Siena Toscana Italy

Hildebrand, on hearing of Benedict X's election, decides to oppose it, and obtains the support for the election of Gérard de Bourgogne instead.

Those cardinals who had opposed Benedict X's election meet at Siena in December 1058 and elect Gérard as Pope instead.

He takes the name Nicholas II.

Ildebrandino Cacciaconti, the podestà of Siena, signs a decree on December 26, 1240, imposing a tax on citizens of Siena who rent rooms to students of the local "Studium Senese".

The money from this tax goes to pay for the salaries of the maestri (teachers) of this new studium, the nucleus of the University of Siena.

Manfred begins in 1254 to support the Ghibelline communes in Tuscany, in particular Siena, to which he provides a corps of German knights that will be instrumental in the defeat of Florence at the Battle of Montaperti six years on.

He thus reaches the status of patron of the Ghibelline League.

The feud between Guelph Florence and Ghibelline Siena comes to a head in September, 1260, when the Florentines, supported by their allies from around Tuscany (Bologna, Prato, Lucca, Orvieto, San Gimignano, San Miniato, Volterra and Colle Val d'Elsa), move an army of some thirty-five thousand men towards Siena.

The Sienese call for help from King Manfred of Sicily, who provides a contingent of German mercenary heavy cavalry.

The Sienese forces are led by Farinata degli Uberti, an exiled Florentine Ghibelline.

Even with these reinforcements, though, they can only raise an army of twenty thousand.

The ensuing battle of Montaperti, in which the outnumbered Sienese Ghibellines inflict a noteworthy defeat to the Florentine Guelphs, will gain notoriety for an act of treachery by a member of the Florentine army, Bocca degli Abati, who at the outset of the battle had hacked off the hand of the Florentine’s standard bearer, sowing immediate confusion in the Guelph ranks and turning the tide of the battle.

Dante Alighieri (himself a Guelph) will immortalize this act in his fourteenth century poem The Divine Comedy.

Almost half the Florentine army (some fifteen thousand men) are killed as a result.

(So crushing is the defeat that even today if the two cities meet in any sporting event, the Sienese supporters are likely to exhort their Florentine counterparts to “Remember Montaperti!”.)

Nicola Pisano’s pulpit for the cathedral at Siena, on which his son Giovanni also works extensively with the assistance of Anolfo di Cambio, Lapo di Ricevuto and several other artists, features striking re-creations of classical art.

Although similar to the Pisa pulpit, the Siena pulpit, constructed from 1265-68 in Carrara marble, reflects the French-Gothic influenced intrusion of softer and more flowing forms.

This is the earliest remaining work in the cathedral.

Nicola Pisano had been given this commission due to his fame by the Pisa pulpit.

This pulpit, resembling the Pisa pulpit but larger, is even more ambitious and is considered his masterpiece.

The whole message of the pulpit is concerned with the doctrine of Salvation and the Last Judgment.

The façade of Siena Cathedral is one of the most fascinating in all of Italy and certainly one of the most impressive features in Siena.

Each of the cardinal points (west, east, north, and south) has its own distinct work; by far the most impressive of these is the west façade.

Acting as the main entryway to the Duomo proper, it boasts three portals, the central one capped by a bronze-work sun.

Built in two stages and combining elements of French Gothic, Tuscan Romanesque architecture, and Classical architecture, the west façade is a beautiful example of Sienese workmanship.

Work begins on the lower part around 1284.

Built using polychrome marble, the work is overseen by Giovanni Pisano whose work on the Duomo’s façade and pulpit is influenced by his father Nicola Pisano.

The Guelph-dominated Republic of Siena allows exiled Ghibelline rebels back into the city in 1286.

The Italian city of Siena exacts a forced loan on its taxpayers for the first time, a common feature of medieval public finance.

(Munro, John H. (2003).

"The Medieval Origins of the Financial Revolution".

The International History Review 15 (3): 506–562.)

Twenty three partners, including five members of the Bonsignori family, recreate Siena’s Gran Tavola, formerly the most successful European bank, which had ceased its operations after the death of its creator and manager Orlando Bonsignori in 1273.

Construction begins in 1298 on the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, a secular building designed in the Gothic style.