From toddlers to octogenarians, when in Siena I schlepp everybody to see Ambrogio Lorenzetti's 'Buon Governo'. The long title of the painting is 'The Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the City and the Countryside' and it is exactly that - namely an accurate depiction of daily life in medieval Siena. The detailed and elegant fresco cycle is a rarity not just in regard to Lorenzetti's style and technique, but mainly due to its subject matter. In the 14th century, paintings and frescoes focus on stories and characters from the old and new testament and not on the day-to-day tasks of builders and farmers.
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| Medieval Siena depicted on one of the walls of Ambrogio Lorenzetti's fresco cycle in the Palazzo Pubblico (©Wikipedia) |
And this is exactly why it's so much fun to spend some time in front of the fresco cycle in the civic museum in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico. Whether its kids - or meat lovers - looking for the famous Cinta Senese pig or my Tuscan native lecturing our visitors about the scaffolding used by builders in the Late Middle Ages, it's hard to find anybody who won't enjoy Ambrogio's medieval 'comic strip'.
To honor the master of the Buon Governo, the Santa Maria della Scala museum has organized a show that brings together Ambrogio Lorenzetti's masterpieces. Most of them are scattered all over the world and on loan from places like London's National Gallery. The subjects of these paintings are more traditional in nature and hence depicting religious scenes - and not mundane medieval builders! - but once you've fallen in love with the Buon Governo you'll like Lorenzetti's Maestà too.
SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA - Ambrogio Lorenzetti until April 8, 2018
Full price: € 9.00
Teenagers from 12 - 18: € 7.00 (children under 12 are free)
Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (no admission after 4.30)
Friday: 10.00 am to 7.00 pm (no admission after 6.30 pm)
Saturday and Sunday 10.00 am to 8.00 pm (no admission after 7.30 pm)