Siena

This medieval tower guards one of Siena's most enigmatic nicknames. Seven maidens, seven girls, according to tradition were the young women who lived there or found refuge in the Middle Ages, when noble towers dominated the city's skyline. Siena counted dozens of them, symbols of power and rivalry among the most influential families. Probably built between the 12th and 13th centuries, in the midst of the struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines, this tower survived wars, plagues and urban transformations, remaining today one of the most authentic testimonies of Siena's vertical landscape.

We are facing one of the oldest and most curious theaters in Italy. The Teatro dei Rozzi was born in 1531, founded by the homonymous Sienese Congrega, an association of craftsmen and common people, the Rozzi, precisely, in contrast to the refined and cultured ones, who wanted to make art in their own way. In the full Renaissance period, these ordinary citizens wrote comedies, performed them and built a very lively theatrical tradition. The current building, remodeled during the nineteenth century, still preserves the charm of that extraordinary history, a people who transformed their roughness into cultural pride, leaving an indelible mark on the heart of Siena.

We are before one of the oldest and most fascinating palaces in Siena. The Sansedoni were one of the most powerful families in the medieval city and this residence tells centuries of power and intrigue. Built between the 200s and 300s, the palace overlooks the famous Piazza del Campo, with its characteristic tower and curved façade that follows the profile of the square itself. Over the centuries it hosted bankers, diplomats and men of the church. Today its imposing mass is a silent witness to a Siena that was the capital of a flourishing republic and a protagonist in Italian history.

You are in the heart of the Camoglia Third, in front of one of Siena's oldest squares. The Tolomei were one of the city's most powerful Ghibelline families, bankers, patrons, and rivals to the Salimbeni in Cerrimi. In 1267 they obtained the privilege of holding their palace here, which still dominates the square with its stone facade. In the Middle Ages this space was a place of civic assemblies and market. The column with the Sienese she-wolf, symbol of the city, was erected to celebrate the district's identity. A square that tells centuries of power, commerce and civic rivalry.

We are facing one of the most important Renaissance palaces in Siena. Built in the second half of the fifteenth century for the powerful Piccolomini family, related to Pope Pius II, the building is inspired by the great Florentine models of the era. Since 1858 it has housed the State Archive, preserving an extraordinary treasure. The biccherna tablets, the accounting registers of the medieval municipality decorated by Sienese artists between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Unique documents in the world that tell centuries of city life, wars, plagues and triumphs. The history of Siena is literally preserved here inside.

We are facing one of Siena's Renaissance jewels, desired by Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who in 1462, shortly after becoming Pope Pius II, had it built as a gift to his native city. The project was entrusted to Antonio Federighi, a talented Sienese architect. The three elegant arches in travertine, decorated with papal coats of arms and finely worked columns, represent one of the purest examples of early Tuscan Renaissance. A pope who gave his city eternal beauty, a gesture of pride and gratitude carved in stone forever.

Siena hosts one of the oldest synagogues in Italy, hidden in the heart of the Jewish ghetto established in 1571 by the will of the Medici family. The Sienese Jewish community was already present in the city since the thirteenth century, active in commerce and credit. The current building dates back to 1786, built in late Baroque style with furnishings in line with extraordinary refined gilding. For centuries, within these walls, generations of families have prayed, celebrated and resisted persecution. A story of silent resilience, preserved among narrow alleyways that still today breathe that millennial memory.

You are in the pulsing heart of Siena, one of Europe's most beautiful medieval squares. Its shell shape is no accident. Built in the thirteenth century at the meeting point of the city's three hills, it was designed as the civic and commercial center of the Sienese Republic. Its nine brick segments recall the Nine, the oligarchic government that dominated Siena between 1287 and 1355, a golden age for the city's art and architecture. Markets, tournaments, and public festivals took place here. Since 1656, every summer the thunder of hooves from the Palio resounds here.

We are facing one of the highest civic bell towers in Italy, almost 88 meters of red bricks that have challenged the sky since 1348. The municipality of Siena wanted it as a symbol of secular power, as tall as the bell tower of the Cathedral, to declare that no religious authority towered over the city. Its nickname comes from Giovanni di Balduccio, the first bell ringer, famous for squandering his salary, a legendary spendthrift. From the top, all of Tuscany is dominated, 400 steps towards pure history.