Cesare Paoli and Thomas Ashby

“ But henceforward the balia had supreme jurisdiction in all affairs of the state, although always, down to the fall of the republic, nominally preserving the character of a magistracy extraordinary. The election of Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini 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. ”

“ 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 independent of all other influences. Consequently Sienese art seemed almost stationary amid the general progress and development of the other Italian schools, and preserved its medieval character down to the end of the 15th century, when 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. ”

“ In the domain of history we have first the old Sienese chronicles, which down to the 14th century are so confused that it is almost impossible to disentangle truth from fiction or even to decide the personality of the various authors. ”

“ According to the well-known law, however, the Renaissance, made for the people of the plains, never fully took root in Siena, as in other parts of Tuscany, and the loss of its independence and power in 1555 led to a suspension of building activity, which to the taste of the present day is most fortunate, inasmuch as the baroque of the 17th and the false classicism of the 18th centuries have had hardly any effect here ”

“ 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 (sections) and contrade (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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When in 1540 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 historian 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 ”

“ To the 15th century belongs the chronicle of Allegretto Allegretti, also in Muratori (vol. xxiii.) ; and during the same period flourished Sigismondo 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 Rome) , though devoid 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 ”

“ 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 in 1456. The noveschi (to whose order most of the rebels belonged) favoured his pretensions, but the riformatori were against him. ”

“ Conspicuous among the art treasures of the interior is the well-known octagonal pulpit by Niccola Pisano, dating from 1266–1268. It rests on columns supported by lions, and is finely sculptured. Numerous statues and bas-reliefs by Renaissance artists adorn the various altars and chapels. ”

“ Then, however, moved by fear of the emperor, who had passed through Siena two months before on his way to Rome, 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 replaced the twelve defenders by a new supreme magistracy of fifteen, consisting of eight popolani, four dodicini, and three noveschi, entitled respectively " people of the greater number," " people of the middle number," and " people of the less number." ”

“ The 16th century boasts the names of Bernardino Fungai, Guidoccio Cossarelli, Giacomo Pacchiarotto, Girolamo del Pacchia and especially Baldassare Peruzzi (1481–1537) , who while especially celebrated for his frescoes and studies in perspective and chiaroscuro was also an architect of considerable attainments (see Rome) ”