SIENA, a city of Italy, and one of the most character-istic of Tuscany, stands (43° 19' N. lat., 11° 19' E. long.) on a hill near the mountainous region of Chianti, the Maremma, and Val di Chiana. It is 60 miles by rail south of Florence and 160 north-west of Rome. The area of the city within the walls is about 2|- square miles and its population in 1881 was 25,204. The province of Siena, comprising about 1467 square miles, with 37 com-munes, and a total population of 207,000, by the political redistribution of 1882 forms a single electoral college and returns four members to parliament. The diocese of Siena, an archbishopric dating from 1459, includes 18 city and 95 rural parishes divided into 12 vicariates. Public The city possesses a university, founded in 1203 and institu- limited to the faculties of law and medicine. Among the tions. other public institutions the following are the more im-portant :—the town library, first opened to students in the 17th century; the Archivio, a record office, instituted in 1858, containing a valuable and splendidly arranged col-lection of documents; the Fine Arts Institution, founded in 1816; and the natural history museum of the Royal Academy of the Physiocritics, inaugurated in the same year. There are also many flourishing charities, including an excellent hospital and a school for the deaf and dumb. Festivals. The public festivals of Siena known as the " Palio delle Contrade " have a European celebrity. They are held in the public square, the curious and historic Piazza del Campo (now Piazza di Vittorio Emanuele), on 2d July and 16th August of each year; they date from the Middle Ages and were instituted in commemoration of victories and in honour of the Virgin Mary (the old title of Siena, as shown by seals and medals, having been " Sena vetus civitas Virginis "). In the 15th and 16th centuries the celebrations consisted of bull-fights. At the close of the 16th century these were replaced by races with mounted buffaloes, and since 1650 by (ridden) horses. Siena is divided into seventeen contrade (wards), each with a dis-tinct appellation and a chapel and flag of its own ; and every year ten of these contrade, chosen by lot, send each one horse to compete for the prize pa^o or banner. The aspect of Siena during these meetings is very character-istic, and the whole festivity bears a mediaeval stamp in harmony with the architecture and history of the town.

Among the noblest fruits of Sienese art are the public build- Cathe-ings adorning the city. The cathedral, one of the finest examples of Italian Gothic architecture, was begun in the early years of the 13th century, and in 1317 its walls were extended to the baptistery of San Giovanni ; a further enlargement was begun in 1339 but never carried out, and a few ruined walls and arches alone remain to show the magnificence of the uncompleted design. The splendid west front, of tricuspidal form, enriched with a multitude of columns, statues, and inlaid marbles, was finished in 1380. Space

IMAGE: Plan of Siena.

fails for the enumeration of the art treasures of the interior, but conspicuous among them is the well-known octagonal pulpit by Niccolo Pisano, dating from about 1274. The cathedral pavement is almost unicpie. It is inlaid with designs in colour and black and white, representing Biblical and legendary subjects, and is supposed to have been begun by Duccio della Buoninsegna. But the finest portions beneath the domes, with scenes from the history of Abra-ham, Moses, and Elijah, are by Domenico Beccafumi and are exe-cuted with marvellous boldness and effect. The choir stalls also deserve mention : the older ones (remains of the original choir) are in tarsia work ; the others, dating from the 16th century, are carved from Riccio's designs. The Piccolomini Library, adjoining the duomo, was founded by Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini-Todeschini (afterwards Pius III.) in honour or his uncle, Pius II. Here are Pinturicchio's famous frescos of scenes from the life of the latter pontiff and the collection of choir books (supported on sculptured desks) with splendid illuminations by Sienese and other artists. The church of San Giovanni, the ancient baptistery, beneath the cathedral is approached by an outer flight of marble steps built in 1451. It has a beautiful facade designed by Giovanni di Mino del Pellicciaio in 1382, and a marvellous font with bas-reliefs by Dona-tello, Ghiberti, Giacomo della Quercia, and other 15th-century sculp-Churches. tors. The other churches are—the Collegiata di Provenzano, a vast building of some elegance, designed by Schifardini (1594) ; Sant' Agostino, rebuilt by Vanvitelli in 1755, containing a Cruci-fixion and Saints by Perugino, a Massacre of the Innocents by Matteo di Giovanni, the Coming of the Magi by Sodoma, and a St Antony by Spagnoletto or his school; the beautiful church of the Servites (15th century), wdiich contains another Massacre of the Innocents by Matteo di Giovanni and other good examples of the Sienese school; San Francesco, designed by Agostino and Agnolo about 1326, and now (1887) being restored, wdiich once possessed many fine paintings by Duccio Buoninsegna, Lorenzetti, Sodoma, and Beecafumi, but some of these perished in the great fire of 1655, and the rest were removed to the Institute of Fine Arts after 1862 during the temporary desecration of the church ; San Domenico, a fine 13th-century building with a single nave and transept, con-taining Sodoma's splendid fresco the Swoon of St Catherine, the Madonna of Guido da Siena, and a crucifix by Sano di Pietro. This church crowns the Fontebranda hill above the famous fountain of that name immortalized by Dante, and in a steep lane below stands the house of St Catherine, now converted into a church and oratory, and maintained at the expense of the inhabitants of the Contrada dell' Oca. It contains some good pictures by Pacchia and other works of art, but is chiefly visited for its historic interest and as a striking memorial of the characteristic piety of the Sienese. Munici- The communal palace in the Piazza del Campo was begun in palbuild- 1288 and finished in 1309. It is built of brick, is a fine specimen ings. of Pointed Gothic, and was designed by Agostino and Agnolo.

The light and elegant tower (Torre del Mangia) soaring from one side of the palace was begun in 1325, and the chapel standing at its foot, raised at the expense of the Opera del Duomo as a public thank-offering after the plague of 1348, dates from 1352. This grand old palace has other attractions besides the beauty of its architecture, for its interior is lined with works of art. The atrium has a fresco by Bartolo di Fredi and the two ground-floor halls contain a Coronation of the Virgin by Sano di Pietro and a splendid Resurrection by Sodoma. In the Sala dei Nove or della Pace above are the noble allegorical frescos of Ambrogio Lorenzetti re-presenting the effects of just and unjust government; the Sala delle Balestre or del Mappamondo is painted by Simone di Martino (Memmi) and others, the Cappella della Signoria by Taddeo di Bartolo, and the Sala del Concistorio by Beecafumi. Another hall is now being prepared in memory of Victor Emmanuel II., and its frescos and decorations are to be entrusted exclusively to Sienese artists. The former hall of the grand council, built in 1327, was converted into the chief theatre of Siena by Riccio in 1560, and, after being twice burnt, was rebuilt in 1753 from Bibbiena's designs. Another Sienese theatre, the Rozzi, in Piazza San Pellegrino, de-signed by A. Doveri and erected in 1816, although modern, has an historic interest as the work of an academy elating from the 16th century, called the Congrega do' Rozzi, that played an import-ant part in the history of the Italian comic stage. Palaces, The city is adorned by many other noble edifices both public &c. and private, of which we will mention the following palaces—the Tolomei (1205); Buonsignori, formerly Tegliacci, an elegant 14th-century construction, restored in 1848 ; Grottanelli, formerly Pecci and anciently the residence of the captain of war, recently restored in its original style; Sausedoni; Marsilii; Piccolomini, now be-longing to the Government and containing the state archives ; Piccolomini delle Papesse, like the other Piccolomini mansion, de-signed by Bernardo Rossellino, and now the national bank ; the enormous block of the Monte de' Paschi, enlarged and partly re-built in the original style between 1877 and 1881, and including the old Dogana and Spannocchi palaces ; the Loggia di Mercanzia (15th century), now a club ; the Loggia del Papa, erected by Pius II. ; and other fine buildings. We must also mention the two celebrated fountains, Fonte Gaia and Fontebranda ; the Fonte Nuova, near Porta Ovile, by Camaino di Crescentino also deserves notice. Thanks to all these architectural treasures, the narrow Sienese streets with their many windings and steep ascents are full of picturesque charm, and, together with the collections of excellent paintings, foster the local pride of the inhabitants and preserve their taste and feeling for art.

History.—The origin of Siena, like that of other Italian cities, is lost in a mist of legendary tradition. It was prob-ably founded by the Etruscans, and then falling under the Roman rule became a colony in the reign of Augustus, or a little earlier, and was distinguished by the name of Ssena Julia. Few memorials of the Roman era or of the first centuries of Christianity have been preserved, and none at all of the interval preceding the Lombard period. We have documentary evidence that during this epoch, in the reign of Rotaris (or Rotari), there was a bishop of Siena named Mouro. Attempts to trace earlier bishops as far back as the 5th century have yielded only vague and contradictory results. Under the Lombards the civil government was in the hands of a gastaldo, under the Carolingians of a count, whose authority, by slow degrees and a course of events similar to what took place in other Italian communes, gave way to that of the bishop, whose power in turn gradually diminished and was superseded by that of the consuls and the commonwealth.

We have written evidence of the consular government Struggle of Siena from 1125 to 1212; the number of consuls varied between from three to twelve. This government, formed of gentil- ^les uomini or nobles, did not remain unchanged throughout popolani, the whole period, but was gradually forced to accept the participation of the popolani or lower classes, whose efforts to rise to power were continuous and determined. Thus in 1137 they obtained a third part of the govern-ment by the reconstitution of the general council with 100 nobles and 50 popolani. In 1199 the institution of a foreign podestà gave a severe blow to the consular magistracy, which was soon extinguished; and in 1233 the people again rose against the nobles in the hope of ousting them entirely from office. The attempt was not completely successful ; but the Government wasnow equally divided between the two estates by the creation of a supreme magistracy of twenty-four citizens,—twelve nobles and twelve popolani. During the rule of the nobles and the mixed rule of nobles and popolani the commune of Siena was enlarged by fortunate acquisitions of neighbour-ing lands and by the submission of feudal lords, such as the Scialenghi, Aldobrandeschi, Pannocchieschi, Visconti di Campiglia, <fcc. Before long the reciprocal need of fresh territory and frontier disputes, especially concerning Poggi-bonsi and Montepulciano, led to an outbreak of hostilities between Florence and Siena. Thereupon, to spite the rival republic, the Sienese took the Ghibelline side, and the German emperors, beginning with Frederick Barbarossa, rewarded their fidelity by the grant of various privileges.





During the 12th and 13th centuries there were con-Warwith tinued disturbances, petty wars, and hasty reconciliations Florence, between Florence and Siena, until in 1254-55 a more binding peace and alliance was concluded. But this treaty, in spite of its apparent stability, led in a few years to a fiercer struggle ; for in 1258 the Florentines complained that Siena had infringed its terms by giving refuge to the Ghibellines they had expelled, and on the refusal of the Sienese to yield to these just remonstrances both states made extensive preparations for war. Siena applied to Manfred, obtained from him a strong body of German horse, under the command of Count Giordano, and likewise sought the aid of its Ghibelline allies. Florence equipped a powerful citizen army, of which the original registers are still preserved in the volume entitled II Libro di Mont-aperti in the Florence archives. This army, led by the podestà of Florence and twelve burgher captains, set forth' gaily on its march towards the enemy's territories in the middle of April 1260, and during its first campaign, ending 18th May, won an insignificant victory at Santa Petronilla, outside the walls of Siena. But in a second and more important campaign, in which the militia of the other Guelf towns of Tuscany took part, the Florentines were signally defeated at Montaperti on 4th September 1260. This defeat crushed the power of Florence for many years, reduced the city to desolation, and apparently annihilated


the Florentine Guelfe. But the battle of Benevento (1266) and the establishment of the dynasty of Charles of Anjou on the Neapolitan throne put an end to the Ghibelline predominance in Tuscany. Ghibelline Siena soon felt the effects of the change in the defeat of, its army at Colle di Valdelsa (1269) by the united forces of the Guelf exiles, Florentines, and French, and the death in that battle of her powerful citizen Frovenzano Salvani (mentioned by Dante), who had been the leading spirit of the Govern- ment at the time of the victory of Montaperti. For some time Siena remained faithful to the Ghibelline cause ; nevertheless Guelf and democratic sentiments began to make head. The Ghibellines were on several occasions expelled from the city, and, even when a temporary recon- ciliation of the two parties allowed them to return, they failed to regain their former influence.

Success of popular party. Meanwhile the popular party acquired increasing power in the state. Exasperated by the tyranny of the Salimbeni and other patrician families allied to the Ghibellines, it decreed in 1277 the exclusion of all nobles from the supreme magistracy (consisting since 1270 of thirty-six instead of twenty-four members), and insisted that this council should be formed solely of Guelf traders and men of the middle class. This constitution was confirmed in 1280 by the reduction of the supreme magistracy to fifteen members, all of the humbler classes, and was definitively sanctioned in 1285 (and 1287) by the institution of the Council magistracy of nine. This council of nine, composed only of nine, of burghers, carried on the government for about seventy years, and its rule was sagacious and peaceful. The terri- tories of the state were enlarged ; a friendly alliance was maintained with Florence; trade flourished; in 1321 the university was founded, or rather revived, by the introduc- tion of Bolognese scholars ; the principal buildings now adorning the town were begun ; and the charitable institu- tions, which are the pride of modern Siena, increased and prospered. But meanwhile the exclusiveness of the single class of citizens from whose ranks the chief magistrates were drawn had converted the government into a close oligarchy and excited the hatred of every other class. Nobles, judges, notaries, and populace rose in frequent revolt, while the nine defended their state (1295-1309) by a strong body of citizen militia divided into terzieri (sec- tions) and contracte (wards), and violently repressed these attempts. But in 1355 the arrival of Charles IV. in Siena gave fresh courage to the malcontents, who, backed by the imperial authority, overthrew the government of the nine and substituted a magistracy of twelve drawn from the lowest class. These new rulers w^ere to some extent under the influence of the nobles who had fomented the rebellion, but the latter were again soon excluded from all share in the government. This was the beginning of a determined struggle for supremacy, carried on for many years, between the different classes of citizens, locally termed orclini or monti,—the lower classes striving to grasp the reins of government, the higher classes already in office striving to keep all power in their own hands, or to divide it in proportion to the relative strength of each monte. As this struggle is of too complex a nature to be described in detail, we must limit ourselves to a summary of its leading episodes.

Rule of the twelve.The twelve who replaced the council of nine (as these had previously replaced the council of the nobles) consisted —both as individuals and as a party—of ignorant, incap-able, turbulent men, who could neither rule the state with firmness nor confer prosperity on the republic. They speedily broke with the nobles, for whose manœuvres they had at first been useful tools, and then split into two fac-tions, one siding with the Tolomei, the other, the more restless and violent, with the Salimbeni and the noveschi (partisans of the nine), who, having still some influence in the city, probably fomented these dissensions, and, as we shall see later on, skilfully availed themselves of every chance likely to restore them to power. In 1368 the adversaries of the twelve succeeded in driving them by force from the public palace, and substituting a govern-ment of thirteen,—ten nobles and three noveschi. This government lasted only twenty-two days, from 2d to 24th September, and was easily overturned by the dominant faction of the dodicini (partisans of the twelve), aided by the Salimbeni and the populace, and favoured by the emperor Charles IV. The nobles were worsted, being driven from the city as well as from power; but the abso-lute rule of the twelve was brought to an end, and right of participation in the government was extended to an-other class of citizens. For, on the expulsion of the thirteen from the palace, a council of 124 plebeians created a new magistracy of twelve difensori (defenders), no longer drawn exclusively from the order of the twelve, but com-posed of five of the popolo minuto, or lowest populace (now first admitted to the government), four of the twelve, and three of the nine. But it was of short duration, for the dodicini were ill satisfied with their share, and in Decem-ber of the same year (1368) joined with the popolo minnto in an attempt to expel the three noveschi from the palace. But the new popular order, which had already asserted its predominance in the council of the riformatori, now drove out the dodicini, and for five days (11th to 16th December) kept the government in its own hands. Then, however, moved by fear of the emperor, who had passed through Siena two months before on his way to Borne, and who was about to halt there on his return, it tried to conciliate its foes by creating a fresh council of 150 riformatori, who Riforma-replaced the twelve defenders by a new supreme magistracytori and of fifteen, consisting of eight popolani, four dodicini, and QJ1^^ three noveschi, entitled respectively "people of the greater number," "people of the middle number," and "people of the less number." From this renewal dates the formation of the new order or monte dei riformatori, the title henceforth bestowed on all citizens, of both the less and the greater people, who had reformed the government and begun to participate in it in 1368. The turbulent faction of the twelve and the Salimbeni, being dissatisfied with these changes, speedily rose against the new Govern-ment. This time they were actively aided by Charles IV., who, having returned from Borne, sent his militia, commanded by the imperial vicar Malatesta da Bimini, to attack the public palace. But the Sienese people, being called to arms by the council of fifteen, made a most determined resistance, routed the imperial troops, captured the standard, and confined the emperor in the Salimbeni palace. Thereupon Charles came to terms with the Government, granted it an imperial patent, and left the city, consoled for his humiliation by the gift of a large sum of money.

In spite of its wide basis and great energy, the monte dei riformatori, the heart of the new Government, could not satisfactorily cope with the attacks of adverse factions and treacherous allies. So, the better to repress them, it created in 1369 a chief of the police, with the title of esecutore, and a numerous association of popolani—the company or casata grande of the people—as bulwarks against the nobles, who had been recalled from banishment, and who, though fettered by strict regulations, were now eligible for offices of the state. But the appetite for power of the " less people " and the dregs of the populace was whetted rather than satisfied by the installation of the riformatori in the principal posts of authority. Among the wool-carders—men of the lowest class, dwelling in the precipitous lanes about the Porta Ovile—there was an association styling itself the "company of the worm." During the famine of 1371 this company rose in revolt, sacked the houses of the rich, invaded the public palace, drove from the council of fifteen the four members of the twelve and the three of the nine, and replaced them by seven tatterdemalions. Then, having withdrawn to its own quarter, it was suddenly attacked by the infuriated citizens (noveschi and dodicini), who broke into houses and workshops and put numbers of the inhabitants to the sword without regard for age or sex. Thereupon the popular rulers avenged these misdeeds by many summary execu-tions in the piazza. These disorders were only checked by fresh changes in the council of fifteen. It was now formed of twelve of the greater people and three noveschi, to the total exclusion of the dodicini, who, on account of their growing turbulence, were likewise banished from the city.
the ten priors.

Contention for _____ Meanwhile the Government had also to contend with difficulties outside the walls. The neighbouring lords Arezzo. stacked and ravaged the municipal territories; grave injuries were inflicted by the mercenary bands, especially by the Bretons and Gascons. The rival claims to the Neapolitan kingdom of Carlo di Durazzo and Louis of Anjou caused fresh disturbances in Tuscany. The Sienese Government conceived hopes of gaining possession of the city of Arezzo, which was first occupied by Durazzo's men, and then by Enguerrand de Coucy for Louis of Anjou; but while the Sienese were nourishing dreams of conquest the French general unexpectedly sold the city to the Florentines, whose negotiations had been conducted with marvellous ability and despatch (1384). The gather-ing exasperation of the Sienese, and notably of the middle class, against their rulers was brought to a climax by this cruel disappointment. Their discontent had been gradually swelled by various acts of home and foreign policy during the sixteen years' rule of the riformatori, nor had the concessions granted to the partisans of the twelve and the latter's recall and renewed eligibility to office availed to conciliate them. At last the revolt broke out and gained the upper hand, in March 1385. The riformatori were ousted from power and expelled the city, and the trade of Siena suffered no little injury by the exile Magis- of so many artisan families. The fifteen were replaced by tracy of a new gUpreme magistracy of ten priors, chosen in the following proportions,—four of the twelve, four of the nine, and two of the people proper, or people of the greater number, but to the exclusion of all who had shared in the government or sat in council under the riformatori. Thus began a new order or monte del popolo, composed of families of the same class as the riformatori, but having had no part in the government during the latter's rule. But, though now admitted to power through the burgher reaction, as a concession to democratic ideas, and to cause a split among the greater people, they enjoyed very limited privileges. Subjeo- In 1387 fresh quarrels with Florence on the subject of toon to Montepulciano led to an open war, that was further aggra-vated by the interference in Tuscan affairs of the ambitious duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti. With him the Sienese concluded an alliance in 1389 and ten years later accepted his suzerainty and resigned the liberties of their state. But in 1402 the death of Gian Galeazzo lightened their yoke. In that year the first plot against the Vis-contian rule, hatched by the twelve and the Salimbeni and fomented by the Florentines, was violently repressed, and caused the twelve to be again driven from office; but in the following year a special halla, created in consequence of that riot, annulled the ducal suzerainty and restored the liberties of Siena. During the interval the supreme magis-tracy had assumed a more popular form. By the partial readmission of the riformatori and exclusion of the twelve, the permanent baña was now composed of nine priors (three of the nine, three of the people, and three of the riformatori) and of a captain of the people to be chosen from each of the three monti in turn. On 11th April peace was made with the Florentines and Siena enjoyed several years of tranquil prosperity.

But the great Western schism then agitating the Chris- Quarrels tian world again brought disturbance to Siena. In con-witn sequence of the decisions of the council of Bisa, Florence and Siena had declared against Gregory XII. (1409); Ladislaus of Naples, therefore, as a supporter of the pope, seized the opportunity to make incursions on Sienese terri-tory, laying it waste and threatening the city. The Sienese maintained a vigorous resistance till the death of this monarch in 1414 freed them from his attacks. In 1431 a fresh war with Florence broke out, caused by the latter's attempt upon Lucca, and continued in consequence of the Florentines' alliance with Venice and Pope Eugenius IV., and that of the Sienese with the duke of Milan and Sigis-mund, king of the Bomans. This monarch halted at Siena on his way to Borne to be crowned, and received a most princely welcome. In 1433 the opposing leagues signed a treaty of peace, and, although it was disadvantageous to the Sienese and temptations to break it were frequently urged upon them, they faithfully adhered to its terms. During this period of comparative tranquillity Siena was honoured by the visit of Pope Eugenius IV. (1443) and by that of the emperor Frederick III., who came there to re-ceive his bride, Eleanor of Portugal, from the hands of Bishop iEneas Sylvius Piccolomini, his secretary and his-torian (1452). This meeting is recorded by the memorial column still to be seen outside the Camollia gate. In 1453 hostilities against Florence were again resumed, on account of the invasions and ravages of Sienese territory committed by Florentine troops in their conflicts with Alphonso of Naples, who since 1447 had made Tuscany his battle-ground. Peace was once more patched up with Florence in 1454. Siena was next at war for several years with Aldobrandino Orsini, count of Pitigliano, and with Jacopo Piccinini, and suffered many disasters from the treachery of its generals. About the same time the republic was exposed to still graver danger by the con-spiracy of some of its leading citizens to seize the reins of power and place the city under the suzerainty of Alphonso, as it had once been under that of the duke of Milan. But the plot came to light; its chief ringleaders were beheaded, and many others sent into exile (1456); and the death of Alphonso at last ended all danger from that source. During those critical times the government of the state was strengthened by a new executive magistracy called the baña, which from 1455 began to act independ-Institu-ently of the priors or consistory. Until then it had been ti°n of _ merely a provisional committee annexed to the latter. Butthe balia" henceforward the baña had supreme jurisdiction in all affairs of the state, although always, down to the fall of the republic, nominally preserving the character of a magis-tracy extraordinary. The election of .¿Eneas Sylvius Pic-colomini to the papal chair in 1458 caused the utmost joy to the Sienese; and in compliment to their illustrious fellow-citizen they granted the request of the nobles and readmitted them to a share in the government. But this concession, grudgingly made, only remained in force for a few years, and on the death of the pope (1464) was re-voked altogether, save in the case of members of the Piccolomini house, who were decreed to be popolani and were allowed to retain all their privileges. Meanwhile fresh discords were brewing among the plebeians at the head of affairs.





Revolution of 1480. The conspiracy of the Pazzi in 1478 led to a war in which Florence and Milan were opposed to the pope and the king of Naples, and which was put an end to by the peace of 13th March 1480. Thereupon Alphonso, duke of Calabria, who was fighting in Tuscany on the side of his father Ferdinand, came to an agreement with Siena and, in the same way as his grandfather Alphonso, tried to obtain the lordship of the city and the recall of the exiled rebels of 1456. The noveschi (to whose order most of the rebels belonged) favoured his pretensions, but the riformatori were against him. Many of the people sided with the noveschi, rose in revolt on 22d June 1480, and, aided by the duke's soldiery, reorganized the government to their own advantage. Dividing the power between their two orders of the nine and the people, they excluded the riformatori and replaced them by a new and heterogeneous order styled the aggregati, composed of nobles, exiles of 1456, and citizens of other orders who had never before been in office. But this violent and perilous upset of the internal liberties of the republic did not last long. A decree issued by the Neapolitan king (1482) depriving the Sienese of certain territories in favour of Florence entirely alienated their affections from that monarch. Meanwhile the monte of the nine, the chief promoters of the revolution of 1480, were exposed to the growing hatred and envy of their former allies, the monte del popolo, who, conscious of their superior strength and numbers, now sought to crush the noveschi and rise to power in their stead. This change of affairs was accomplished by a series of riots between 7th June 1482 and 20th February 1483. The monte del popolo seized the lion's share of the government; the riformatori were recalled, the aggregati abolished, and the noveschi condemned to perpetual banish-ment from the government and the city. But " in per-petuo" was an empty form of words in those turbulent Italian republics. The noveschi, being " fat burghers" with powerful connexions, abilities, and traditions, gained increased strength and influence in exile; and five years later, on 22d July 1487, they returned triumphantly to Siena, dispersed the few adherents of the popolo who offered resistance, murdered the captain of the people, reorganized the state, and placed it under the protection of the Virgin Mary. And, their own predominance being assured by their numerical strength and influence, they accorded equal shares of power to the other monti. Pandolfo Among the returned exiles was Bandolfo Betrucci, chief Petrucci. 0f the noveschi and soon to be at the head of the Govern-ment. During the domination of this man (who, like Lor-enzo de' Medici, was surnamed " the Magnificent") Siena enjoyed many years of splendour and prosperity. We use the term "domination" rather than "signory" inasmuch as, strictly speaking, Petrucci was never lord of the state, and left its established form of government intact; but he exercised despotic authority in virtue of his strength of character and the continued increase of his personal power. He based his foreign policy on alliance with Florence and France, and directed the internal affairs of the state by means of the council (collegio) of the balia, which, although occasionally reorganized for the purpose of conciliating rival factions, was always subject to his will. He like-wise added to his power by assuming the captainship of the city guard (1495), and later by the purchase from the impoverished commune of several outlying castles (1507). Nor did he shrink from deeds of bloodshed and revenge: the assassination of his father-in-law, Niccolo Borghesi (1500), is an indelible blot upon his name. He successfully withstood all opposition within the state, until he was at last worsted in his struggle with Cesare Borgia, who caused his expulsion from Siena in 1502. But through the friendly mediation of the Florentines and the French king he was recalled from banishment on 29th March 1503. He maintained his power until his death at the age of sixty on 21st May 1512, and was interred with princely ceremonials at the public expense. The predomi-nance of his family in Siena did not last long after his decease. Bandolfo had not the qualities required to found a dynasty such as that of the Medici. He lacked the lofty intellect of a Cosimo or a Lorenzo, and the atmosphere of liberty-loving Siena with its ever-changing factions was in no way suited to his purpose. His eldest son, Borghese Petrucci, was incapable, haughty, and exceed-. ingly corrupt; he only remained three years at the head of affairs and fled ignominiously in 1515. Through the favour of Leo X. he was succeeded by his cousin Baffaello Betrucci, previously governor of St Angelo and afterwards a cardinal.

This Petrucci was a bitter enemy to Pandolfo's children. He caused Borghese and a younger son named Fabio to be proclaimed as rebels, while a third son, Cardinal Alphonso, was strangled by order of Leo X. in 1518. He was a tyrannical ruler, and died suddenlyinl 522. In the following year Clement VII. insisted on the recall of Fabio Petrucci; but two years later a fresh popular outbreak drove him from Siena for ever. The city then placed itself under Under the protection of the emperor Charles V., created a magis- the pro-tracy of "ten conservators of the liberties of the state " ^'g™0 (December 1524), united the different 'monti in one named peror the "monte of the reigning nobles," and, rejoicing to be rid of the last of the Petrucci, dated their public books, ab instaurata libértate year I., II., and so on.

The so-called free government subject to the empire lasted for twenty-seven years; and the desired protection of Spain weighed more and more heavily until it became a tyranny. The imperial legates and the captains of the Spanish guard in Siena crushed both Government and people by continual extortions and by undue interference with the functions of the balia. Charles V. passed through Siena in 1535, and, as in all the other cities of enslaved Italy, was received with the greatest pomp; but he left neither peace nor liberty behind him. From 1527 to 1545 the city was torn by faction fights and violent revolts against the noveschi, and was the scene of frequent bloodshed. The balia was reconstituted several times by the imperial agents,—in 1530 by Don Lopez di Soria and Alphonso Piccolomini, duke of Amalfi, in 1540 by Granvella (or Granvelle), and in 1548 by Don Diego di Mendoza; but government was carried on as badly as before, and there was increased hatred of the Spanish rule. When in 1549 Don Diego announced the emperor's purpose of erecting a fortress in Siena to keep the citizens in order, the general hatred found vent in indignant remonstrance. The his-torian Orlando Malavolti and other special envoys were sent to the emperor in 1550 with a petition signed by more than a thousand citizens praying him to spare them so terrible a danger; but their mission failed : they re-turned unheard. Meanwhile Don Diego had laid the foundation of the citadel and was carrying on the work with activity. Thereupon certain Sienese citizens in Borne, headed by iEneas Piccolomini (a kinsman of Pius II.), entered into negotiations with the agents of the French king and, having with their help collected men and money, marched on Siena and forced their way in by the new gate (now Porta Bomana) on 26th July 1552. The towns-people, encouraged and reinforced by this aid from without, at once rose in revolt, and, attacking the Spanish troops, disarmed them and drove them to take refuge in the I citadel (28th July). And finally by an agreement with Cosimo de' Medici, duke of Florence, the Spaniards were sent away on the 5th August 1552 and the Sienese took possession of their fortress. Contest The Government was now reconstituted under the pro-between tection of the French agents; the halla was abolished, its and™ very name having been rendered odious by the tyranny France °f Spain, and was replaced by a similar magistracy styled for Siena, capitani del popólo e reggimento. Siena exulted in her recovered freedom; but her sunshine was soon clouded. First, the emperor's wrath was stirred by the influence of France in the counsels of the republic; then Cosimo, who was no less jealous of the French, conceived the design of annexing Siena to his own dominions. The first hostilities of the imperial forces in Val di Chiana (1552-53) did little damage; but when Cosimo took the field with an army commanded by the marquis of Marignano the ruin of Siena was at hand. On 26th January Marignano cap-tured the forts of Porta Camollia (which the whole popu-lation of Siena, including the women, had helped to con-struct) and invested the city. On 2d August of the same year, at Marciano in Val di Chiana, he won a complete victory over the Sienese and French troops under Piero Strozzi, the Florentine exile and marshal of France. Meanwhile Siena was vigorously besieged, and its inhabit-ants, sacrificing everything for their beloved city, main-tained a most heroic defence. A glorious record of their sufferings is to be found in the Diary of Sozzini, the Sienese historian, and in the Commentaries of Blaise de Monluc, the French representative in Siena. But in April 1555 the town was reduced to extremity and was forced to capitulate to the emperor and the duke. On 21st April the Spanish troops entered the gates; thereupon many patriots abandoned the city and, taking refuge at Montalcino, maintained there a shadowy form of republic until 1559.

Incorporation ____ Cosimo I. de' Medici being granted the investiture of the Sienese state by the patent of Philip II. of Spain, dated 3d July 1557, took formal possession of the city Tuscany. on the 19th of the same month. A lieutenant-general was appointed as representative of his authority; the council of the baila was reconstituted with twenty members chosen by the duke; the consistory and the general council were left in existence but deprived of their political autonomy. Thus Siena was annexed to the Florentine state under the same ruler and became an integral part of the grand-duchy of Tuscany. Nevertheless it retained a separate administration for more than two centuries, until the general reforms of the grand-duke Pietro Leo-poldo, the French domination, and finally the restoration swept away all differences between the Sienese and Floren-tine systems of government. In 1859 Siena was the first Tuscan city that voted for annexation to Piedmont and the monarchy of Victor Emmanuel II., this decision (voted 26th June) being the initial step towards the unity of Italy.

Literary History.—The literary history of Siena, while recording no gifts to the world equal to those bequeathed by Florence, and without the power and originality by which the latter became the centre of Italian culture, can nevertheless boast of some illustrious names. Of these a brief summary, beginning with the department of general literature and passing on to history and science, is sub-joined. Many of them are also dealt with in separate articles, to which the reader is referred. Literary As early as the 13th century the vulgar tongue was already well history, established at Siena, being used in public documents, commercial records, and private correspondence. The poets flourishing at that period were Folcacchiero, Ceceo Angiolieri—a humorist of a very high order — and Bindo Bonichi, who belonged also to the fol-lowing century. The chief glory of the 14th century was St Catherine Benincasa. The year of her death (1380) was that of the birth of St Bernardino Albizzeschi, a popular preacher whose sermons in the vulgar tongue are models of style and diction. To the 15th century belongs .Eneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pius II.), humanist, historian, and political writer. In the 16th century we find another Piccolomini (Alexander), bishop of Patras, author of a curious dialogue, Leila bella Creanza delle Donne; another bishop, Claudio Tolomei, diplomatist, poet, and philologist, who revived the use of ancient Latin metres; and Luca Contile, a writer of nar-ratives, plays, and poems. Prose fiction had two representatives in this century,—Scipione Bargagli, a writer of some merit, and Pietro Fortini, whose productions were trivial and indecent. In the 17th century we find Ludovico Sergardi (Quinto Settano), a Latinist and satirical writer of much talent and culture ; but the most original and brilliant figure in Sienese literature is that of Girolamo Gigli (1660-1722), author of the Gazzettino, La Sorellina di Don Pilone, II Vocabolario Cateriniano, and the Diario Ecclesi-astico. As humorist, scholar, and philologist Gigli would take a high place in the literature of any land. His resolute opposition to all hypocrisy—wdiether religious or literary—exposed him to merciless persecution from the Jesuits and the Delia Cruscan Academy.

In the domain of history we have first the old Sienese chronicles, His-which down to the 14th century are so confused that it is almost torians. impossible to disentangle truth from fiction or even to decide the personality of the various authors. Three 14th-century chronicles, attributed to Andrea Dei, Agnolo di Tura, called II Grasso, and jSTeri di Donati, are published in Muratori, vol. xv. To the 15th century belongs the chronicle of Allegretto Allegretti, also in Muratori (vol. xxiii.); and during the same period flourished Sigis-mondo Tizio (a priest of Siena, though born at Castiglione Aretino), whose voluminous history written in Latin and never printed (now among the MSS. of the Chigi Library in Pome), though de-void of literary merit, contains much valuable material. The best Sienese historians belong to the 16th century. They are Orlando Malavolti (1515-1596), a man of noble birth, the most trustworthy of all; Antonio Bellarmati; Alessandro Sozzini di Girolamo, the sympathetic author of the Diario dell' ultima Guerra Senese : and Giugurta Tommasi, of whose tedious history ten books, down to 1354, have been published, the rest being still in manuscript. Together with these historians we must mention the learned scholars Celso Cittadini (d. 1627), Ulberto Benvoglienti (d. 1733), one of Muratori's correspondents, and Gio. Antonio Picci (d. 1768), author of histories of Pandolfo Petrucci and the bishopric of Siena. In the same category may be classed the librarian C. F. Carpellini (d. 1872), author of several monographs on the origin of Siena and the constitution of the republic, and Scipione Borghesi (d. 1877), who has left a precious store of historical, biographical, and biblio-graphical studies and documents.

In theology and philosophy the most distinguished names are— Scientific Bernardino Ochino and Lelio and Fausto Soccini (16th century); writers, in jurisprudence, three Soccini — Mariano senior, Bartolommeo, and Mariano junior (15th and 16th centuries); and in political economy, Sallustio Bandini (1677-1760), author of the Discorso sulla Maremma. In physical science the names most worthy of mention are those of the botanist Pier Antonio Mattioli (1501-1572), of Pirro Maria Gabrielli (1643-1705), founder of the academy of the Physiocritics, and of the anatomist Paolo Mascagni (d. 1825).

Art.—The history of Sienese art is a fair and luminous record. Painters. Lanzi happily designates Sienese painting as '' Lieta scuola fra lieto popolo " ("the blithe school of a blithe people"). The special characteristics of its masters are freshness of colour, vivacity of ex-pression, and distinct originality. The Sienese school of painting owes its origin to the influence of Byzantine art; but it improved that art, impressed it with a special stamp, and was for long inde-pendent of all other influences. Consequently Sienese art seemed almost stationary amid the general progress and development of the other Italian schools, and preserved its mediaeval character down to the end of the 15th century. When the Florentine Giot-tesques and their few followers were on the wane, this mystic Sieuese school still showed continued fertility and improvement At the close of the loth century the influence of the Umbrian and—to a slighter degree—of the Florentine schools began to penetrate into Siena, followed a little later by that of the Lombard, and these grafts gave fresh vigour to the old stock without destroying its special characteristics. Of this new phase of Sienese art it has been well said that Sodoma was its Leonardo, Baldassare Peruzzi its Raphael, and Beccafumi its Michelangelo. In every age *' Siena has produced many painters of different degrees of merit. It is impossible to mention all, so we will only cite the names of the more celebrated. In the 13th century we find Guido (da Siena), painter of the well-known Madonna in the church of S. Domenico in Siena. The 14th century gives us Ugolino, who painted the Madonna del Tabernacolo in Or San Michele, Florence ; Duceio di Buoninsegna, whose chief wTork is the great panel of the high altar of the cathedral at Siena; Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Simone di Martino (or Memmi), Lippo Memmi, Andrea di Vanni (painter and statesman), and Taddeo di Bartolo. In the 15th century we have Sano di Pietro, Giovanni di Paolo, Stefano di Giovanni (II Sassetta), and Matteo di Giovanni Bartoli, whose several paintings of the Massacre of the Innocents show a fine sentiment and much observation of reality. The 16th century boasts the names of Guidoccio Cossarelli, Giacomo Pacchiarotto, Girolamo del Pacchia, Baldassare Peruzzi (1481-1537), who was excellent in many branches of art and especially celebrated for his frescos and studies in perspective and chiaroscuro; Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, otherwise known as II Sodoma (1477-1549), who, born at Vercelli in Piedmont and trained at Milan in the school of Leonardo da Vinci, came to Siena in 1504 and there produced his finest works ; Domenico Beccafumi, otherwise known as Micharino (1486-1550), noted for the Michel-angelesque daring of his designs ; and Francesco Vanni. Sculptors Side by side with these painters marches a notable band of andarchi- sculptors and architects, such as Lorenzo Maitani, architect of the tects. Orvieto cathedral (end of 13th century) ; Camaino di Creseentino ; Tino di Camaino, sculptor of the monument to Henry VII. in the Campo Santo of Pisa; Agostino and Agnolo, wdio in 1330 carved the fine tomb of Bishop Guido Tarlati in the cathedral of Arezzo ; Lando di Pietro (14th century), architect, entrusted by the Sienese commune with the proposed enlargement of the cathedral (1339); Giacomo della Quercia, whose lovely fountain, the Fonte Gaia, in the Piazza del Campo has been recently restored by the sculptor Sarrocchi; Lorenzo di Pietro (II Vecchietta), a pupil of Delia Quercia and an excellent artist in marble and bronze ; Francesco di Giorgio Martino (1439-1502), painter, sculptor, military engineer, and writer on art; Giacomo Cozzarelli (15th century); and Lorenzo Mariano, surnamed II Marrina (16th century). (C. PA.)



The above article was written by: Prof. Cesare Paoli, Florence.