by Laura Bonelli

The History and the architecture

Palazzo Sansedoni represents an important period in the artistic and architectural context of the city of Siena; it owes its existence to one of the most prestigious families of the mediaeval period. The events surrounding the architecture are notably complex. There are indications that the building was initially constructed in the mid 1200s, when the large tower was also erected; the tower was 62 metres high and was destroyed in 1760 because it was considered unsafe. The palazzo has two facades, one versus Via Banchi behind which exists the original project (1340) but was renovated in the 1600s in keeping with the tastes of the then current Piazza del Campo, and again in 1779 when it became one of the most representative expressions of gothic architecture during the baroque period that was of such importance in the development of the image of Siena.

The Sansedoni family

Ambrogio Sansedoni (Siena, 16 aprile 1220 - 20 marzo 1286) played a fundamental role in confirming the family within the social and political context of the city. It was this Domenican monk that convinced Pope Gregorio X to revoke the excommunication on the city and he was duly glorified in the art of the city in the following centuries. In the XVII century Rutilio Sansedoni, miraculously saved from illness, erected a chapel in his honour that is considered a jewel of the Baroque period and is the location for a mass celebrated on the anniversary of his death in the presence of the city’s officials; this practice still continues today.

The decoration

There are fine examples that illustrate the magnificence of the Medicea court, which at the time was linked to the Sansedoni family and can be recognised in the precious variegated marble and polychromes, the inlaid stones and the finely worked bronzes by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi and Giovan Battista Foggini. The decorations on the walls were commissioned to the greatest Florentine painters of the age: : Anton Domenico Gabbiani (1697), Francesco e Giuseppe Melani (1726) , Giovan Domenico Ferretti and Pietro Anderlini (1745) that created a collection of mythological and allegorical subjects of great effect. From 1996 the Palazzo has served as the seat of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation that has curated the latest fundamental restorations.