Description
Palazzo Chigi-Saracini is one of the most prestigious noble palaces in Siena, on Via di Città, with a Gothic facade that follows the curve of the street. Inside, music is studied at the highest level and a collection of Sienese art from the 13th to the 20th century is kept.
The Accademia Musicale Chigiana has been based here since 1932, founded by Count Guido Chigi Saracini: since 1958 it has been a foundation and a school of advanced musical training. The Salone dei Concerti, from 1922, has a sober 18th-century taste and a vault fresco by Arturo Viligiardi.
The Chigi-Saracini gallery gathers important Sienese works: a Madonna by the Master of Tressa, the Adoration of the Magi and fragments of a Painted Cross by Sassetta, a polyptych by Sano di Pietro, panels by Sodoma and his school, and Beccafumi's Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine.
Among the sculptures is a terracotta sketch of the Saint Jerome by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the Cappella del Voto in the Duomo. Among the non-Sienese works, a tondo from Botticelli's school and two self-portraits by Salvator Rosa stand out.
In the entrance hall is the statue of Pope Julius III, by Fulvio Signorini (1609); the courtyard has a portico on one side, with vaults decorated with grotesques by Giorgio di Giovanni. In the outer loggia, Raphael-style decorations remain.
The palace has a long history of families. The oldest core, from the 12th century, belonged to the Marescotti, a Ghibelline family, and for this reason it is also called Palazzo Marescotti. By swallowing up the neighboring houses, it had already reached its present size in the first half of the 14th century.
Between the 13th and 14th centuries it also housed the council of the Reggitori of the Republic. In the 16th century it was bought by the Piccolomini del Mandolo, who gave it a Renaissance look.
After 1770 the Saracini lengthened the facade by adding triple-light windows as far as Vicolo di Tone, carefully keeping the 14th-century style.
In 1877, by the will of Alessandro Saracini, the palace passed to Fabio Chigi, who took the surname Chigi Saracini and left it to his nephew Guido. The family lived there until 1965.
The Accademia Musicale Chigiana has been based here since 1932, founded by Count Guido Chigi Saracini: since 1958 it has been a foundation and a school of advanced musical training. The Salone dei Concerti, from 1922, has a sober 18th-century taste and a vault fresco by Arturo Viligiardi.
The Chigi-Saracini gallery gathers important Sienese works: a Madonna by the Master of Tressa, the Adoration of the Magi and fragments of a Painted Cross by Sassetta, a polyptych by Sano di Pietro, panels by Sodoma and his school, and Beccafumi's Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine.
Among the sculptures is a terracotta sketch of the Saint Jerome by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the Cappella del Voto in the Duomo. Among the non-Sienese works, a tondo from Botticelli's school and two self-portraits by Salvator Rosa stand out.
In the entrance hall is the statue of Pope Julius III, by Fulvio Signorini (1609); the courtyard has a portico on one side, with vaults decorated with grotesques by Giorgio di Giovanni. In the outer loggia, Raphael-style decorations remain.
The palace has a long history of families. The oldest core, from the 12th century, belonged to the Marescotti, a Ghibelline family, and for this reason it is also called Palazzo Marescotti. By swallowing up the neighboring houses, it had already reached its present size in the first half of the 14th century.
Between the 13th and 14th centuries it also housed the council of the Reggitori of the Republic. In the 16th century it was bought by the Piccolomini del Mandolo, who gave it a Renaissance look.
After 1770 the Saracini lengthened the facade by adding triple-light windows as far as Vicolo di Tone, carefully keeping the 14th-century style.
In 1877, by the will of Alessandro Saracini, the palace passed to Fabio Chigi, who took the surname Chigi Saracini and left it to his nephew Guido. The family lived there until 1965.