Siena

Siena, an independent republic* in northern Italy, was an important center of commerce and learning during the Middle Ages. The city-state gained its wealth from banking, commerce, and wool manufacturing. Before the Black Death*, Siena ranked as one of the largest cities in Italy with about 65,000 people. The plague reduced the population to about 15,000, a decline from which the city recovered very slowly.

Like other republics of the region, Siena had a complicated political structure. From 1285 to 1355 its Government of the Nine, dominated by merchants, brought relative stability to the city. However, during the late 1300s and the 1400s, sharp divisions between ancient noble families, nobles from the countryside, and wealthy merchants characterized political life in Siena. Governments favoring tradesmen and shopkeepers alternated with those serving the interests of the nobles. After a period of economic decline and political unrest, noble families gained the upper hand in the city in the mid-1400s. Pandolfo Petrucci, a prominent Sienese nobleman, took personal control of Siena in 1487, and he and his heirs ruled the city until 1523.

Siena lost its independence during the Wars of Italy (1494–1559). Florence had long wanted to gain control over Siena. In 1530 the Holy Roman Emperor* Charles V (Charles I of Spain) forced Siena to accept his protection and a Spanish garrison. The Sienese threw the Spanish troops out in 1552, which led to a three-year siege* of the city. After Siena finally surrendered in 1555, the Spanish gave the city to its ally, Cosimo I de' Medici, the ruler of Florence.

Culturally, Siena was renowned for its university, which emphasized law and attracted students from many countries during the Renaissance. Pope Pius II, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Bernardino of Siena are among the best-known people of this time from the city. Various Sienese artists made significant contributions to Renaissance painting and sculpture.

(See alsoArt in Italy; Florence. )

* republic

form of Renaissance government dominated by leading merchants with limited participation by others

* Black Death

epidemic of the plague, a highly contagious and often fatal disease, which spread throughout Europe from 1348 to 1350

* Holy Roman Emperor

ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, a political body in central Europe composed of several states that existed until 1806

* siege

prolonged effort to force a surrender by surrounding a fortress or town with armed troops, cutting the area off from aid