Siena Cathedral

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Siena Cathedral
Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption
Duomo di Siena (Italian)
Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta (Italian)
Siena Cathedral
43°19′04″N 11°19′44″E / 43.3177°N 11.3290°E / 43.3177; 11.3290
Location	Siena, Tuscany
Country	Italy
Denomination	Catholic
Tradition	Roman Rite
Website	operaduomo.siena.it
History
Status	Cathedral
Consecrated	1215
Architecture
Architect(s)	Giovanni di Agostino Giovanni Pisano Camaino di Crescentino
Architectural type	Church
Style	Italian Gothic, Romanesque, Classical
Groundbreaking	1196
Completed	1348
Specifications
Length	89.4 metres (293 ft)
Height	77 metres (253 ft)
Administration
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino
Clergy
Archbishop	Antonio Buoncristiani
Provost	Roberto Pialli
Archdeacon	Giovanni Soldani
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Historic Centre of Siena
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iv
Designated	1995 (19th session)
Reference no.	717
Region	Europe and North America

Siena Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.

Since the early 13th-century the Siena Cathedral has been an important part of the Sienese identity. One way to see this is the continuous building projects constantly surrounding the cathedral from its earliest days, aiming at reinforcing and expanding this impressive site. Indeed, it was the community of citizens that continually advocated for the cathedral to become one of the largest churches in Europe. ^[1] For centuries the Cathedral acted as more than just a place of worship - it was the center of the city and a place to express civic pride. ^[1]

The cathedral was designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The dome rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns. The dome was completed in 1264. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The bell tower has six bells, where the oldest one was cast in 1149. The nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with the addition of red marble on the façade. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, etiologically linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius. The finest Italian artists of that era completed works in the cathedral. These artists were Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Pinturicchio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Bernini.

It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and from the 15th century that of the Archdiocese of Siena. It is now the seat of the Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino.