Spotlight: Cathedral of Siena

Initially, I was going to make a blog post about my day trip to Siena from Florence, but I realized that there are so many things I wanted to share about the Cathedral of Siena that I thought it deserved it’s own blog post.

Now, to this day, this has been the most beautiful place I have ever visited. I went there in March, during the evening so the place was not crowded. The quiet atmosphere added significantly to my feelings of awe when stepping into the place.

From what I’ve read, there is usually a line and they recommend to buy the tickets in advance:

The Duomo di Siena was built between the 12th and 13th century on the grounds of an 9th century church and is a prime example of the Gothic style of the Italian medieval era. Plans on expanding the cathedral, thus turning it into the largest cathedral in Italy, were scrapped after the Black Death decimated a big portion of the population in Siena.

The façade is made up mostly of greenish-black and white marble stripes. The entrance façade, designed by Giovanni Pisano, features red marble accents and lace-like carvings which are a sharp contrast to the rest of the building, which is made up of geometric shapes.

The inside of the cathedral follows the same greenish-black and white motif of the outside and is packed full of works of art, from the mosaics on the floor to the stained glass windows and the marble pulpit. There are works from artists such as Donatello, Bernini, and Michelangelo.

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There are many more treasures to be discovered inside this cathedral, including the Piccolomini Library and the Museo dell’Opera. Have you visited this place before? What do you consider to be the most beautiful place you have visited before?