Piazza del Campo

Siena’s Piazza del Campo is located in the central point where the three main streets meet.
Its distinctive shape resembles a shell, sloping downwards, with nine separate segments of ochre brick paving defined by white bands. The square is surrounded and enclosed by the almost continuous curtain of buildings.
The piazza’s circumference measures roughly 333 meters and it is divided into two areas: the “low” section in the center, and the 9 sections paved with bricks arranged in a sharp knife cut arrangement, and the surrounding paved “curtain.” The numbers are not accidental, as the city in medieval times was ruled The Government of Nine.
Initially the piazza wasn’t the neurological center of the city, in fact the center was higher in the Castelvecchio (Old Castle) zone, and the Piazza del Campo was used as a market.
The history of the piazza is strongly tied to that of the construction of the city hall, which sits in the center of the shell’s base, it’s striking tower dominating the entire square.
When the aristocratic oligarchy of Twenty-four fell, and was replaced by the Government of Nine (1287-1355), a new headquarters was needed for the more “neutral” government. This new Palazzo Comunale, like the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, would become home to the city mayor and magistrates’ offices. The Torre del Mangia was built from 1325-1344 and in 1333 the brick paving of the “Campo” was initiated, the surrounding “curtain” was paved in 1347-1348.
The Torre del Mangia (Tower of Eats) takes its name in honor of its first keeper, Giovanni Balducci who was called “mangiaguadagni” (eat earnings) for his tendency to squander his earning at the table. It is among the highest ancient towers (102 meters), second only to Torrazzo Tower in Cremona.
In 1334 Jacopo di Vanni Ugolini started the excavation work for the basin of the public fountain, completed in 1346, the only feature inside the Campo.
In the years following the Campo’s construction, Siena wanted the facades of the buildings on the square, which had now become the nerve center of the city, to be consistent and uniform. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul was demolished because it protruded from the surrounding buildings.
Now, the Piazza del Campo is world famous for the Siena Palio horse race which is held in its narrow confines. The is held twice a year, on July 2 (in honor of the Madonna di Provenzano) and on August 16 (in honor of Our Lady of the Assumption.)
For special events sometimes a “Palio Straordinario” and extra Palio is held between May and September.
Horse races were run by Siena dignitaries and aristocrats since at least 1200. The race, however, was “the long run” that ran on a path that started from outside the walls of the Cathedral. There were two awards in those days, the Palium, a piece of fine cloth, for the first prize, and a pig to the last.
It was only in the 1600s, or more precisely July 11, 1605, that the race moved to the “tonda” or the shell of the Piazza del Campo and represented the different contrade (neighborhoods) of the city – giving birth to the Palio di Siena.

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