Location: Siena
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What to do and see in Siena, Tuscany: The Best Churches & Cathedrals
This Tuscan hill town will transport you back to the Middle Ages. Siena's grand cathedral, built in the 1200s, has treasured artworks and marvelous marble floors. The Piazza del Campo, the main town square, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's also home to the Palio, perhaps the most infamous horserace in the world. No goofy hats and mint juleps here—this is a medieval tradition involving bareback riders racing on cobblestones (so as you might imagine, it's quite dangerous). Siena is an easy daytrip by train from Florence, just 43 miles away.
Restaurants in Siena
1. Duomo di Siena
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 11,597 reviews
The magnificent complex of the Cathedral of Siena, its Duomo, houses a series of some of the most important monuments of the European artistic panorama. With its more than one million visitors every year, the Cathedral without a doubt represents the fulcrum of the entire complex, while other significant elements include the Crypt, the Baptistery and the Museo dell'Opera, all part of the impressive mass formed by the "Duomo Vecchio" (Old Cathedral), and the "Duomo Nuovo" (New Cathedral). Visitors will travel along a memorable itinerary to the discovery of self and the truth of faith through culture and art, the result of more than a millennium of Western history.
Reviewed By Iowares - Des Moines, United States
We walked over to the ticket office to get the tickets for the Duomo, museum, Baptistry and Crypt, and we were blown away with our tour guides! We have seen all the major churches and Cathedrals in Italy, and many of the lesser-knowns, too, and nothing comes anywhere close to this one! Each has it's own unique style, but this one was the most memorable for me! The interior tour was brilliantly executed and our tour guides made us feel like private guests getting a unique inside tour! I could go back every day and see something new! They cover different parts of the floor at different times, so one would need to go at different times to see it all.
2. Basilica di San Clemente in Santa Maria dei Servi
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 176 reviews
The Renaissance interior of this Basilica is beautiful, but some of its chilling displays of dead religious notables may give you nightmares, including a shrouded skeleton with a wax head and a mummified body.
Reviewed By tinaNtravel - San Jose, United States
I was surprised that for quite some time I was the only person in this huge Basilica. The church has huge vaulted ceilings large columns and paintings. The inside dome is pretty as is the altar. The interesting part of this Basilica are the remains of two saints: Francesco Patrizi and Gioacchino Piccolomini. Even without these relics the Basilica is worth a visit. Outside the entrance to the Basilica is a park area with benches where you can have a peaceful picnic lunch and let kids run around.
3. Cappella di Piazza
4. Cappella della Madonna del Rosario
5. Chiesa Di San Girolamo
6. Porta del Cielo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6 reviews
Reviewed By westy54 - Sydney, Australia
The Porta del Cielo is a tour inside the roof of the Duomo that allows you to look through openings high up in the walls of the Duomo and gain close-up views of the ceiling and wall decorations as well as the marble mosaic floor from an elevated height. You are also allowed to go briefly outside onto a walkway on the Duomo's roof that gives you views of the Torre del Mangia, Panorama dal Facciatone (also part of the Duomo) plus other parts of Siena. The tour is for small groups (there were about 15 to 20 in our group), is included in one of the combined tickets for the different Duomo sights and must be pre-booked for a specific time. The combined ticket that we purchased cost EUR 20-00 per person which, apart from the Porta del Cielo, also allowed entry to the Duomo, the Piccolomimi Library, the Musee dell'Opera, the Panorama dal Facciatone, the Crypt, the Bapistero and the Oratory of San Bernadino (which is a fair distance away from the Duomo complex but well worth a visit). The combined tickets are valid for one entry to each attraction over a three day period so we arrived at the ticket office early and booked a time that suited us to go up into the roof of the Duomo the following day. We were required to assemble 10 minutes before the time on your ticket at the stairway entrance to the roof which was on the right hand side just inside the main Duomo entrance. The ascent via the spiral staircase had just over 100 stairs. There were further stairs to climb once inside the roof but in total there were only 127 stairs both up and down as you descended via the same spiral staircase. The visit is guided for safety reasons but there was no commentary. Importantly at no stage do you go into the dome but you do effectively walk around the rectangular structure of the Cathedral and at a couple of points walk across narrow walkways high above the Cathedral's floor where you are clearly able to look down upon the proceedings below. I am not keen on heights but was not concerned at all by this. In the roof cavities there are also various displays of tools etc used in the construction of the Duomo as well as a board displaying all of the different types of marble that were used in its construction. Highly recommended if you have sufficient time.
7. Basilica Cateriniana Di S. Domenico
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 750 reviews
St. Catherine passed a large part of her life inside the walls of this stupendous Basilica, which was one of the first to be dedicated to St. Dominic. It was begun by the Dominicans in 1226 on the hill of Camporegio which they had received as a gift from the Malavolti family. Most of the actual rectangular nave and the inside roof with its tranverse beams, all in Gothic Cistercian style, go back to this epoch.
Reviewed By asiyahnoemik - Pula, Croatia
The first thing we see when we come to Siena is this beautiful Basilica. We are amazed by her beauty and grandeur. The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the most important churches in Siena. It contains a multitude of important frescoes and relics. Her history is more than interesting. Much of the mystical life of Saint Catherine took place within the walls of this beautiful Basilica, which was one of the first to be dedicated to St. Dominic.The Dominicans arrived in Siena in 1220, a year before the death of their founder Domenico di Guzmán. And they begin the construction of this Basilica in 1226 on the hill of Camporegio which they received as a gift from the Malavolti family. It was built in stages and completed in 1465, in Gothic style. The Church contains a magnificent Maestà by Guido da Siena (master to Duccio of Boninsegna) dating back to 1221. The old Chapter Room, the old Sacresty, the Refectory and the Dormitory were all built with the original Church and the Cloister was frescoed by Lippo Memmi and Lippo Vanni. In the first half of the fourteenth century the new Church (crypt and transept rest are from the old Church) was built on the steep side of Camporegio hill overlooking the district of Fontebranda where St. Catherine had been born. Catherine of Siena was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and the Catholic Church. When she began going to Church of St. Dominic the new edifice was already almost finished. Catherine of Siena is one of the outstanding figures of medieval Catholicism, by the strong influence she has had in the history of the papacy and her extensive authorship. She was behind the return of the Pope from Avignon to Rome, and then carried out many missions entrusted by the pope, something quite rare for a woman in the Middle Ages. Her Dialogue, hundreds of letters, and dozens of prayers, also give her a prominent place in the history of Italian literature. After the canonization of St. Catherine in 1461 the Basilica accepted the most precious Caterian codes and many relics (contains the head-relic of Saint Catherine). They are located in La cappella di Santa Caterina.
8. Basilica di San Francesco
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 428 reviews
Reviewed By E8526ZTrichardd - Wake Forest, United States
This is a Basilica not to be missed. In the lower church you will find the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi, in the upper church are frescos depicting the life of Francis.
