SEEALSO: Columbus, Christopher; explora-
tion; Henry the Navigator; trade
Siena ................................................
A city of Tuscany in northern Italy that
became an important rival of Florence
during the Renaissance. Founded by the
ancient Etruscans, Siena came under the
control of the Lombards after the fall of
the Roman Empire in the middle of the
fifth century. The city won its indepen-
dence in the twelfth century, and gradually
expanded the surrounding territory that
came under its control. Early in its history
as a self-governing commune Siena was an
important center of support for the Ghi-
belline faction that supported the author-
ity of the Holy Roman Emperor in Italy.
In 1260 the city defeated a force of Flo-
rentines at the Battle of Montaperti, which
remains a rallying cry for modern Sienese
in their sporting rivalries with the larger
city of Florence. In 1270 the city was con-
quered by the king of Naples, Charles I.
Siena joined an alliance of Guelph cities
that supported the Papacy against the em-
peror, while growing wealthy as a center of
banking and trade. The aristocratic
Petrucci family ruled the city late in the
fifteenth century; after this dynasty was
overthrown in 1523 the wealthy city was
fought over by the Spanish, French, and
the Habsburg dynasty. In 1554 Cosimo de’
Medici rallied an army and laid siege to
the city, which was then under the control
of a branch of the Strozzi dynasty. The
Florentines defeated the Sienese at the
Battle of Marciano in 1554. In 1555, it was
invaded by Emperor Charles V, who passed
control of the city to Cosimo de’ Medici
as Duke of Tuscany two years later.
Siena was an important center of
painting, sculpture, and architecture, and
has several notable works dating from the
early Italian Renaissance. The Sienese
School of painting flourished through the
fourteenth century, with its leading artists
Simone Martini, Guido of Siena, and Am-
brogio Lorenzetti. On its oval main square,
the Piazza del Campo, was built the
Palazzo Pubblico, an imposing public
building that contains a famous Lorenzetti
fresco,Allegory of Good Government.The
main square also became the site of sev-
eral medieval palaces and mansions and
the tall Torre del Mangia. The Fonte Gaia,
an elaborate fountain, was designed for
the square by Jacopo della Quercia. The
cathedral of Siena was raised over a period
of three centuries, and remains one of the
most important examples of Gothic archi-
tecture in Italy. The neighboring Biblioteca
Piccolomini was decorated with fresco
paintings by Pinturicchio. The Campo re-
mains the scene of a famous horse race,
known as the Palio, that echoes festive con-
tests of skill and strength that were com-
mon in the medieval era (although the
Palio itself originated in the middle-
seventeenth century).SEEALSO: Florenceslavery .............................................
Slavery, an important institution of the
classical world, declined in the Middle
Ages as Christianity spread to northern
and eastern Europe, and the teachings of
the new church prohibited making slaves
of those who had converted. Yet the prac-
tice never completely died out. From the
teachings of Aristotle and others, slavery
was considered a natural state for lesser
orders of human beings, as well as nonbe-
lievers. Slaves taken as prisoners of war
served as household servants and manual
laborers in the homes of the wealthy. Their
children were commonly born as free per-
sons, sometimes considered the legallyslavery