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Siena Cathedral
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Siena is one of the most beautiful cities in Tuscany. Surrounded by orchards, olive groves and vineyards, the city is going back into Italy's medieval past. According to historical documents discovered by archaeologists, the city was founded by the Romans in 30 AD. One of the most beautiful attractions here is the cathedral, or duomo.
With an impressive height, the cathedral attracts through the successful combination of marble both outside and inside. Architecture is a combination between Romanesque and Gothic style; predominant exterior colors are black and white, colors symbolic for the city. In some places there has been used pink marble as well, just to emphasize certain details.
Construction of the cathedral lasted nearly fifty years, between 1215 -1263, being built on the the ruins of another religious construction. The first who supervised and coordinated the works was the sculptor Agostino di Giovanni. Seen from above, the cathedral is shaped like a Roman cross, with an octagonal cupola. At the top of the dome, there is a sphere of copper, made in 1264 by Padellaio Rosso. In the second half of the XIVth century, there was the wish to extend it, but ten years later, for two reasons, the construction was halted. One reason was the epidemic that killed more than half of the population, and the second was that they found several errors in the architecture, which could not be put into practice (but with a difficult economic situation, plans could not be changed).
The façade was done in two stages. In 1288 the part that includes the circular stained-glass window was added. One can easily see the difference between the bottom, which is simple, decorated only with white and black horizontal-striped marble and the top, richly decorated with allegorical and religious scenes. The immense facade depicts sculptures of dozens of philosophers and apostles. Almost all the statues are copies, the originals being placed in the cathedral museum. The mosaics of the three gables are quite recent (1878) and were made in Venice, being plated with gold. The door panel is huge and depicts the Virgin Mary in several paintings.
Inside, the first thing that draws attention are the columns, very tall and slender , of marble, in alternating black and white stripes (the two colors symbolic for the city). Vaulted ceiling is decorated with blue and gold stars. Golden dome is also hexagonal and is built around a Golden Sun. Hundreds of statues decorate the opulent interior. The pulpit is carved in Carara marble by Nicola Pisano, helped by his son and a few disciples, and it is considered the most outstanding work of the sculptor. The pulpit is octagonal and has eight columns in granit. The seven statues at the top of the balcony suggest the idea of salvation.
The floor of the cathedral deserves special attention. Mosaic is made of marble from all over Italy, in various colors and textures and was made in XVIth century. With various shapes and sizes, the 56 marble rugs represent religious and mythological scenes. Most were made by a special technique: in marble there were scratched various models, which were then filled with resin. Others are black, white, green, blue and red .
Wheel of Fortune (Ruota della Fortuna), Wolf of Siena with the city emblem, the Four Virtues and the story of King David are just some of the paintings in marble on the floor.
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By Maria Morari
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In one of the most beautiful countries in the world, Italy, architectural masterpieces are not a rarity at all.
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