Beyond the Palio: urbanism and ritual in Renaissance Siena
1. Introduction: Beyond the Palio: Urbanism and Ritual in Renaissance Siena: Philippa Jackson and Fabrizio Nevola. 2. 'Sotto uno Baldachino Trionfale': the Ritual Significance of the Painted Canopy in Simone Martini's Maesta: Diana Norman. 3. Enter the Emperor: Charles IV and Siena between Politics, Diplomacy and Ritual (1355 and 1368): Gerrit Schenk. 4. Altars on the Street: The Arte della Lana, the Carmelites and the Feast of Corpus Domini in Siena 1356-1456: Machtelt Israels. 5. Ritual Geography: Housing the Papal Court of Pius II Piccolomini in Siena (1459-60): Fabrizio Nevola. 6. Peace-making Rituals in Fifteenth-Century Siena: Christine Shaw. 7. Pomp or Piety? The Funeral of Pandolfo Petrucci: Philippa Jackson. 8. The Rise of the New Civic Ritual of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin in 16th Century Siena: Mauro Mussolin.
New Documents for Sassetta and Sano di Pietro at the Porta Romana, Siena
The history of the Coronation of the Virgin fresco on the Porta Romana in Siena (Fig. 1) is well known and well documented. In 1416 the city council asked Taddeo di Bartolo to paint a representation of the Madonna on the gate, but he seems not to have embarked on the commission by the time of his death in 1422. New life was breathed into the enterprise in 1442, and in 1447 Sassetta began the work. By the time he died in 1450, he had executed the angel choirs in the vault and had completed the design for the rest of the composition. His place was taken in 1459 by Sano di Pietro, who finished the Coronation of the Virgin almost a decade later. Over subsequent centuries the fresco was much damaged by exposure to the elements and finally by allied bombing in 1944; it has been restored several times.' Only the angels in the vault are fairly well preserved, while the Coronation itself has almost disappeared. In the 1970s the much-damaged fresco was detached and placed on the inner facade of the church of S. Francesco. On that occasion the technique was studied closely: traces of spolvero were found in the angel choirs in the vault, while sinopie were exposed under the Coronation (Figs.2 and 6). The purpose of this article is to publish some new documents (see the Appendix below), which expand our knowledge of the genesis of the fresco and its makers and provide fascinating information about the early use of cartoons.
La rete stradale del contado di Siena. Legislazione statutaria e amministrazione comunale nel Duecento
Thomas Szaro, La rete stradale del contado di Siena. Legislazione statutaria e amministrazione comunale nel Duecento, pp. 141-186. ; ; Nel XIII secolo, Siena fece notevoli sforzi organizzativi per assicurare la manutenzione della rete stradale nel proprio territorio. Gli Statuti ci mostrano corne il Comune, con ripetuti riassetti delle magistrature viarie che alla fine fece confluire in un unico ufficio, garantisse i lavori alle strade ed ai ponti e provvedesse al loro finanziamento. — Alla ricerca e allegata una carta con la rete delie strade piu importanti alle quali provvedeva il Comune.