Palazzo Pubblico

The Palazzo Pubblico is Siena’s historic city hall on the Piazza del Campo, constructed beginning in the late 13th century as the seat of the republican government. It remains a principal civic monument and museum in Siena’s historic center.

The palace houses the Museo Civico with important fresco cycles, including Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s “Allegory of Good and Bad Government” (c. 1338-1340) in the Sala della Pace and works by Simone Martini. The palace exterior and the adjoining Torre del Mangia provide prominent city views and are central to public life around the Piazza del Campo.

Constructed in phases from the late 1200s, the building served the podestà and the governing councils of medieval Siena. The adjoining Torre del Mangia was raised in the 14th century as a civic tower and became an emblem of Siena’s communal identity.

The Palazzo Pubblico sits on the west side of Piazza del Campo in Siena’s historic center in Tuscany, facing the shell-shaped square where the city’s biannual Palio horse race takes place.

• Function and location: Built from the late 13th century as Siena's city hall and still fronts the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, the main civic square used for the Palio horse race.
• Artworks: Contains major medieval fresco cycles by Ambrogio Lorenzetti and Simone Martini that are key works of Italian Gothic painting and civic art.

What to See #

• Sala della Pace (Lorenzetti frescoes): Sala della Pace contains Ambrogio Lorenzetti's early 14th-century frescoes known as the "Allegory of Good and Bad Government," painted around 1338-1340 and celebrated for their civic and landscape imagery.
• Torre del Mangia: Torre del Mangia, the palace's tall civic tower, dates from the 14th century and is accessible to visitors who climb its stair to obtain panoramic views over Siena and the surrounding countryside.
• Museo Civico: Museo Civico occupies former government halls and displays civic treasures, frescoes by Simone Martini and other Sienese masters, and municipal archives.