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6 Settembre; Siena |
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written
by Paul Lang / 07.04.2004 |
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Itinerary |
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For our class in Siena, we visited the Chiesa di Cateriniana de S. Domenico, the Piazza Pubblico, the Palazzo Pubblico, and the Duomo. We all woke up in a new town: Siena. Siena is located a bout halfway between Rome and Florence. It is one of the larger and better known cities in Italy due its traditions and historical actions. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Siena was competing with Florence to be a cultural and financial center in Italy. It did well with its secular leanings and support of the arts. Unfortunately, the plague killed 75% of its population and never caught to the more maritime Florence. In addition to being in Siena, we had a guide for the day, Lisa, a graduate student from the UW. The Professor was able to find and conscript her in Rome. Our first stop was at the Dominican church of St. Catherine. This typically simple Dominican church was extremely spacious and contained a few notable items. There were old frescoes and paintings, but best of all was the dried head of St. Catherine. It is quite clearly visible. Her body can be found in Rome if you want to see all of her.
Our next stop was the center of town at the Palazzo Pubblico. This impressive building is and has been the seat of government for Siena. Inside the building we were led on a tour of the frescoes by Lisa, including the famous set of good and bad governments by Ambrosio Lorenzeti. These 3 frescoes decorate the meeting room for the Council of Nine, the short lived though sucessful oligarchical rulers of Siena. Opposite the window is a depiction of the virtues and God, all of which are connected to the people of Siena, ensuring a good and just government. On the left when facing this fresco is the result of a bad government; a dark and miserable scence where Tyranny rules and people suffer. The opposite wall has a prosperous town (similar to Siena) who dance and happily work under the sun and a good government.
After the lunch break, we met across town at the largest and most noticeable building in town, Il Duomo. This green and white striped church has amazing floor mosaics. The floors depict everything from biblical scenes to violent battles (that are not in the bible). The church was in tourist mode and almost every mosaic was visible, as well as the area behind the altar and the Bernini sculptures in a side chapel. With our class done for the day, most of the students met again at the Piazza Pubblico to watch a free opera--Turandot (Puccini).
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Highlights |
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This is a close call between the scene of good and bad governments narrated by Lisa and the free opera. Professor Wong came off big in both, as the il Tryrano centerpiece of bad government and the narrator of the opera. I guess it depends on how lowbrow you like your humor. The free opera was fantastic; we got to see an Italian opera by their most beloved composer--Puccini. It was a wonderful night to be outside with a bright moon rising over the 87-meter tower of the Piazza Pubblico. The opera had great costumes and distinct scene changes, despite being outside with a modular stage. Of course after the opera we were graced with the Professor's view of himself as the Emperor of Rome. He would have high standards.
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Images |
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| Il Duomo, Siena |
| No, the stripes are not supposed to be funny |
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| Left side of Good Government by Lorenzetti |
| This is the left side of an prospering town with a good government |
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The striped Duomo in Siena is a noticeable building. While being made of marble and even being striped is not unheard of, it is the only building in Siena that is constructed out of marble. Its distinct stripes also give the brown brick skyline of Siena a little variety. Lorenzetti's good government is definitely showing promise based on the dancers in the foreground. Some sights of Siena are visible in the corners; notice that the church (Duomo) is placed far away in the corner of the painting. Secular dancers rather than the church occupy the foreground. Lorenzetti and Siena both prospered with their secular focus. Siena allied itself with the Vatican as a purely political strategy.
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