Siena: outside the Duomo

Rick Steves calls the front of Siena's Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption/Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta "one of the most extravagant façades in all of Europe," and it's hard to argue with that description. Wow! is pretty much all you can say when you're first standing in front of it, especially on the gorgeous morning when I took the picture above.

Of course, it's huge, but also so delicately beautiful, as well as a quick history of art lesson in the transition between Romanesque and Renaissance architecture—altogether enough to totally blow your mind.

And if your mind isn't sufficiently blown just looking at it, you have to consider that, when it was built, it was intended to be even bigger—like, twice as big. That this incredible construction was never finished is explained (in his indispensable Florence and Tuscany guidebook) by Rick as being due to "the complexity of constructing such a building without enough land...coupled with the devastating effects of the 1348 plague."

It's almost possible to imagine what it would have looked like by walking by an unfinished wall that you see at the top of the stairs in the photo on the right. And here's another look at it, for scale...

Even unfinished, though, the place is breathtaking. Just the details of the façade are endlessly fascinating and photogenic. The Wikipedia article I linked to above gives all kinds of information on the various sections, but here are a few closeups...

that fabulous blue sky makes a perfect background!

ornateness personified

and even more ornate-ness

I love all those fourth-wall-breaking touches

the shiny gold at the top is a mosaic of the Assumption

I told you last time that we opted to climb the Torre del Mangia instead of this tower, but if (no, when!) we return to Siena, climbing this one is on our list. Even if it isn't as tall as the other one, and even if it uses tricks to make it look taller (according to Rick, the stripes get narrower toward the top, in a pretty audacious trompe l'oeil)...

The Duomo is visible from all over the city and it contributes to many lovely skyline shots...

peeking over the buildings surrounding Il Campo

from the grounds of San Domenico

As I mentioned in that post on the city tower, Siena in its glory days was pretty aggressively secular in its outlook. Even extending to its cathedral. A pair of she-wolves (recalling the origin myth of ancient Rome) atop columns in front of the west entrance that I've been showing you attest that it was the republic of Siena that paid for the Duomo's construction, not the Pope!

It's hard to believe, but you've got to trust me on this. The interior of this amazing structure is even more overwhelming and mind-blowing. I'll start to show you why next time!