SIEN'NA, a city of central Italy, 60 m. s. of Florence by railway. Pop. '72, 22,965. It is situated on three little hills, separated from each other by three valleys, and higher than the other hills surrounding them. Its climate is on this account very salubrious, notwithstanding the deficiency of water caused by its elevated position; to remedy which, subterranean aqueducts had been excavated, 5 m. in length, some of them dating as far back as the Roman dominion. Its environs are not beautiful, consisting of naked clay-hills, capped with sandstone, but the city is surrounded by trees and avenues, which have a fine effect. The handsome square, Piazza del Campo, is one of the finest in Italy. Eleven streets lead out of it, and it is surrounded by handsome buildings. In this square there is also the famous tower called the Mangia, of prodig ious height; there are also other towers here and there, seen from a great distance— remnants of the inhabitants of the feudal lords. The streets are narrow, some paved with tesselated bricks, and others flagged. There are many ancient Gothic palaces, not remarkably handsome. In the Piazza del Campo stands the Palazzo Pubblico, built in the 13th c., in which there are magnificent rooms, and paintings by eminent artists. Sienna has a fine cathedral, erected, it is said, on the foundations of the temple of 3linerva, begun in 1059; the facade built in the 13th century. It is faced with blank and white marble, and is covered with ornaments and sculptures. The pavement is of
marble tesselated,Tepresenting many biblical subjects. In the different chapels, and in the baptistery, there are frescoes, paintings, and statues, by a number of distinguished masters. The other churches are also rich in works of art. Of the many oratorios, the most noteworthy is that of St. Catharine (q.v.), occupying the house of the saint. Sienna is an archiepiscopal see. The Siennese are singularly industrious, and have numerous manufactories of cloth and woolen, silk and linen stuffs, of felt and straw hats, of wax and beet-sugar. There are marble quarries in the neighborhood. • There is a university, founded in 1330, famous especially as a school of medicine, which has upward of 100 students. The Italian spoken at Sienna is reckoned among the purest.
• Sienna was founded as a Roman colony in the time of Julius Ciesar, under the name of Sena, or Sena Julia. There are no remains of antiquity; and it does not appear to have been a place of any consequence until the middle ages, when it became one of the powerful city republics of Italy. It embraced the Ghibelline cause, and in conjunction with the forces of Pisa, defeated the Tuscan Guelfs, in the memorable battle of Monte Aperto (1260). At the height of its greatness it is said to -have contained 200,000 inhabitants. • Seina produced a "school" of artists, of whom the most distinguished names are Guido da Siena, Simone Memmi, Sodoma, Beccafumi, and Baldassare reruzzi.