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Piazza del Campo

Coming out of the Gardens, and down Via Sant'Agata, we go through the Arco di San Giuseppe, Saint Joseph's Arch, the remains of an ancient gate in the city walls. Then we go steeply downhill on Via G. Duprè and continue until we come out in the Piazza del Campo. The square has always been the place where Sienese meet, the spot they have always considered to be the "showplace" of the city. Here is the center of city life and government. One of the most important civic buildings in the Gothic style, the Palazzo Pubblicohas always been the seat of government, ever since the end of the thirteenth century when the Government of the Nine was installed. Since the Nine governors could not leave the Palace during the six months they were in office, they had a balcony built on the back of the palace overlooking the Market Square, called the Loggia dei Nove, the Porch of the Nine, so that they could "get some air." Inside the Palace is the Museo Civico, the Civic Museum, that houses masterpieces like Simone Martini's Maestà and his Guidoriccio da Fogliano, and The  Effects of Good and Bad Governmentby Ambrogio Lorenzetti. An equally spectacular surprise awaits those who climb the 400 steps of the Torre del Mangia. From up there, your eye sweeps over the entire city, its towers, gates, narrow streets, and red brick houses. Sant'Agata, we go through the Arco di San Giuseppe, Saint Joseph's Arch, the remains of an ancient gate in the city walls. Then we go steeply downhill on Via G. Duprè and continue until we come out in the Piazza del Campo. The square has always been the place where Sienese meet, the spot they have always considered to be the "showplace" of the city. Here is the center of city life and government. One of the most important civic buildings in the Gothic style,  the Palazzo Pubblicohas always been the seat of government, ever since the end of the thirteenth century when the Government of the Nine was installed. Since the Nine governors could not leave the Palace during the six months they were in office, they had a balcony built on the back of the palace overlooking the Market Square, called the Loggia dei Nove, the Porch of the Nine, so that they could "get some air." Inside the Palace is the Museo Civico, the Civic Museum, that houses masterpieces like Simone Martini's Maestà and his Guidoriccio da Fogliano, and The Effects of Good and Bad Governmentby Ambrogio Lorenzetti. An equally spectacular surprise awaits those who climb the 400 steps of the Torre del Mangia. From up there, your eye sweeps over the entire city, its towers, gates, narrow streets, and red brick houses.