Our first visit to Siena on Boxing Day 2011 took place on a dreary, rainy day and in the afternoon we were glad to take refuge inside one of its most important buildings - the Duomo. It may have been a short stop on a dark day, but it was a visit that re-ignited my interests in Italian architecture and art history and it was formative in getting us to talk about having a place in Italy we could use on a regular basis. We took a vow then to return to to the cathedral as soon as possible to explore its treasures in greater detail. Its been five years since we were there, but now we have our place in Umbria and this will hopefully be the first of many sojourns to see this iconic structure. I can foresee lots of day trips from Citta so we will have the luxury of focusing on one or two things at a time - by far the best way of getting to know a huge building like a cathedral in depth.
Siena's cathedral,which takes the form of a latin cross with a dome and tall bell tower, stands in a central position on one of the city's three ridges and from a distance its soaring structures dominate the skyline; we could clearly see the prominent bell tower from the vantage point of our hotel's terrace. Begun in round about 1230 it took getting on for 150 years to reach today's appearance. The site of the church has a sacred origin which goes way back in time and investigations over the years have shown there was an ancient temple here dedicated to the goddess Minerva. Following the fall of the Roman civilisation a small Christian church probably initially occupied the site, but that presumably expanded and became more important and in 1058 a Synod was held there which led to the election of Pope Nicholas II and the deposition of the anti-pope Benedict X. The rising importance of Siena as an important and wealthy trading centre no doubt led to the decision to convert the church in to something much bigger and more impressive in the early 13th century.
I love visiting cathedrals for they are surely one of man's greatest achievements. This one, and its nearby neighbour in Orvieto, are two of the most splendid in the whole of Italy. Not only are they superb examples of a multitude of crafts being combined in to single endeavours, they are a reminder of the use of great wealth creation to satisfy the spiritual needs of humanity through the building of awesome places of worship. They were intended as earthly representations of the glories of heaven - truly different worlds to the one found in the streets of the cities and lands which surrounded them. They offered the populous a glimpse of the awesome power of God, the glories of heaven and often the path of damnation for those that sinned. As we made our way from the Siena Campo that sunny Saturday afternoon in early autumn, leaving the medieval domestic architectural achievements behind, it was a moving experience to step in to the cathedral square again and once more discover the extraordinary black and white striped marble monumental structure that forms the main body of this humongous church.
People often ask what the origins of the black and white humbug like striped appearance are and the most logical explanation seems to be its relationship to the black and white Balzana coat of arms of the city which dates back at least to the early 13th century.
Entire books have of course been written about this glorious building so what I can achieve in one tiny blog posting is of course minimal. I've therefore chosen to focus on just two features of it - one outside - the splendid west facade and one inside - the truly awesome marble floor of the nave. Together they encapsulate the glories of this fabulous cathedral church.
The beautiful front facade of the cathedral was constructed between 1284 and 1370 in white marble with contrasting elements in dark green/black and pink Siena marbles. Careful observation shows that initially it seems balanced and harmonious, but there are differences in form and detail between the lower and upper parts. This is due to the way the scheme for the frontage evolved.
Essentially the facade can be divided in to the two separate levels - the ground floor part and the area above it. In 1284 the Cistercian monks of Galgano called in renowned architect and sculptor Giovanni Pisano to plan and work on the front part of the church and it was he who initially designed the facade, but he only completed the ground floor section. Typically there is a grandTuscan Romanesque three arched ground floor entrance frontage, each portal with a pointed arch above it. The central one is capped by a bronze sun. At the doorway heads and on other pedestals, carved sculptural figures of prophets, philosophers and apostles, designed and sculpted by the master himself ornament the composition and the vertical columns between the doorways are also richly decorated with acanthus scrolls and other details. Pisano only worked on the front of the cathedral until 1296 when he suddenly left the city following arguments about the project with the cathedral elders. The lower section was finally completed by Camio di Crescentino.
The upper section of the facade is by another artist - Giovanni di Cecco and its elaborately decorated in a gothic style. Work largely followed Pisano's original designs with alterations - the inclusion of a rose window for example seems to be di Cecco's contribution. Work seems to have been interrupted around 1317 when the emphasis switched to the east facade and the consensus of opinion seems to be that the front was finally completed around 1365. The upper part is also more elaborate in its ornament than the lower Pisano part and appears to be influenced this time by the French gothic style and is finished in 3 points like the cathedral at Orvieto which must have acted as a prototype for this one as the facade there is slightly earlier in date. I found it interesting to discover that the height of the facade also had to be increased to accommodate a raising of the nave behind it. The rose window is surrounded by a border containing niches containing sculptures of church patriarchs, but this time they are by unknown sculptors. Finally, the colourful mosaics on the facade are not medieval and were added in the 19th century. They were made in Venice in the late 1870's and the central one depicts the Coronation of the Virgin flanked by two others showing a Nativity and the Presentation of Mary to the Temple. It's also worth noting that the impressive bronze central doors are a recent addition replacing ones made of wood. They were added in 1946 near the end of the German occupation of Siena and were designed by Vico Consorti and cast by Enrico Manfini - they show scenes of the Glorification of the Virgin - the patron saint of the city of Siena. So, this great church frontage has essentially a medieval origin with some later additions, but the overall effect today is one of great intricacy, harmony and beauty. Stand back from it and it's overall composition is pleasing to the eye, focus on its details and it entices one to contemplate what's inside!
I promised to talk about the cathedral floor next and this might seem a strange choice of case study given I could have chosen to discuss a world famous pulpit which appears in many art history text books or perhaps I could also have selected the amazing Piccolomini library with its stunning fresco cycle but I rejected both of those in favour of the floor, the likes of which I have never seen before. Our friend from London, Peter, who visited the cathedral with us that Saturday afternoon, thought it to be the most amazing sight he saw in the whole of his ten day trip to Italy! What's also interesting is that we didn't see or notice it on our first visit and there's a specific reason for that - it wasn't visible on the day we were there in December 2015. The marble floor covers the entire internal area of the cathedral but for most of the year it's covered up for conservation reasons. Only in mid to late August are the covers taken off to reveal it in all its splendour and the window of opportunity to see it is not very long - they cover it again at the end of October.
The marble floor consists of 56 panels of various sizes, each with a decorative border and a subject represented within the frame. It took getting on for 200 years to complete and what fascinated me was that a close study of the panels in different parts of the cathedral was like looking at a history of Renaissance art. Whoever heard of a church floor telling such a tale? - but in terms of a history of techniques and of composition it makes for a fascinating study. The earliest panels have been attributed to 1369 - the latest - a composition in front of the alter from 1547. Subjects range from representations of Sibyls, Virtues and Allegories to Bible narratives. Some have been restored and even relaid but overall the originals are in remarkable condition and retain their original characteristics.
Thinking about the techniques used to make the floor panels first. The earliest panels the late 1300's show the use of a "sgraffito" technique to make them. This is where pieces of marble have been gouged with sharp instruments where these have then been filled with bitumen or black mineral pitch to effect the lines of a composition.
One writer has described the results looking like a giant woodcut. A hundred years later and the techniques of panel making were much more sophisticated and elaborate producing very different finished results.Here the panels are more like marquetry work where subtly patterned coloured marbles have been inlaid in the white background producing a complex pictorial effect with light and shade effects giving the subjects depth and the three dimensional character of Renaissance paintings, A whole variety of artists have worked on the floor panels over the years - the first well known one being Domenico di Niccolo dei Cori, a famous sculptor who was in charge of work on the cathedral between 1413 and 1423.
One of the most famous panels in the sequence is "The Slaughter of the Innocents" which appears to have been laid in 1481 and was the work of Matteo di Giovanni. This tells the story from the New Testament of King Herod ordering the slaughter of all new born children in an attempt to make sure of the death of the new born messiah. I found looking at this very moving and on further observation marvelled at the way the artist craftsman was able to make figures look "realistic" and able to suggest depth to the composition through the use of architectural perspective in the background and on stairs. truly remarkable achievement.
If you do visit Siena do try and go at the time of year when the cathedral floor is exposed for it truly is one of the best art historical things I've seen in ages - neither painting, nor sculpture but drawing on Renaissance developments in these areas. It's a fascinating exercise to trace the history of western art during the late 15th and 16th centuries by looking at a floor rather than at a series of paintings or pieces of sculpture. Put this wonderful floor on your Italian bucket list.
Well - that's it until next time.
CIAO AND KBO
IAN
Siena's cathedral,which takes the form of a latin cross with a dome and tall bell tower, stands in a central position on one of the city's three ridges and from a distance its soaring structures dominate the skyline; we could clearly see the prominent bell tower from the vantage point of our hotel's terrace. Begun in round about 1230 it took getting on for 150 years to reach today's appearance. The site of the church has a sacred origin which goes way back in time and investigations over the years have shown there was an ancient temple here dedicated to the goddess Minerva. Following the fall of the Roman civilisation a small Christian church probably initially occupied the site, but that presumably expanded and became more important and in 1058 a Synod was held there which led to the election of Pope Nicholas II and the deposition of the anti-pope Benedict X. The rising importance of Siena as an important and wealthy trading centre no doubt led to the decision to convert the church in to something much bigger and more impressive in the early 13th century.
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| SIENA'S MAGNIFICENT MEDIEVAL DUOMO WEST FRONT & BELL TOWER |
People often ask what the origins of the black and white humbug like striped appearance are and the most logical explanation seems to be its relationship to the black and white Balzana coat of arms of the city which dates back at least to the early 13th century.
Entire books have of course been written about this glorious building so what I can achieve in one tiny blog posting is of course minimal. I've therefore chosen to focus on just two features of it - one outside - the splendid west facade and one inside - the truly awesome marble floor of the nave. Together they encapsulate the glories of this fabulous cathedral church.
The beautiful front facade of the cathedral was constructed between 1284 and 1370 in white marble with contrasting elements in dark green/black and pink Siena marbles. Careful observation shows that initially it seems balanced and harmonious, but there are differences in form and detail between the lower and upper parts. This is due to the way the scheme for the frontage evolved.
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| SCULPTURES FROM THE WEST FRONT OF SIENA CATHEDRAL BY UNKNOWN ARTISTS |
The upper section of the facade is by another artist - Giovanni di Cecco and its elaborately decorated in a gothic style. Work largely followed Pisano's original designs with alterations - the inclusion of a rose window for example seems to be di Cecco's contribution. Work seems to have been interrupted around 1317 when the emphasis switched to the east facade and the consensus of opinion seems to be that the front was finally completed around 1365. The upper part is also more elaborate in its ornament than the lower Pisano part and appears to be influenced this time by the French gothic style and is finished in 3 points like the cathedral at Orvieto which must have acted as a prototype for this one as the facade there is slightly earlier in date. I found it interesting to discover that the height of the facade also had to be increased to accommodate a raising of the nave behind it. The rose window is surrounded by a border containing niches containing sculptures of church patriarchs, but this time they are by unknown sculptors. Finally, the colourful mosaics on the facade are not medieval and were added in the 19th century. They were made in Venice in the late 1870's and the central one depicts the Coronation of the Virgin flanked by two others showing a Nativity and the Presentation of Mary to the Temple. It's also worth noting that the impressive bronze central doors are a recent addition replacing ones made of wood. They were added in 1946 near the end of the German occupation of Siena and were designed by Vico Consorti and cast by Enrico Manfini - they show scenes of the Glorification of the Virgin - the patron saint of the city of Siena. So, this great church frontage has essentially a medieval origin with some later additions, but the overall effect today is one of great intricacy, harmony and beauty. Stand back from it and it's overall composition is pleasing to the eye, focus on its details and it entices one to contemplate what's inside!
I promised to talk about the cathedral floor next and this might seem a strange choice of case study given I could have chosen to discuss a world famous pulpit which appears in many art history text books or perhaps I could also have selected the amazing Piccolomini library with its stunning fresco cycle but I rejected both of those in favour of the floor, the likes of which I have never seen before. Our friend from London, Peter, who visited the cathedral with us that Saturday afternoon, thought it to be the most amazing sight he saw in the whole of his ten day trip to Italy! What's also interesting is that we didn't see or notice it on our first visit and there's a specific reason for that - it wasn't visible on the day we were there in December 2015. The marble floor covers the entire internal area of the cathedral but for most of the year it's covered up for conservation reasons. Only in mid to late August are the covers taken off to reveal it in all its splendour and the window of opportunity to see it is not very long - they cover it again at the end of October.
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| THE CATHEDRAL FLOOR IS ONLY REVEALED AS A WHOLE FROM LATE AUGUST TO LATE OCTOBER EACH YEAR |
Thinking about the techniques used to make the floor panels first. The earliest panels the late 1300's show the use of a "sgraffito" technique to make them. This is where pieces of marble have been gouged with sharp instruments where these have then been filled with bitumen or black mineral pitch to effect the lines of a composition.
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| THE LIBYAN SIBYL THIS PANEL DEMONSTRATES THE USE OF THE GRAFFITO TECHNIQUE ON THE WHITE MARBLE OF THE FIGURE ALL AGAINST A BLACK MARBLE BACKGROUND |
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| THE "SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS FLOOR PANEL" SIENA CATHEDRAL |
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| ONE OF HEROD'S SOLDIERS ATTACKS A WOMAN WITH A BABY IN HER ARMS |
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| DETAIL FROM THE ABOVE PANEL SHOWING SLAUGHTERED BABIES ON A STAIRCASE FOLLOWING HEROD'S MASSACRE |
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| "THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE" LAID IN 1372 |
Well - that's it until next time.
CIAO AND KBO
IAN
