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particolare affresco pellegrinaio

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With a donation contract signed on 28 May 1359 in Venice, the hospital purchased from the Florentine merchant Pietro di Giunta Torrigiani a precious collection of relics and reliquaries.
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#Storiedalmuseo - Did you know that an ancient reliquary is on display at Santa Maria della Scala?

Four ancient inscriptions are embedded on the facade of Santa Maria della Scala that recount a significant part of the centuries-old Sienese institution.&nbsp;

#Storiedalmuseo- The story of the 4 ancient inscriptions

The Antico Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala Foundation, as part of its activities to promote the cultural valorization of the eponymous museum complex and in collaboration with the university and research system, is issuing a call for expressions of interest aimed at collecting proposals for the use of the S. Ansano Hall

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Fresco

fresco

The Pellegrinaio

Pilgrims' Hall 

Level IV

The fresco in the Pellegrinaio hall, depicting the Story of Sorore, now hangs on the left above the side door that leads to the aisles of Sant'Ansano and San Galgano.&nbsp;

The story of Sorore

particolare "l'accrescere di muraglie"

The fresco in the third bay of the pilgrims' hall shows a construction site associated with the hospital, with an octagonal building in the background and a portico where some workers are engaged in the work.

The growth of walls

particolare dell'affresco "consegna l'abito al rettore"

The fresco by Priamo della Quercia located in the Pellegrinaio hall, in the fourth bay on the right, depicts the Blessed Agostino Novello presenting the Augustinian habit to the Rector. Among the figures, the emperor John VIII Palaiologos can be recognized.

Agostino Novello hands the robe to the rector

The fresco in the fifth bay on the right, located in the Pellegrinaio hall, depicts Eugene IV handing a parchment to Carlo d'Agnolino Bartoli. In the background, Eastern and African figures can be seen.

The Pope grants the indulgence

The fresco located in the fifth bay on the left, by Domenico di Bartolo, depicts a medieval hospital with doctors, friars and nurses, detailing hospital life in 1378.

Care of the sick

The fresco located in the fourth bay on the left of the pilgrim hall depicts a historical scene in a hospital, highlighting the weekly distribution of bread to the poor, with figures of pilgrims, the sick and nobles such as Sigismondo.

The Alms

The "marrying-off of the maidens" is located in the fourth bay of the Pellegrinaio. This bay depicts a significant scene that illustrates one of the hospital's charitable functions, related to the marriage of poor young women, a practice that fell within the welfare and social support activities of the medieval hospital.

The marriage of the maidens

The alms of the small courtyard are located in the third bay of the Pilgrims' Hall. This bay is one of the most significant, as it hosts scenes related to hospitality and the care of pilgrims, including the distribution of alms, in a context that reflects the charitable and care practices of the medieval hospital.

The Alms of the Little Courtyard

marble

sculpture

National Archaeological Museum

head of Pseudo Seneca

Levels I and II

In 1930 in Siena a sculptural head was found, initially mistaken for Seneca. Several theories suggest that it represents Greek poets, such as Hesiod, and dates back to the 1st century A.D.

head of the so-called Pseudo-Seneca

il soffitto

The decoration of the ceiling of the Pellegrinaio hall, executed between 1439 and 1441 by Agostino di Marsiglio in the five bays and in the four connecting sub-arches, depicts saints and figures, with coats of arms and vegetal motifs.

The ceiling of the pilgrims' hostel

Cinerary  urn 

Urna di Larth Sentinate Cumere

The urn, belonging to the family tomb of the Sentinate Cumere, shows the deceased semi-reclining on the kline. On the casket is depicted the recognition between the two siblings, children of Agamemnon, Iphigenia and Orestes in Tauris.

Urn of Larth Sentinate Cumere

urn of the Sentinate Cumere family

The urn, belonging to the tomb of the Sentinate Cumere, bears on its casket a recumbent male; on the casket a scene is depicted that has been variously interpreted: the traditional reading of the two warriors supported by companions as a depiction of the dying Eteocles and Polynices has been called into question by the presence of the lightning bolt.

Urn of the tomb of the Sentinate Cumere

The Old Sacristy 

In 1444, Domenico di Bartolo painted the Madonna of Mercy in the Chapel of the Relics, which later became a place of veneration. In 1610, the fresco was moved to the Old Sacristy. During the 1969 restoration, preparatory sketches and hidden side panels were discovered.

Madonna of the Mantle

Gilded silver

The Reliquary is a liturgical object of great artistic and religious value. It features relief scenes of the Resurrection and the Crucifixion.

Reliquary

bucchero

ceramics

heavy bucchero amphora

The amphora, of reddish-brown coloration ('bucchero rosso'), comes from a tomb discovered in the locality of Querce al Pino in Chiusi. The body of the vessel is decorated with a stamped band with sphinxes leaning to the left; on the shoulder there are ridges with hanging droplet motifs. On the rim, opposite the handles, are modeled female heads. The tomb's grave goods also included another similar amphora and two hydriae.

Bucchero amphora 'heavy'

Silver and enamels

The reliquary of the Holy Nail is a work of great historical and artistic value, connected to one of the most important objects of devotion in the Christian tradition.

Reliquary of the Holy Nail

The Fonte Gaia

Level III

Original fragment by Jacopo della Quercia representing Hope, detail of the Fonte Gaia.

Hope, Fonte Gaia

The marble sculpture depicts Acca Larentia, created by Jacopo della Quercia, for the Fonte Gaia.

Acca Larentia, Fonte Gaia

rea silvia

The marble sculpture depicts Rea Silvia, created for the Fonte Gaia by Jacopo della Quercia.

Rea Silvia, Gaia Fountain

Chalk

The sculpture created by Tito Sarrocchi represents temperance, it is a plaster replica taken from the model by Jacopo della Quercia for the Fonte Gaia.

Temperance, Fonte Gaia 

The Santa Maria della Scala museum complex, in collaboration with the Società di Esecutori di Pie Disposizioni in Siena – E.T.S., offers a series of visits dedicated to the discovery of the cycle of frescoes of the Thebaid, recently restored and returned to the public.

Guided tours of the restored frescoes of the Thebaid

A little more than six hundred years after the birth of Lorenzo di Pietro, called il Vecchietta (Siena, 1410–1480), the Santa Maria della Scala museum complex has decided to reorganize some of its rooms starting from the figure of the artist who worked there most extensively.

locandina

Vecchietta at Santa Maria della Scala. A new vision for the museum complex 

On Friday, March 20, the students of Class 5B, Two-Dimensional Figurative Arts will welcome visitors and accompany them in discovering the places connected to the figure of Lorenzo di Pietro, known as il Vecchietta, protagonist of the day entitled “The Painter of the Hospital”.

“Il Pittor de lo Spedale”: students from the Art High School as exceptional guides at the museum

From March to December 2026 the Santa Maria della Scala hosts several events of the third edition of BODY SPEAKING – Your body speaks, a participatory art project that brings contemporary dance, live music and cultural heritage into dialogue

BODY SPEAKING 2026 – Your body speaks

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On the occasion of International Women's Day, Sunday, March 8 all women will be able to visit the Santa Maria della Scala museum complex free of charge.
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March 8: free admission for all women

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After the large turnout, the guided tours "Water Routes at Santa Maria della Scala".
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The water routes at the Santa Maria della Scala 

On the occasion of the Siena Sport Experience event, which culminates with the Strade Bianche 2026, on Thursday, March 5, the Santa Maria della Scala museum complex will open exceptionally from 9:15 PM to midnight.

Museum in motion. Sport, music and tastings

The Giuliano Briganti Library and Phototheque renews its appointment with the DOPPIO SENSO biennial, the group exhibition of artists' books now in its 4th edition, titled THE INK AND THE COLOR.

DOUBLE MEANING 4. THE INK AND THE COLOR

Every first Sunday of the month, Santa Maria della Scala opens free of charge to the public. An opportunity to visit the museum complex and the National Archaeological Museum.

Sunday at Santa Maria della Scala 

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Friday, 20 February 2026, at 11:00 AM, in the Italo Calvino Hall, the Antico Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala Foundation is organizing a press conference, open to the public.
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Press conference - Foundation of the Ancient Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala

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From February 11 to 15, the Santa Maria della Scala museum complex hosts Siena fa Scacco Matto, a series that intertwines chess, culture, art and artificial intelligence, transforming the game into a lens for interpreting the present.
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Siena delivers checkmate

From 20 February to 30 August 2026, the former stable of the Santa Maria della Scala Museum Complex hosts the new reinstallation of the exhibition Metamorphoses of the Sacred by Teodora Axente, with a selection of 14 works.

poster

Metamorphoses of the Sacred - Works in dialogue with Siena

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Santa Maria della Scala hosts the first month of FMSchool, the training and artist residency program promoted and organized by Fondazione Musei Senesi, which from February 4 welcomes in Siena the ten participants selected for the artist residencies Acqua che cura and Acqua che lavora.
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FMSCHOOL

FMSchool at Santa Maria della Scala: a month of training and research

After the great success of recent years, on Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15, 2026, Letture di Fotografia returns to the Santa Maria della Scala museum complex in Siena, the event entirely dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of contemporary photography, now in its fifth edition.

Photography Readings - 5th edition

During the Letture di fotografia event, in the Italo Calvino hall, the collective photographic exhibition Visioni Condivise, curated by the Siena Foto Club, will be on display.

Photography Readings – Exhibition  SHARED VISIONS

Sunday, March 15 at 5:30 PM, in the Italo Calvino Hall, the museum dedicates an important event to Gianni Berengo Gardin curated by Fulvio Merlak, Honorary President of FIAF.

Photography Readings - In-depth seminar “Gianni Berengo Gardin the photographer of reality”

On the occasion of the exhibition's closing, on Friday, June 6 we are offering a finissage made up of several moments throughout the day. The artist will be present at the finissage.&nbsp;

Closing of the exhibition “Paper Garden. The thread and the mark: grafts, assemblages, diary-books”

On the occasion of the fifth edition of the Festival Voci Migranti, the Biblioteca e Fototeca Giuliano Briganti hosts from 24 to 31 October&nbsp;the work Oh Good! by the artist Moustapha Cessay, created as part of the project Le Valigie Digitali.

"Oh Good!" by Moustapha Cessay at the Briganti Library

Saturday, 20 September 2025, at 4:30 PM, at the Sala Sant’Ansano, the presentation of the book Fausto Melotti. In Lightness | A Tribute to Italo Calvino, edited by Michelina Eremita and published by Silvana Editoriale, will be held.

 Fausto Melotti. In Lightness | A tribute to Italo Calvino

Thursday, September 18 at 5:30 PM, the Santa Maria della Scala hosts a new event in the #IncontriallaScala series, dedicated to the presentation of the book Museology and Perception. From the contemplation of beauty to the aesthetic experience, written by Domenico Piraina and Maurizio Vanni and published by Pacini Editore.