Siena's Duomo

Yesterday the road led to Siena, a medieval mountain town about an hour and a half ride from Florence on the "Siena Rapido" bus.

Siena's cathedral is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and dates back to the 1100's. Its facade is notable for the inclusion of the animals that represent the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), as well as statues of Siena's four patron saints (Bartholomew being the most well known of the group). The cathedral is probably best known for its breathtaking marble mosaic floors. I was thrilled that photography (no flash!) was allowed.

Many of the big names of the Renaissance worked on the cathedral, with Duccio being the most prevalent. Donatello provided a carved wood St. John the Baptist for a special chapel, and Michelangelo contributed a couple of minor figures to a marble side altar before skipping out on his contract to go make the legendary Florentine David.

Next to the church is a huge wall off to one side. At one point in the 1400's it was decided that the entire existing church would become a transept of a much larger structure (one of the arms of the cross). They got one wall built, and then the plague wiped out the workforce. By the time they replenished the population a century or so later no one was interested, but the wall still stands, and structures around it house the Duomo's museum. You can't climb the dome, but the museum takes you up to the highest point of the wall above the dome, where a 360 view of Siena and the Tuscan hills awaits you (those pictures coming soon...)