Siena & Tuscany: Discover at Your Own Pace with Self-Guided Audio Tour App

Highlights

• Self-Guided App Tour
• Siena's Key Landmarks
• Offline Content

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1

   Piazza del Campo

   1h

   This extraordinary shell-shaped piazza has served as Siena's living room since the 14th century, its sloping brick pavement divided into nine segments representing the Council of Nine who governed during Siena's golden age. Twice each summer, the piazza transforms into a racetrack for the Palio, where bareback riders representing the city's seventeen contrade compete in a 90-second spectacle that has captivated Sienese for over 600 years. Cafe tables line the curved perimeter where visitors and locals gather to people-watch, savor gelato, and absorb the medieval architecture.

2. 2

   Palazzo Pubblico E Museo Civico

   Pass by

   Siena's magnificent Gothic town hall has anchored the Piazza del Campo since 1310, its elegant facade of brick and travertine marble crowned by the soaring Torre del Mangia. Inside, the Museo Civico houses Ambrogio Lorenzetti's revolutionary Allegory of Good and Bad Government, the first secular frescoes of the Renaissance, alongside Simone Martini's stunning Maestà. The ornate Sala del Mappamondo, Sala della Pace, and Chapel preserve the artistic and political ambitions of medieval Siena.

3. 3

   Torre del Mangia

   Pass by

   Rising 102 meters above Piazza del Campo, this elegant bell tower was deliberately built to match the height of Siena's cathedral, symbolizing the equal power of church and state in the medieval republic. The tower takes its name from its first bell-ringer, Giovanni di Balduccio, nicknamed Mangiaguadagni (profit-eater) for his spendthrift ways. Climbing the 400 steps rewards visitors with breathtaking views across terracotta rooftops to the Tuscan hills.

4. 4

   Duomo di Siena

   Pass by

   Siena's cathedral ranks among Italy's most spectacular churches, its black and white striped marble facade and interior creating a dazzling geometric pattern that influenced Tuscan architecture for centuries. The Piccolomini Library preserves Pinturicchio's luminous frescoes depicting the life of Pope Pius II, while Nicola Pisano's carved pulpit and works by Michelangelo and Bernini fill every corner with masterpieces. The unfinished nave extension reveals the cathedral's abandoned ambition before the Black Death devastated the city.

5. 5

   Battistero di San Giovanni

   30min

   Located beneath the cathedral choir, this Gothic baptistery houses a magnificent marble font decorated with bronze panels by the greatest sculptors of the early Renaissance including Ghiberti, Donatello, and Jacopo della Quercia. The hexagonal font's gilded bronze reliefs depicting the life of John the Baptist represent a pivotal moment in art history when Florence and Siena's finest artists collaborated on a single masterpiece. The baptistery's frescoed vaults create an atmosphere of sacred beauty.

6. 6

   Via di Citta

   30min

   Siena's most elegant street curves from the Campo toward the Duomo, lined with Gothic palaces, artisan workshops, and boutiques selling Sienese specialties from panforte to hand-painted ceramics. The Palazzo Chigi-Saracini houses the prestigious Accademia Musicale Chigiana, its courtyard concerts continuing a tradition of Sienese musical excellence. Window shopping along this atmospheric thoroughfare reveals traditional craft workshops where artisans practice techniques passed down through generations.

7. 7

   Stop 7

   30min

   This massive brick Gothic church dominates Siena's skyline from the hill of Camporegio, its austere interior serving as the spiritual home of St. Catherine of Siena, the city's beloved mystic and Doctor of the Church. The Chapel of St. Catherine preserves the saint's head in a gilded reliquary alongside frescoes by Sodoma depicting her ecstasies and miracles. The church's elevated position offers stunning views across the valley to the Duomo.

8. 8

   Santuario di Santa Caterina

   30min

   The childhood home of St. Catherine has been transformed into a complex of chapels and oratories preserving the rooms where the future saint experienced her mystical visions. Catherine's influence on the medieval church, including persuading Pope Gregory XI to return from Avignon to Rome, made this humble dyer's house a pilgrimage destination decorated with Renaissance frescoes. The intimate spaces convey the domestic origins of one of Christianity's most remarkable women.

Before you go

Location