History of Siena
Subtitle: From Its Origins to the Modern Day
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2019
Language: eng
Number of pages: 208
ISBN-13: 9781138293595
Description: "A History of Siena provides a concise and up-to-date biography of the city, from its medieval development through to the present day, and makes Siena's history, culture and traditions accessible to anyone studying or visiting the city. Well-informed by archival research and recent scholarship on medieval Siena and the Italian city-states, this book places Siena's development in its larger context, both temporally and geographically. In the process, this book offers new interpretations of Siena's artistic, political, and economic development, highlighting in particular the role of pilgrimage, banking, and class conflict. The second half of the book provides an important analysis of the historical development of Siena's nobility, its unique system of neighborhood associations (contrade) and the race of the Palio, as well as a thorough overview of the rise and fall of Siena's troubled bank, the Monte dei Paschi. This book is accessible to undergraduates and tourists, while also offering plenty of new insights for graduate students and scholars of all periods of Sienese history."