42/50.- Tuscany, Siena Cathedral

The Duomo of Siena was modelled on Orvieto’s Cathedral, but while Orvieto’s church is decorated with colourful mosaics, Siena’s is richly ornamented with a wealth of sculptures by Giacomo Pisano. Inside one may admire a remarkable sculptured chancel dramatically representing scenes from the life of Christ, these by Nicola Pisano. The cathedral’s floor is unique in that it is not simply tiled, as in many other churches, or made up or tombstones : here, it is constituted of 56 marble marquetry panels depicting mythical and biblical scenes. Unfortunately, not all of them can be viewed, as during the tourist season many are protected against the hordes of tourists by planks of hardboard, and the others are covered with shuffling visitors. Only a few are cordoned off for people to admire. The Campanile (bell tower) next to the cathedral is a more modest spectacle, but remarkable in that the number of windows / openings increases as one moves up, to lighten the weight of the structure.

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