As every year, the National Archaeological Museum takes part in the Nights of Archaeology, promoted by the Tuscany Region, with free night openings, educational activities, and guided tours.

Nights of Archaeology 2025 – July 31

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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 

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An exclusive opportunity to view and browse the artist books of DOPPIO SENSO together with the curators and some of the artists in the exhibition, to discover the sources of inspiration and the great masters of the past who have guided their research
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Artists Speak - visit to the exhibition DOPPIO SENSO 4. INK AND COLOR

The Santa Maria della Scala museum complex, in collaboration with the Society of Executors of Pious Provisions in Siena – E.T.S., offers a series of visits dedicated to discovering the cycle of Thebaid frescoes, recently restored and reopened to the public.

Guided tours of the restored frescoes of the Thebaid

On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, promoted by the Ministry of Culture, the Santa Maria della Scala museum complex offers a rich program of guided tours and activities for children.

European Heritage Days 2025

The guided tours titled “Water Paths at Santa Maria della Scala” return to the Museum.&nbsp;

Exploring the water pathways within the museum

Guided tours

News

Our Blog

Notices to visitors 

Questionnaire for visitors 

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 

From May 9 to 17, at the Magazzini della Corticella, it will be possible to visit the exhibition “A Ritrovar La Diana”, now in its 22nd edition.

To Find Diana Again 

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Wednesday, May 20, at the Giuliano Briganti Library, the concluding event of the project Ci mettiamo la faccia. Artist books for the Constitution, created with the female and male students of the “Duccio di Buoninsegna” Art High School of Siena, is scheduled.
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WE SHOW OUR FACES. Artists' books for the Constitution

Santa Maria della Scala is taking part in the 2026 edition of “Parole in cammino – Festival of Italian and the Languages of Italy”, scheduled in Siena from April 21 to 24.

Words on the move. The Festival of Italian and the languages of Italy 

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Santa Maria della Scala is pleased to host April&nbsp;30&nbsp;a special day dedicated to the <a href="https://www.sienajazz.it/eventi/j-fest/">International Jazz Day</a>,
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April 30 at the museum: events, concerts and exhibitions for International Jazz Day

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

DOUBLE MEANING 4. THE INK AND THE COLOR

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

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

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.