; the original 1346 panels by Jacopo della Quercia are preserved in the Palazzo Pubblico museum.

The Torre del Mangia rises 88 metres from the south side of the Palazzo Pubblico. The climb is 503 steps, admission €10, queue in the morning. The view from the top across Siena’s terracotta roofscape to the surrounding Tuscan hills is exceptional and the most visited viewpoint in the city.

The Palazzo Pubblico

The medieval town hall’s Civic Museum contains one of the most important collections of medieval painting in Italy. The Sala del Mappamondo has Simone Martini’s Maestà (1315), a large-scale Virgin Mary enthroned that set the standard for Sienese painting for the following century.

More interesting to many visitors is the Sala dei Nove with Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Allegory of Good and Bad Government frescoes (1338-1339), one of the earliest examples of secular civic painting in Western art. The Good Government section shows a detailed picture of 14th-century Sienese life: merchants, craftspeople, a city in good order. The Bad Government section, largely damaged, shows the opposite. The allegory is political and the point is plainly made; this was painted as a reminder to the council of what they were for. Museum admission around €12; allow 1.5 hours.

The Palio

The Palio is not a tourist attraction. It is a communal event organised around Siena’s 17 contrade (neighbourhood associations) that has been running since the 13th century. The 10 contrade chosen by lot to race prepare their horse and jockey over weeks of trial races, with alliances, deals, and betrayals between neighbourhoods as part of the strategy.

Viewing from inside the piazza is free but requires arriving hours in advance and standing for the duration. The three-day event around each race includes processions and flag-throwing ceremonies that many observers find more interesting than the 90-second race itself. Grandstand tickets are expensive and require booking many months ahead.

Beyond the Campo

Siena’s cathedral is 15 minutes’ walk away: striped marble interior, Nicola Pisano’s 1265 pulpit, and a floor inlaid with biblical scenes visible in August and September. Arriving in Siena by bus from Florence (1.5 hours, around €8) is more practical than the train, which terminates outside the historic centre. The Enoteca Italiana in the Fortezza Medicea stocks over 400 Italian wines and is open to anyone who walks in.