Santa Maria della Scala, Siena

Santa Maria della Scala in Siena is a large medieval hospital complex turned civic museum that sits directly opposite the cathedral on the Piazza del Duomo. It is one of Europe’s best-preserved hospital ensembles, with a wide range of medieval and Renaissance rooms, frescoes and functional spaces once used for care of pilgrims and the poor.

Highlight spaces include the Pellegrinaio - a large hall used historically to receive pilgrims - and several chapels and wards decorated with fresco cycles. Visitors can also access archaeological layers, storerooms and roof terraces with views across Siena.

The institution originated in the medieval period as a hospital serving pilgrims to Siena and expanded through the Middle Ages and Renaissance into a complex of chapels, wards and administrative spaces; in modern times it has been conserved and repurposed as a museum and cultural venue.

Santa Maria della Scala sits immediately west of the Siena Cathedral in the historic centre of Siena, within the compact medieval core of the city.

• Position and structure: The complex directly faces Siena Cathedral and includes multiple medieval halls, chapels and an archaeological component beneath the floors.

What to See #

• Pellegrinaio and hospital rooms: Pellegrinaio and main hospital rooms - large vaulted halls decorated with fresco cycles and formerly used to receive pilgrims and the sick.
• Archaeological areas and terraces: Archaeological area and terraces - underground archaeological remains and roof terraces offering views across the cathedral square and city.