Siena Cathedral ( Italian : Duomo di Siena ) is a medieval church in Siena , Italy , dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church , and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary .
113-565: It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and from the 15th century that of the Archdiocese of Siena. It is now the seat of the Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino . The cathedral was designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The dome rises from
226-407: A hexagonal base with supporting columns. The dome was completed in 1264. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini . The bell tower has six bells, where the oldest one was cast in 1149. The nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with the addition of red marble on
339-464: A marked contrast to the simple geometric designed common to Tuscan Romanesque architecture . While most of the sculpture decorating the lower level of the lavish façade was sculpted by Giovanni Pisano and assistant depicting prophets, philosophers and apostles, the more Gothic statuary adorning the upper portion—including the half-length statues of the patriarchs in the niches around the rose window—are works of later, unattributed, sculptors. Almost all
452-570: A payment made to Marchese d'Adamo and his fellow workers. They were the craftsmen who executed the cartoons of Sienese painters. The first known artist working on the panels was Domenico di Niccolò dei Cori , who was in charge of the cathedral between 1413 and 1423. We can ascribe to him several panels such as the Story of King David, David the Psalmist, and David and Goliath . His successor as superintendent, Paolo di Martino , completed between 1424 and 1426
565-512: A professor of Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism at the University of Edinburgh , identifies the Old Testament as "a collection of authoritative texts of apparently divine origin that went through a human process of writing and editing." He states that it is not a magical book, nor was it literally written by God and passed to mankind. By about the 5th century BC, Jews saw the five books of
678-508: A provincial synod in Siena in 1599, and published the decrees of the assembly. Archbishop Giuseppe Mancini (1824–1855) held a provincial synod in Siena from 30 June to 7 July 1850. The sessions were attended by four suffragan bishops (Massa e Populonia, Sovana e Pitigliano, Grosseto, and Chiusi e Pienza) as well as two bishops directly dependent upon the Holy See (Arezzo, Montepulciano). The decrees of
791-547: A round relief of St. John the Evangelist (probably) by Giovanni di Stefano and, below the altar, a polychrome Pietà by the sculptor Alberto di Betto da Assisi in 1421. Above this marble monument is a fresco of the Papal Coronation of Pius III by Pinturicchio in 1504. In the middle of the library is the famous statue Three Graces , a Roman copy of a Greek original. Pinturicchio painted this cycle of frescoes around
904-592: A school known as biblical minimalism rejected the historical value of the Hebrew Bible for the study of ancient Israel during the Iron Age, "but this extreme approach was rejected by mainstream scholarship." The first five books— Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , book of Numbers and Deuteronomy —reached their present form in the Persian period (538–332 BC) , and their authors were the elite of exilic returnees who controlled
1017-610: A separate section called Apocrypha . The Old Testament contains 39 (Protestant), 46 (Catholic), or more (Orthodox and other) books, divided, very broadly, into the Pentateuch (Torah) , the historical books , the "wisdom" books and the prophets. The table below uses the spellings and names present in modern editions of the Christian Bible, such as the Catholic New American Bible Revised Edition and
1130-521: A set period and be followed by the other-worldly age or World to Come . Some thought the Messiah was already present, but unrecognised due to Israel's sins; some thought that the Messiah would be announced by a forerunner, probably Elijah (as promised by the prophet Malachi , whose book now ends the Old Testament and precedes Mark 's account of John the Baptist ). However, no view of the Messiah as based on
1243-679: A ticket like the rest of the complex. Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d%27Elsa-Montalcino The Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino ( Latin : Archidioecesis Senensis-Collensis-Ilcinensis ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Tuscany . The seat of the archbishop is the Cathedral of the Assumption in Siena. Until 1459, the diocese was immediately subject to
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#17328440310411356-543: Is ... part folklore and part record. History is ... written by the victors, and the Israelis , when they burst through [ Jericho ( c. 1400 BC )], became the carriers of history." In 2007, a historian of ancient Judaism Lester L. Grabbe explained that earlier biblical scholars such as Julius Wellhausen (1844–1918) could be described as 'maximalist', accepting biblical text unless it has been disproven. Continuing in this tradition, both "the 'substantial historicity' of
1469-624: Is a recent addition to the cathedral, replacing the original wooden one. The large door, known as the Porta della Riconoscenza, was commissioned in 1946 near the end of the German occupation of Siena. Sculpted by Vico Consorti and cast by Enrico Manfrini, the scenes on the door represent the Glorification of the Virgin, Siena's patron saint. On the left corner pier of the façade is a 14th-century inscription marking
1582-669: Is based on the belief that the historical Jesus is also the Christ , as in the Confession of Peter . This belief is in turn based on Jewish understandings of the meaning of the Hebrew term Messiah , which, like the Greek "Christ", means "anointed". In the Hebrew Scriptures, it describes a king anointed with oil on his accession to the throne: he becomes "The L ORD 's anointed" or Yahweh's Anointed. By
1695-618: Is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible , or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Israelites . The second division of Christian Bibles is the New Testament , written in Koine Greek . The Old Testament consists of many distinct books by various authors produced over a period of centuries. Christians traditionally divide
1808-549: Is evidence that the concentration ceremony occurred on November 18, according to the Ordo Officiorum Ecclesiae senensis , but without reference to a specific year. In 1196, the cathedral masons’ guild , the Opera di Santa Maria , was put in charge of the construction of a new cathedral. Works were started with the north–south transept and it was planned to add the main, larger body of the cathedral later, but this enlargement
1921-518: Is known, though there is plenty of speculation. For example, it is speculated that this may have provided motivation for canon lists and that Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus are examples of these Bibles. Together with the Peshitta and Codex Alexandrinus , these are the earliest extant Christian Bibles. There is no evidence among the canons of the First Council of Nicaea of any determination on
2034-695: Is much venerated and receives each year the homages of the contrade. On the eve of the battle of Montaperti (4 September 1260) against Florence, the city of Siena had dedicated itself to the Madonna. The victory of the Sienese, against all odds, over the much more numerous Florentines was ascribed to her miraculous protection. Two of the four marble sculptures in the niches, are by Bernini himself: Saint Jerome and Mary Magdalene . The other two are Saint Bernardine ( Antonio Raggi ) and Saint Catherine of Siena ( Ercole Ferrata ). The eight marble columns are originally from
2147-540: Is neither read nor held among the Hebrews, but does not explicitly call it apocryphal or "not in the canon". The Synod of Hippo (in 393), followed by the Council of Carthage (397) and the Council of Carthage (419) , may be the first council that explicitly accepted the first canon which includes the books that did not appear in the Hebrew Bible ; the councils were under significant influence of Augustine of Hippo , who regarded
2260-461: Is now open to the public. The façade of Siena Cathedral is one of the most fascinating in all of Italy and certainly one of the most impressive features in Siena. Each of the cardinal points (west, east, north, and south) has its own distinct work; by far the most impressive of these is the west façade. Acting as the main entryway to the Duomo proper, it boasts three portals (see Portal (architecture) );
2373-536: Is the last, most luxurious sculptural addition to the Duomo, and was commissioned in 1659 by the Sienese Chigi pope Alexander VII . This circular chapel with a gilded dome was built by the German architect Johann Paul Schor to the baroque designs of Gian Lorenzo Bernini , replacing a 15th-century chapel. At the back of the chapel is the Madonna del Voto (by a follower of Guido da Siena , 13th century), that even today
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#17328440310412486-697: Is to be read." They are present in a few historic Protestant versions; the German Luther Bible included such books, as did the English 1611 King James Version. Empty table cells indicate that a book is absent from that canon. Several of the books in the Eastern Orthodox canon are also found in the appendix to the Latin Vulgate , formerly the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church. Some of
2599-423: Is to worship , or the one "true God", that only Yahweh (or YHWH ) is Almighty. The Old Testament stresses the special relationship between God and his chosen people , Israel, but includes instructions for proselytes as well. This relationship is expressed in the biblical covenant (contract) between the two, received by Moses . The law codes in books such as Exodus and especially Deuteronomy are
2712-582: The Septuagint (Latin for 'Seventy') from the supposed number of translators involved (hence its abbreviation " LXX "). This Septuagint remains the basis of the Old Testament in the Eastern Orthodox Church . It varies in many places from the Masoretic Text and includes numerous books no longer considered canonical in some traditions: 1 Esdras , Judith , Tobit , the books of Maccabees ,
2825-476: The Babylonian exile ) upon his people. The theme is played out, with many variations, in books as different as the histories of Kings and Chronicles, the prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah , and in the wisdom books like Job and Ecclesiastes. The process by which scriptures became canons and Bibles was a long one, and its complexities account for the many different Old Testaments which exist today. Timothy H. Lim,
2938-711: The Biblical apocrypha , a term that is sometimes used specifically to describe the books in the Catholic and Orthodox canons that are absent from the Jewish Masoretic Text and most modern Protestant Bibles. Catholics, following the Canon of Trent (1546), describe these books as deuterocanonical, while Greek Orthodox Christians, following the Synod of Jerusalem (1672) , use the traditional name of anagignoskomena , meaning "that which
3051-561: The Book of Wisdom , Sirach , and Baruch . Early modern biblical criticism typically explained these variations as intentional or ignorant corruptions by the Alexandrian scholars, but most recent scholarship holds it is simply based on early source texts differing from those later used by the Masoretes in their work. The Septuagint was originally used by Hellenized Jews whose knowledge of Greek
3164-870: The Death of Absolom (Morte di Assalonne). The next panel dates from 1473: Stories from the Life of Judith and the Liberation of Bethulia (Liberazione di Betulia) (probably) by Urbano da Cortona . In 1480 Alberto Aringhieri was appointed superintendent of the works. From then on, the mosaic floor scheme began to make serious progress. Between 1481 and 1483 the ten panels of the Sibyls were worked out. A few are ascribed to eminent artists, such as Matteo di Giovanni ( The Samian Sibyl ), Neroccio di Bartolomeo de' Landi ( Hellespontine Sibyl ) and Benvenuto di Giovanni ( Albunenan Sibyl ). The Cumaean, Delphic, Persian and Phrygian Sibyls are from
3277-504: The Hellenistic time (332–198 BC), though containing much older material as well; Job was completed by the 6th century BC; Ecclesiastes by the 3rd century BC. Throughout the Old Testament, God is consistently depicted as the one who created the world. Although the God of the Old Testament is not consistently presented as the only god who exists , he is always depicted as the only God whom Israel
3390-486: The Orvieto Cathedral . The façade needed to be much higher than foreseen as the nave had, once again, been raised. The changes were probably needed to accommodate the raised nave and di Cecco's more elaborate design scheme, heavily influenced by French Gothic architecture, which caused the apparent division of the upper portion of the cathedral. Most noticeably the pinnacles of the upper portion do not continue from
3503-565: The Temple at that time. The books of Joshua , Judges , Samuel and Kings follow, forming a history of Israel from the Conquest of Canaan to the Siege of Jerusalem c. 587 BC . There is a broad consensus among scholars that these originated as a single work (the so-called " Deuteronomistic History ") during the Babylonian exile of the 6th century BC. The two Books of Chronicles cover much
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3616-832: The Torah (the Old Testament Pentateuch) as having authoritative status; by the 2nd century BC, the Prophets had a similar status, although without quite the same level of respect as the Torah; beyond that, the Jewish scriptures were fluid, with different groups seeing authority in different books. Hebrew texts began to be translated into Greek in Alexandria in about 280 BC and continued until about 130 BC. These early Greek translations – supposedly commissioned by Ptolemy II Philadelphus – were called
3729-548: The Victory of Joshua and Victory of Samson over the Philistines . In 1434 the renowned painter Domenico di Bartolo continued with a new panel Emperor Sigismund Enthroned (Imperatore Sigismundo in trono). The Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund was popular in Siena, because he resided there for ten months on his way to Rome for his coronation. Next to this panel, is the composition in 1447 (probably) by Pietro di Tommaso del Minella of
3842-600: The protocanonicals . The Talmud (the Jewish commentary on the scriptures) in Bava Batra 14b gives a different order for the books in Nevi'im and Ketuvim . This order is also cited in Mishneh Torah Hilchot Sefer Torah 7:15. The order of the books of the Torah is universal through all denominations of Judaism and Christianity. The disputed books, included in most canons but not in others, are often called
3955-495: The 16th centuries, and about forty artists made their contribution. The floor consists of 56 panels in different sizes. Most have a rectangular shape, but the later ones in the transept are hexagons or rhombuses. They represent the sibyls , scenes from the Old Testament , allegories and virtues. Most are still in their original state. The earliest scenes were made by a graffito technique: drilling tiny holes and scratching lines in
4068-438: The 16th century. Originally there were more than ninety choir stalls, arranged in double rows. The remaining 36 stalls are each crowned by the bust of a saint in a pointed niche. Their backs are decorated with carved panels, the work of Fra’ Giovanni da Verona in 1503. The pulpit is made of Carrara marble and was sculpted between the end of 1265 and November 1268 by Nicola Pisano and several other artists. This pulpit expresses
4181-720: The 24 books of the Tanakh , with some differences of order, and there are some differences in text. The greater count of books reflects the splitting of several texts ( Samuel , Kings , Chronicles , Ezra–Nehemiah , and the Twelve Minor Prophets ) into separate books in Christian Bibles. The books that are part of the Christian Old Testament but that are not part of the Hebrew canon are sometimes described as deuterocanonical books . These books are ultimately derived from
4294-479: The Duomo ever since. The glass depicts a typical Sienese religious subject- three panels of the death, Assumption, and Coronation of Mary, flanked by the city's most important patron saints, Saint Ansanus ; Saint Sabinus ; Saint Crescentius ; and Saint Victor , and in four corners are the Four Evangelists. The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist is situated in the left transept. At the back of this chapel, amidst
4407-401: The Duomo's furnishings, reliquaries, and artwork, have been removed to the adjacent Museo dell'Opera del Duomo . This includes Duccio's Maestà altarpiece, some panels of which are scattered around the world or lost. Duccio's large stained glass window, original to the building, was removed out of precaution during WWII for fear of shattering from bombs or fire. A replica has been installed in
4520-706: The Hebrew Masoretic Text . For the Orthodox canon, Septuagint titles are provided in parentheses when these differ from those editions. For the Catholic canon, the Douaic titles are provided in parentheses when these differ from those editions. Likewise, the King James Version references some of these books by the traditional spelling when referring to them in the New Testament, such as "Esaias" (for Isaiah ). In
4633-703: The Hebrew, Greek and Latin versions of the Hebrew Bible are the best known Old Testaments, there were others. At much the same time as the Septuagint was being produced, translations were being made into Aramaic, the language of Jews living in Palestine and the Near East and likely the language of Jesus : these are called the Aramaic Targums , from a word meaning "translation", and were used to help Jewish congregations understand their scriptures. For Aramaic Christians, there
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4746-429: The Holy See (Papacy), and its bishops attended the Roman synods. In 1459, Pope Pius II made Siena a metropolitan archbishopric. From September 1407 to January 1408, Siena played host to the papal Court of Pope Gregory XII of the Roman Obedience. In 1423, Siena was host to what was announced as a general council of the Church. Such meetings had been mandated by the Council of Constance , and, though Pope Martin V
4859-443: The Lateran Palace in Rome. The bronze gate at the entrance is by Giovanni Artusi . Adjoining the cathedral is the Piccolomini Library, housing precious illuminated choir books and frescoes painted by the Umbrian Bernardino di Betto, called Pinturicchio , probably based on designs by Raphael . The frescoes tell the story of the life of Siena's favorite son, cardinal Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who eventually became Pope Pius II . He
4972-480: The Life of Elijah , in the transept of the cathedral, were designed by him (two hexagons and two rhombuses). The eight-meter long frieze Moses Striking water from the Rock was executed by him in 1525. The bordering panel, Moses on Mount Sinai was laid in 1531. His final contribution was the panel in front of the main altar: the Sacrifice of Isaac (1547). The cathedral's valuable pieces of art including The Feast of Herod by Donatello , and works by Bernini and
5085-400: The Old Testament into four sections: the first five books or Pentateuch (which corresponds to the Jewish Torah ); the history books telling the history of the Israelites, from their conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon ; the poetic and " Wisdom books " dealing, in various forms, with questions of good and evil in the world; and the books of the biblical prophets, warning of
5198-405: The Old Testament predicted a Messiah who would suffer and die for the sins of all people. The story of Jesus' death, therefore, involved a profound shift in meaning from the Old Testament tradition. The name "Old Testament" reflects Christianity's understanding of itself as the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy of a New Covenant (which is similar to "testament" and often conflated) to replace
5311-400: The Old Testament. Of the remainder, the books of the various prophets— Isaiah , Jeremiah , Ezekiel , and the twelve " minor prophets "—were written between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, with the exceptions of Jonah and Daniel , which were written much later. The "wisdom" books— Job , Proverbs , Ecclesiastes , Psalms , Song of Songs —have various dates: Proverbs possibly was completed by
5424-434: The Opera del Duomo redirected all efforts to the east façade. There is debate as to when work on the upper façade was completed. Most scholars agree that it was finished sometime between 1360 and 1370, though when it began again is not known. The work continued to use Pisano's plans for the façade with some adaptations under the direction of Giovanni di Cecco . Di Cecco preferred more elaborate designs, most likely inspired by
5537-446: The Protestant Revised Standard Version and English Standard Version . The spelling and names in both the 1609–F10 Douay Old Testament (and in the 1582 Rheims New Testament ) and the 1749 revision by Bishop Challoner (the edition currently in print used by many Catholics, and the source of traditional Catholic spellings in English) and in the Septuagint differ from those spellings and names used in modern editions which are derived from
5650-451: The Septuagint ( 3 Ezra and 3 and 4 Maccabees are excluded); the Anglicans after the English Civil War adopted a compromise position, restoring the 39 Articles and keeping the extra books that were excluded by the Westminster Confession of Faith , both for private study and for reading in churches but not for establishing any doctrine, while Lutherans kept them for private study, gathered in an appendix as biblical apocrypha . While
5763-459: The Septuagint's, and Theodotion's. The so-called "fifth" and "sixth editions" were two other Greek translations supposedly miraculously discovered by students outside the towns of Jericho and Nicopolis : these were added to Origen's Octapla. In 331, Constantine I commissioned Eusebius to deliver fifty Bibles for the Church of Constantinople . Athanasius recorded Alexandrian scribes around 340 preparing Bibles for Constans . Little else
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#17328440310415876-470: The Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat. Based on the revisions, a set of Normae was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, aeque personaliter , was abolished. This made the combining of Montalcino and Colle di Val d'Elsa under one bishop infeasible. Instead,
5989-437: The Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese. On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the dioceses of Montalcino and Colle be merged with the diocese of Siena, into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Archidioecesis Senensis-Collensis-Ilcinensis . The seat of
6102-419: The Western Church, specifically as the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate , while the Churches in the East continued, and continue, to use the Septuagint. Jerome, however, in the Vulgate's prologues , describes some portions of books in the Septuagint not found in the Hebrew Bible as being non- canonical (he called them apocrypha ); for Baruch , he mentions by name in his Prologue to Jeremiah and notes that it
6215-408: The bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See. Cardinal Francesco Maria Tarugi (1597–1607), Archbishop of Siena, presided over
6328-428: The busts of 36 emperors. The vaulted roof is decorated in blue with golden stars, replacing frescoes on the ceiling, while the formerets (half ribs) and the tiercerons (secondary ribs) are adorned with richly elaborated motifs. The stained-glass round window in the choir was made in 1288 to the designs of Duccio . It is one of the earliest remaining examples of Italian stained glass. The round stained-glass window in
6441-417: The canon as already closed. In the 16th century, the Protestant reformers sided with Jerome; yet although most Protestant Bibles now have only those books that appear in the Hebrew Bible, the order is that of the Greek Bible. Rome then officially adopted a canon, the Canon of Trent , which is seen as following Augustine's Carthaginian Councils or the Council of Rome , and includes most, but not all, of
6554-417: The canon. However, Jerome (347–420), in his Prologue to Judith , claims that the Book of Judith was "found by the Nicene Council to have been counted among the number of the Sacred Scriptures". In Western Christianity or Christianity in the Western half of the Roman Empire , Latin had displaced Greek as the common language of the early Christians, and in 382 AD Pope Damasus I commissioned Jerome ,
6667-468: The cardinal lying on his deathbed, accompanied by two guardian angels. The monument is crowned by a spired tabernacle with statues of the Madonna and Child, Saint Peter and Saint Paul. In the pavement, in front of this monument, lies the bronze tombstone of Bishop Giovanni di Bartolomeo Pecci, bishop of Grosseto , made by Donatello in 1427. It shows the dead prelate laid out in a concave bier in highly illusionistic low relief. Looking at it obliquely from
6780-449: The cathedral's sacristy are on display. These exquisite illuminations by Liberale da Verona and Girolamo da Cremona were executed between 1466 and 1478 and later carried on by other Sienese illuminators. Unlike Florence or Pisa, Siena did not build a separate baptistry. The baptistry is located underneath the eastern bays of the choir of the Duomo. The construction of the interior was largely performed under Camaino di Crescentino and
6893-405: The central one is capped by a bronze-work sun. Built in two stages and combining elements of French Gothic , Tuscan Romanesque architecture , and Classical architecture , the west façade is a beautiful example of Sienese workmanship. Work began on the lower part around 1284. Built using polychrome marble, the work was overseen by Giovanni Pisano whose work on the Duomo's façade and the pulpit
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#17328440310417006-399: The chapel are: Nativity of John the Baptist , John the Baptist in the desert and John the Baptist preaching . He also painted two portraits: Aringhieri with the cloak of the Order of the Knights of Malta and Kneeling Knight in Armour . These two portraits show us a very detailed background. The small Chigi Chapel (or Cappella della Madonna del Voto) is situated in the right transept. It
7119-446: The columns flanking the central portal as they normally would in such cathedrals. Instead, they are substantially offset, resulting in a vertical discontinuity which is uncommon in cathedrals of the time as it can lead to structural weakness. To adjust for this imbalance, the towers on each side of the cathedral were opened by adding windows, reducing the weight they needed to support. The upper portion also features heavy Gothic decoration,
7232-456: The consequences of turning away from God. The books that compose the Old Testament canon and their order and names differ between various branches of Christianity . The canons of the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches comprise up to 49 books; the Catholic canon comprises 46 books; and the most common of the Protestant canons comprises 39 books. There are 39 books common to essentially all Christian canons. They correspond to
7345-445: The copper sphere on top of the dome. The pulpit, one of the few original works to survive today, was made between 1265-1268 by Nicola Pisano and his followers. This group was most likely also responsible for carving the main altar. A second massive addition of the main body of the cathedral was planned in 1339. It would have more than doubled the size of the structure by means of an entirely new nave and two aisles ranged perpendicular to
7458-414: The council on 26 February 1424, though the papal bull of dissolution was not published until 12 March. When Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini , who was born near the town and served as bishop of Siena since 1450, got elected as Pope Pius II in 1458, he soon issued the bull "Triumphans Pastor" (22 April 1459), in which he raised the diocese of Siena to metropolitan status, and assigned to it as suffragans
7571-400: The diocese was to be in Siena, and the cathedral of Siena was to serve as the cathedral of the merged dioceses. The cathedrals in Montalcino and Colle were to become co-cathedrals, and the cathedral Chapters were to be a Capitulum Concathedralis . There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Siena, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of
7684-433: The dioceses of Soano, Chiusi, Massa, and Grosseto. The Second Vatican Council , in order to ensure that all Catholics received proper spiritual attention, decreed the reorganization of the diocesan structure of Italy and the consolidation of small and struggling dioceses. In 1980, the diocese of Montalcino claimed a Catholic population of 24,500 persons. Colle di Val d'Elsa had slightly over 60,000. On 18 February 1984,
7797-399: The earlier Septuagint , the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and are also Jewish in origin. Some are also contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls . In general, Catholic and Orthodox churches include the deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament. Most Protestant Bibles do not include them in their canon, but some versions of Anglican and Lutheran Bibles place such books in
7910-410: The end of the tomb, gives the impression of a three-dimensionality. It was originally located in front of the high altar and moved to the present location in 1506. The wall tomb of bishop Tommaso Piccolomini del Testa is set above the small door leading to the bell tower. It is the work of the Sienese painter and sculptor Neroccio di Bartolomeo de' Landi in 1483. The Piccolomini Altarpiece , left of
8023-422: The entrance to the library, is the work of the Lombard sculptor Andrea Bregno in 1483. This altarpiece is remarkable because of the four sculptures in the lower niches, made by the young Michelangelo between 1501 and 1504: Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Gregory (with the help of an assistant) and Saint Pius. On top of the altar is the Madonna and Child , a sculpture (probably) by Jacopo della Quercia . Many of
8136-485: The entrances. The areas around and above the doors, as well as the columns between the portals, are richly decorated with acanthus scrolls, allegorical figures and biblical scenes. Giovanni Pisano was able to oversee his work until about 1296 when he abruptly left Siena, reportedly over creative differences with the Opera del Duomo, the group that oversaw the construction and maintenance of the Siena cathedrals. Pisano's work on
8249-481: The existing nave and centered on the high altar . The majority of construction was under the direction of Giovanni di Agostino , a well-known sculptor of the time. Construction was halted by the Black Death in 1348. Unfortunately, the halt in construction revealed the failures already present in the new structure, such as a shallow foundation and weak building materials. The project was abandoned officially in 1355, and
8362-437: The eye. Black and white are the colours of the civic coat of arms of Siena. The capitals of the columns in the west bays of the nave are sculpted with allegorical busts and animals. The horizontal molding around the nave and the presbytery contains 172 plaster busts of popes dating from the 15th and 16th centuries starting with St. Peter and ending with Lucius III . The spandrels of the round arches below this cornice exhibit
8475-526: The façade dates from 1549 and represents the Last Supper . It is the work of Pastorino de' Pastorini . The hexagonal dome is topped with Bernini's gilded lantern , like a golden sun. The trompe-l'œil coffers were painted in blue with golden stars in the late 15th century. The colonnade in the drum is adorned with images and statues of 42 patriarchs and prophets, painted in 1481 by Guidoccio Cozzarelli and Benvenuto di Giovanni . The eight stucco statues in
8588-455: The façade. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, etiologically linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius . There are thirty-five statues of prophets and patriarchs grouped around the virgin. The finest Italian artists of that era completed works in the cathedral. These artists were Nicola and Giovanni Pisano , Donatello , Pinturicchio , Lorenzo Ghiberti , and Bernini . The origins of
8701-423: The first structure are obscure and shrouded in legend. There was a 9th-century church with the bishop's palace at the present location. In December 1058 a synod was held in this church resulting in the election of pope Nicholas II and the deposition of the antipope Benedict X . There is a common myth that the cathedral was consecrated on November 18, 1179, but there is little evidence to support this idea. There
8814-561: The grave of Giovanni Pisano . Next to the façade stands a column with a statue of the Contrade Lupa, a wolf breast-feeding Romulus and Remus . According to local legend Senius and Aschius, sons of Remus and founders of Siena, left Rome with the statue, stolen from the Temple of Apollo in Rome. In the interior the pictorial effect of the black and white marble stripes on the walls and columns strikes
8927-587: The hand of the obscure German artist Vito di Marco . The Erythraean Sibyl was originally by Antonio Federighi , the Libyan Sibyl by the painter Guidoccio Cozzarelli , but both have been extensively renovated. The large panel in the transept The Slaughter of the Innocents (Strage degli Innocenti) is probably the work of Matteo di Giovanni in 1481. The large panel below, the Expulsion of Herod (Cacciata di Erode),
9040-565: The leading scholar of the day, to produce an updated Latin Bible to replace the Vetus Latina , which was a Latin translation of the Septuagint. Jerome's work, called the Vulgate , was a direct translation from Hebrew, since he argued for the superiority of the Hebrew texts in correcting the Septuagint on both philological and theological grounds. His Vulgate Old Testament became the standard Bible used in
9153-457: The library between 1502 and 1507, representing Raphael and himself in several of them. This masterpiece is full of striking detail and vivacious colours. Each scene is explained in Latin by the text below. They depict ten remarkable events from the secular and religious career of pope Pius II, first as a high prelate, then bishop, a cardinal and ultimately pope: Beneath the frescoes, the psalters of
9266-403: The lower façade was continued under the direction of Camaino di Crescentino, but a number of changes were made to the original plan. These included raising the façade due to the raising of the nave of the church and the installation of a larger rose window based on designs by Duccio di Buoninsegna and commissioned by the city of Siena. Work on the west façade came to an abrupt end in 1317 when
9379-428: The marble and filling these with bitumen or mineral pitch . In a later stage black, white, green, red, and blue marble intarsia were used. This technique of marble inlay also evolved during the years, finally resulting in a vigorous contrast of light and dark, giving it an almost modern, impressionistic composition. The uncovered floor can only be seen for a period of six to ten weeks each year, generally including
9492-587: The month of September. The rest of the year, the pavements near the altar are covered, and only some near the entrance may be viewed. The earliest panel was probably the Wheel of Fortune ( Ruota della Fortuna ), laid in 1372 (restored in 1864). The She-Wolf of Siena with the emblems of the confederate cities ( Lupa senese e simboli delle città alleate ) probably dates from 1373 (also restored in 1864). The Four Virtues (Temperanza, Prudenza, Giustizia and Fortezza) and Mercy (Misericordia) date from 1406, as established by
9605-409: The nave and south transept. Underneath the choir of the Duomo, a narthex containing important late 13th-century frescoes (probably about 1280) was found and excavated in 1999–2003. The frescoes depict scenes from the Old Testament and the life of Christ . This was part of the entrance of an earlier church. But when the baptistry was built, this under-church was filled with rubble. The narthex
9718-500: The new diocese was to include the territory of the former dioceses of Montalcino and of Colle. A provincial synod was an irregularly summoned meeting of the Metropolitan Archbishop of an ecclesiastical province with his suffragan bishops and other prelates, for the purpose of legislating for and reforming the collection of dioceses which belonged to the synod. A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of
9831-543: The northern Gothic style adopted by Pisano, while still showing his classical influences. The whole message of the pulpit is concerned with the doctrine of Salvation and the Last Judgment. In the top level, seven scenes narrate the Life of Christ. The many figures in each scene with their chiaroscuro effect, show a richness of surface, motion, and narrative. On the middle-level statuettes of the Evangelists and Prophets announce
9944-458: The patriarchs" and "the unified conquest of the land" were widely accepted in the United States until about the 1970s. Contrarily, Grabbe says that those in his field now "are all minimalists – at least, when it comes to the patriarchal period and the settlement. ... [V]ery few are willing to operate [as maximalists]." In 2022, archaeologist Avraham Faust wrote that in the 1990s
10057-442: The presbytery, there are eight candelabras in the form of angels by Domenico Beccafumi (1548–1550), He also painted the frescoes, representing Saints and Paradise , on the walls in the apse. These were partially repainted in 1912. Behind the main altar is a very large painting Assumption of the Virgin by Bartolomeo Cesi in 1594. The presbytery keeps also the beautiful wooden choir stalls, made between 1363–1397 and extended in
10170-441: The rich renaissance decorations, is the bronze statue of St. John the Baptist by Donatello . In the middle of the chapel is a 15th-century baptismal font. But most impressive in this chapel are the eight frescoes by Pinturicchio, which were commissioned by Alberto Aringhieri and painted between 1504 and 1505. Two of the frescoes were repainted in the 17th century, while a third was completely replaced in 1868. The original paintings in
10283-451: The salvation of mankind. The pulpit itself is the earliest remaining work in the cathedral. The staircase dates from 1543 and was built by Bartolomeo Neroni. At the same time, the pulpit was moved from the choir to its present location. The inlaid marble mosaic floor is one of the most ornate of its kind in Italy, covering the whole floor of the cathedral. This undertaking went on from the 14th to
10396-518: The same material as the Pentateuch and Deuteronomistic history and probably date from the 4th century BC. Chronicles, and Ezra–Nehemiah , was probably finished during the 3rd century BC. Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments contain two (Catholic Old Testament) to four (Orthodox) Books of the Maccabees , written in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. These history books make up around half the total content of
10509-456: The spandrels beneath the dome were sculpted in 1490 by Ventura di Giuliano and Bastiano di Francesco . Originally they were polychromed , but later, in 1704, gilded. Next to the first two pillars, there are two fonts, carved by Antonio Federighi in 1462–1463. His basin for the Blessing of Holy Water was later transferred to the chapel of San Giovanni. The marble high altar of the presbytery
10622-625: The spirit of ecumenism , more recent Catholic translations (e.g. the New American Bible , Jerusalem Bible , and ecumenical translations used by Catholics, such as the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition ) use the same "standardized" (King James Version) spellings and names as Protestant Bibles (e.g. 1 Chronicles as opposed to the Douaic 1 Paralipomenon, 1–2 Samuel and 1–2 Kings instead of 1–4 Kings) in those books which are universally considered canonical:
10735-708: The statuary adorning the cathedral today are copies. The originals are kept in the Crypt of the Statues in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo . Three large mosaics on the gables of the façade were made in Venice in 1878. The large central mosaic, the Coronation of the Virgin, is the work of Luigi Mussini . The smaller mosaics on each side, Nativity of Jesus and Presentation of Mary in the Temple, were made by Alessandro Franchi . The bronze central door
10848-552: The stories of the Pentateuch may derive from older sources. Scholars such as Andrew R. George point out the similarity of the Genesis flood narrative and the Gilgamesh flood myth . Similarities between the origin story of Moses and that of Sargon of Akkad were noted by psychoanalyst Otto Rank in 1909 and popularized by 20th-century writers, such as H. G. Wells and Joseph Campbell . Jacob Bronowski writes that, "the Bible
10961-610: The synod were published. On 30 September 1986 the archdiocese was united with the Diocese of Colle di Val d'Elsa and the Diocese of Montalcino , and named in Latin Senensis-Collensis-Ilcinensis . 43°19′07″N 11°19′50″E / 43.3186°N 11.3306°E / 43.3186; 11.3306 Old Testament The Old Testament ( OT ) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon , which
11074-544: The term to refer to a pledge. Further themes in the Old Testament include salvation , redemption , divine judgment , obedience and disobedience, faith and faithfulness, among others. Throughout there is a strong emphasis on ethics and ritual purity , both of which God demands, although some of the prophets and wisdom writers seem to question this, arguing that God demands social justice above purity, and perhaps does not even care about purity at all. The Old Testament's moral code enjoins fairness, intervention on behalf of
11187-491: The terms of the contract: Israel swears faithfulness to God, and God swears to be Israel's special protector and supporter. However, The Jewish Study Bible denies that the word covenant ( brit in Hebrew) means "contract"; in the ancient Near East, a covenant would have been sworn before the gods, who would be its enforcers. As God is part of the agreement, and not merely witnessing it, The Jewish Study Bible instead interprets
11300-579: The time of Jesus, some Jews expected that a flesh-and-blood descendant of David (the " Son of David ") would come to establish a real Jewish kingdom in Jerusalem, instead of the Roman province of Judaea. Others stressed the Son of Man , a distinctly other-worldly figure who would appear as a judge at the end of time . Some expounded a synthesised view of both positions, where a messianic kingdom of this world would last for
11413-457: The vulnerable, and the duty of those in power to administer justice righteously. It forbids murder, bribery and corruption, deceitful trading, and many sexual misdemeanours . All morality is traced back to God, who is the source of all goodness. The problem of evil plays a large part in the Old Testament. The problem the Old Testament authors faced was that a good God must have had just reason for bringing disaster (meaning notably, but not only,
11526-451: The work never resumed. The outer walls, remains of this extension, can now be seen to the south of the Duomo, while the floors of the uncompleted nave now serve as a parking lot and museum. Though unfinished, the remains are a testament to Sienese power, ambition, and artistic achievement. One of the walls can be climbed by narrow stairs for a high view of the city. The bell tower is one of the only modern aspects dated before 1215, built between
11639-475: The young Michelangelo make it an extraordinary museum of Italian sculpture. The Annunciation between St. Ansanus and St. Margaret , a masterwork of Gothic painting by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi , decorated a side altar of the church until 1799, when it was moved to the Uffizi of Florence. The funeral monument for cardinal Riccardo Petroni (Siena 1250 - Genoa 1314, a jurisconsult of Pope Boniface VIII )
11752-501: Was a Syriac translation of the Hebrew Bible called the Peshitta , as well as versions in Coptic (the everyday language of Egypt in the first Christian centuries, descended from ancient Egyptian ), Ethiopic (for use in the Ethiopian church , one of the oldest Christian churches), Armenian (Armenia was the first to adopt Christianity as its official religion), and Arabic . Christianity
11865-533: Was better than Hebrew. However, the texts came to be used predominantly by gentile converts to Christianity and by the early Church as its scripture, Greek being the lingua franca of the early Church. The three most acclaimed early interpreters were Aquila of Sinope , Symmachus the Ebionite , and Theodotion ; in his Hexapla , Origen placed his edition of the Hebrew text beside its transcription in Greek letters and four parallel translations: Aquila's, Symmachus's,
11978-449: Was built in 1532 by Baldassarre Peruzzi . The enormous bronze ciborium is the work of Vecchietta (1467–1472, originally commissioned for the church of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala , across the square, and brought to the cathedral in 1506). At the sides of the high altar, the uppermost angels are masterpieces by Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1502). Against the pillars of
12091-453: Was completed about 1325. The main attraction is the hexagonal baptismal font, containing sculptures by Donatello , Jacopo della Quercia and others. Also at this level under the Duomo is a crypt excavated beginning in 1999, which contains relics of Siena's key patron saints and frescoes from the 12th and 13th centuries. A small glass-covered opening in the floor of the left transept peers down into it. The crypt can be accessed by visitors with
12204-410: Was designed by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1484–1485. The Story of Fortuna, or Hill of Virtue (Allegoria della Fortuna), by Pinturicchio in 1504, was the last one commissioned by Aringhieri. This panel also gives a depiction of Socrates . Domenico Beccafumi , the most renowned Sienese artist of his time, worked on cartoons for the floor for thirty years (1518–1547). Half of the thirteen Scenes from
12317-416: Was erected between 1317 and 1318 by the Sienese sculptor Tino di Camaino . He had succeeded his father as the master-builder of the Siena cathedral. The marble monument in the left transept is the earliest example of 14th-century funeral architecture. It is composed of a richly decorated sarcophagus , held aloft on the shoulders of four statues. Above the sarcophagus, two angels draw apart a curtain, revealing
12430-479: Was influenced by his father Nicola Pisano . The lower portion of the façade is designed from Giovanni's original plans. Built in Tuscan Romanesque style it emphasizes a horizontal unity of the area around the portals at the expense of the vertical bay divisions. The three portals, surmounted by lunettes , are based on Giovanni Pisano's original designs, as are much of the sculpture and orientation surrounding
12543-596: Was most reluctant to have another council like Pisa or Constance, he authorized the assembly to meet in Pavia in the Spring of 1423. On 22 June, however, alleging the presence of the pestilence in Pavia, the Pope transferred the council to Siena. On 21 July 1423 the Council reopened in Siena, though there was only one general session, on 8 November. Work continued until the papal legates dissolved
12656-498: Was never accomplished. By 1215 there were already daily masses said in the new church. Beginning in 1226, records show that black and white marble blocks were being transported to the cathedral, presumably to be used for the facade and bell tower. The vaults and the transept were constructed in 1259–1260. In 1259 Manuello di Ranieri and his son Parri carved the wooden choir stalls, which were replaced about 100 years later and have now disappeared. In 1264, Rosso Padellaio helped create
12769-517: Was the uncle of cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini (then archbishop of Siena and the future pope Pius III ), who commissioned this library in 1492 as a repository of the books and the manuscript collection of his uncle. The ceiling is covered with painted panels of mythological subjects. They were executed between 1502 and 1503 by Pinturicchio and his assistants. The entrance is a finely carved marble monument with two openings with round arches, executed in 1497 by Lorenzo di Mariano. It contains
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