Dr. Orton studied in the ancient Italian city of Siena as a visiting researcher during her doctoral degree. Here, she explores its secrets.
For me, the summer of 2009 was spent studying Italian in Siena. That summer was full of hot August days exploring the medieval streets, espressos snatched before morning classes and talking late into the night with friends and a cold Birra Moretti in Piazza del Campo.
There were clear nights full of shooting stars, days spent getting to know the districts of Siena with their window boxes of tumbling geraniums and contrade secrets. And of course, anticipation of the Palio, Siena’s famous horse race.
Origins
In Siena, it is impossible to escape the wolf. Tame wolves were kept as city mascots for centuries and there are she-wolves all over the city.
There is a she-wolf in Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s fourteenth century Allegory to Good Government fresco; another is on the fourteenth century roundel on the floor of the cathedral, depicting the she-wolf suckling the twins.
She-wolf roundel
This is due to one of Siena’s most famous origin stories and relates to the founding of Rome. Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of the war god Mars and a Vestal Virgin (priestess of the goddess Vesta).
The twins were thrown into the river Tiber by their uncle, but were saved and suckled by a she-wolf. As adults, the brothers began to build Rome, but Romulus killed Remus after a quarrel.
The Sienese twist on the story is that Remus himself had twin sons called Aschius and Senius, who were fed by their own she-wolf. The twins appealed to the sun god Apollo after the murder of their father and Apollo sent two horses – one black and one white – to help the twins escape to the site of Siena.
Unlike Romulus and Remus, Aschius and Senius did not quarrel. They built a shrine to house the statue of the she-wolf that they had brought from Rome and offered sacrifices to Diana and Apollo to thank them for their escape. Thick black smoke rose from the altar of Apollo; pure white from that of Diana. Thus, black and white became the colours of Siena.
The Nine
Siena became a major banking power in the 12th century, but its heyday is generally acknowledged to be between 1287 and 1355, when it was run by the oligarchic Council of Nine. These were merchant-class men who co-operated with the aristocracy; positions on the council rotated every two months among Siena’s upper middle class.
Siena was unusual in Italy, as it preferred civic rule over Church power. The Torre del Mangia, the tall tower in Piazza del Campo, is the same height as the Duomo’s (cathedral) bell tower, despite being built on a much lower elevation. This is to symbolise the parity of civic and religious power.
Lorenzetti’s Allegory to Good Government
The nine were responsible for many of the city’s great buildings and art works. This period saw huge achievements such as the bringing of running water to the Fonte Gaia in Piazza del Campo in 1342.
Siena has a problem with water. Unlike its arch-rival Florence, Siena’s lack of a river means that it was unable to capitalise on the application of water power to the manufacturing process that developed in the middle ages.
All was not lost, however. Siena had a secret weapon in its rivalry with Florence: its special relationship with the Virgin Mary.
City of Art and the Virgin
The Byzantine Madonna of the Big Eyes that once stood in the Duomo is not conventionally beautiful. The figures are flat, painted without perspective and have unrealistic dimensions.
Madonna of the Big Eyes
Nevertheless, the painting is special: it is a miracle-working icon.
The most famous miracle happened in 1260, when Siena and Florence found themselves on opposing sides of a row between the papacy (supported by the “Guelph” Republic of Florence) and the Holy Roman Empire (supported by the “Ghibelline” Republic of Siena). This came to a head at the Battle of Montaperti, when Siena was surrounded by Florentine troops and defeat seemed inevitable.
In desperation, a group of Sienese citizens laid out the keys to the city before the Madonna of the Big Eyes and dedicated the city to her. Then they took the painting and the sacred relics of the cathedral in a procession around the whole city.
That night, a white mist shrouded the Sienese camp like a protective cloak. Siena won the battle, crediting the direct intervention of the Virgin Mary.
Sienese art developed in its own distinctive way after 1250, a fusion of Byzantine icon painting and Western European gothic art. Duccio’s Maestà was put in place of the Madonna of the Big Eyes in 1311. This was the altarpiece in the cathedral of Siena (now cut apart and dispersed), bringing together the otherworldly, sacred art of the Middle Ages, and the human-oriented art of the early Renaissance.
Duccio’s Maestà
The Nine also commissioned secular works, such as Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Allegory and Effects of Good Government fresco series in the Palazzo Pubblico. Whereas religious art in those days tended to be flat, decorative and otherworldly, this painting and others in Lorenzetti’s fresco series includes (unusually for the time) realistic depictions of the people and countryside. The frescos remind Siena’s rulers of their responsibility to govern the city well.
Siena’s fortunes fell when the Black Death arrived in the city in 1348, costing the city up to fifty percent of its population by some estimates. Unlike Florence, Siena was unable to recover economically and became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany under the rule of the Medici in 1559 until the Italian Unification.
Yet, centuries of external rule could not erase Siena’s distinct identity.
Siena’s Contrade
One of the most fascinating things about Siena is its division into seventeen districts, or contrade. These originate in the traditional tripartite division of Siena into the Terzo di Città (the Third of the City), the Terzo di Camollia (the Third of the Camollia) and the Terzo di San Martino (the Third of San Martino).
From at least the mid-15th century, these terzi have been further divided into contrade: there were around eighty of these in the thirteenth century, but following the plague in the mid-fourteenth century, these were reduced to forty-two. From 1729 until today, the number has been seventeen.
Each contrada is represented by an animal or other entity: the Aquila (Eagle), Chiocciola (Snail), Onda (Wave), Pantera (Panther), Selva (Forest), Tartuca (Tortoise), Bruco (Caterpillar), Drago (Dragon), Giraffa (Giraffe), Istrice (Porcupine), Lupa (She-wolf), Oca (Goose), Civetta (Owl), Leocorno (Unicorn), Nicchio (Seashell), Torre (Tower) and Valdimontone (Ram).
These are not merely spatial divisions, but communities with their own identities. For instance, the Contrada della Lupa is known for its bakers; Istrice for its blacksmiths; Bruco for its silk weavers and Drago for its bankers.
Many of the contrade have historical rivalries and alliances. The Contrada dell’Aquila, for example, has an alliance with the Contrada della Civetta, but is adversary to the Contrada della Pantera. The Contrada della Lupa is adversary to the Contrada dell’Istrice.
Exploring Siena's Terzi
The Terzo di Città includes the highest and oldest part of the city. According to legend, Aschius and Senius took refuge here. The hill of Castelvecchio is sometimes called the “acropolis of Siena” for its high point in the city and collection of important buildings.
On Castelvecchio hill stand the Duomo and the hospital complex of Santa Maria della Scala. The latter is known for hosting pilgrims on their way along the Via Francigena (the major pilgrimage route that connected Northern Europe to Rome) as well as helping the poor and the sick.
The hospital stands opposite the Duomo on the highest point of the city; fitting, considering that the hospital is intimately linked with the growth of Siena. This terzo contains the contrade of the Aquila, Chiocciola, Onda, Pantera, Selva and Tartuca.
The Terzo di Camollia is named after Porta Camollìa, one of the northern portals in Siena’s medieval walls. It contains the contrade of the Bruco, Drago, Giraffa, Istrice, Lupa and Oca.
In one story, the Porta Camollìa is named after the soldier Camulio, who was sent to Siena by Romulus, founder of Rome, to capture his nephews. Instead of seizing the twins, Camulio made Siena his home and built a town around the area of the portal.
The Terzo di San Martino is named after Saint Martin, protector of pilgrims and travellers, due to its formation around the Via Francigena. It contains the contrade of Civetta, Leocorno, Nicchio, Torre and Valdimontone.
The Palio
Visitors to Siena today come to see the Palio, the city’s dangerous, exciting and controversial horse race. Lasting only ninety-seconds, the ferocious contest is held on the second of July and the sixteenth of August, with three days of festivities leading up to each race.
The Palio attracts many thousands of visitors but is firmly rooted in the contrade (although its history actually predates these in their current form). Ten out of the seventeen contrade compete in each race, and the horses are drawn by lots.
Torre del Mangia
There are a number of traditional songs associated with the Palio, but one of the most cherished melodies is Il Canto della Verbena (“The Song of Verbena”; verbena used to grow between the bricks of Piazza del Campo), with its refrain, “Viva la nostra Siena, la più bella delle città!” (“Long live our Siena, the most beautiful of cities!”).
Click the link to read more about how the various contrade have created their own lyrics for the melody, asserting their own superiority while abusing their rivals.
If you do go to the Palio, remember that beneath all the drama - the exhilaration of the horses, the buzz in Piazza del Campo as people crowd together in the heat to wait for the race to start – Siena has a profound history that goes beyond the modern spectacle. It is a city of bonds and brotherhood, of rivalries and wolves, of seemingly-sombre icons that work deep magic. Siena is fiercely, defiantly unique.
Find Out More
Dr. Orton also explores the secrets of other European cities in her blog posts, The (Real) Seven Secrets of Bologna and How to Get Into Berghain. If you’d like to learn more about Historical Mysteries, we have suggestions for a customisable course on this on our History page. Alternatively, if you’re interested in the rare, the niche and the esoteric aspects of the world’s most fascinating cities, take a look at our Interdisciplinary course, The Secret History of Cities.
These courses are templates of possible routes of study and can be combined, adapted, or designed from scratch to suit your interests and goals. Dr. Orton will work with you to design a course of private tutorials tailored to your needs, ability and schedule – whether you are undertaking your own research for an independent project, writing a book or simply have a personal interest. Click the link to find out what it’s like to work with her.
To learn more about Dr. Orton’s PhD research, visit Our Research Page to listen to her lectures on Ancient Greek Mathematics and Plato’s Epistemology, or read her blog post, Plato and the Terrifying Beauty of Mathematics.
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