Photos of the Beautiful Tuscan Medieval Cathedral of Sienna

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Photos of the Beautiful Tuscan Medieval Cathedral of Sienna Architecture & Art, Italy. Photographer Paul E Williams.    (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of the Beautiful Tuscan Medieval Cathedral of Sienna – Architecture & Art

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Photos of the Medieval Tuscan Cathedral of Sienna l (Duomo di Siena), Italy.

Cathedral of Siena

The Cathedral of Siena (Duomo di Siena), dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta (Most Holy Mary of Assumption), is a medieval church in Siena, central Italy.

The Cathedral of Sienna was designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier church. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower.

Style of the Cathedral of Siena

As with many medieval building projects that are built over a long period of time the Cathedral of Sienna has many architectural styles. It combines elements of French Gothic, Tuscan Romanesque architecture, and Classical architecture. This can be seen best on the facade.

The exterior and interior of the Cathedral of Sienna are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, linked to black and white horses of the city’s founders, Senius and Aschius.

Facade of the Cathedral of Siena

On the facade of the Cathedral of Sienna are thirty-five statues of prophets and patriarchs grouped around the virgin.

Lower Romanesque Facade

The lower portion of the Cathedral of Sienna facade is designed by Giovanni Pisano. It was built in Tuscan Romanesque style with three portals, surmounted by lunettes. The areas around and above the doors are richly decorated with acanthus scrolls, allegorical figures and biblical scenes.

Upper Gothic Facade

The upper facade of the Cathedral of Sienna was completed between 1360 and 1370 under the direction of Giovanni di Cecco. The facade needed to be much higher than foreseen as the nave been raised. The Upper facade has a more elaborate design scheme, heavily influenced by French Gothic architecture, which caused the apparent division of the upper portion of the cathedral. Most noticeably the pinnacles of the upper portion do not continue from the columns flanking the central portal as they normally would in such cathedrals. Instead, they are substantially offset, resulting in a vertical discontinuity which is uncommon in cathedrals of the time as it can lead to structural weakness. To adjust for this imbalance, the towers on each side of the Cathedral of Sienna were opened by adding windows, reducing the weight they needed to support. The upper portion also features heavy Gothic decoration, a marked contrast to the simple geometric designed common to Tuscan Romanesque architecture

Three large mosaics on the gables of the facade of the Cathedral of Sienna were made in Venice in 1878. The large central mosaic, the Coronation of the Virgin, is the work of Luigi Mussini. 

The dome of the Cathedral of Sienna rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns and was completed in 1264. The lantern ontop of the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The nave of the Cathedral of Sienna is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches.

Artists the Worked on Cathedral of Siena

The finest Italian artists of that era completed works in the cathedral: Nicola and Giovanni Pisano: Donatello: Pinturicchio: Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Bernini.