Piazza Tolomei in Siena: from history to legend
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by admin in Archive, Culture, Itineraries
Piazza Tolomei takes its name from the family of Guelph bankers and merchants “Tolomei”, most probably of German origin and who already in the XI-XII century possessed vast estates in Siena. Only the Palazzo Tolomei remains today, a noble construction in stone from 1205 but rebuilt after 1267 and is the oldest private residence in Siena.
The piazza opens with a typical square shape in front of the Palazzo with the same name. In front of the palazzo is the former Church of the Contrada della Civetta, la Chiesa di San Cristoforo, which gave the name to the square — Piazza di S. Cristoforo or S. Cristofano. The Romanesque church has a typical neoclassical façade but through the centuries the construction was damaged during the various exiles to which the Tolomei family were subject. In 1798 it was seriously damaged by an earthquake and the facade was rebuild in terracotta by Tommaso and Francesco Paccagnini.
The destruction of Palazzo Tolomei, in 1267 by the Ghibellines of Provenzano Salvani, was the cause of another forced exile of the Tolomei family. Notwithstanding these difficulties and a disastrous fire in 1277, Palazzo Tolomei is still today one of the finest buildings in the entire city. The building was probably first constructed between 1207 and 1212 by the brothers Jacopo and Tolomeo di Rinaldo Tolomei. Its reconstruction in 1267 was recorded in the Register of Biccherna, now conserved in the State Archives in Siena. It is believed that the original building was surrounded by a crenulated moat, necessary in those days for the defence of the inhabitants. The facade of today’s building is composed of two distanced floors (separated by stone cord motives which open on to ten elegant biform windows finished with three-eyed ogival arches) and completed with an imposing and massive central doorway. The inner rooms are now offices of the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze where some of the sculptures and stonework recuperated during the restructuring are displayed. In front of the building is an antique column crowned with a tin sculpture of a wolf by Domenico Arrighetti.
There is a very curious anecdote regarding Palazzo Tolomei: la Pia dei Tolomei cited by Dante in the V Canto of “Purgatory”, a most devout and praying soul perhaps lived in this Palazzo and would show herself from the beautiful Gothic windows. She married Nello Pannocchieschi (the Sire of the Castello di Pietra in Maremma), who shut her up in his castle and later murdered her by throwing her from a window to then marry again. The famous phrase about this tragic figure in the Divine Comedy “Ricorditi di me, che son la Pia; Siena mi fè, disfecemi Maremma” (Remember me, I am the Pia, Siena made me and the Maremma did away with me).
The coat of arms is blue with a silver band with three crescent moons, two below and one above. According to a legend, invented by the family historians, the Tolomei are reputed to be descended from the Egyptian sovereigns but in fact they arrived to Italy from Germany in the Middle Ages. After establishing themselves in Siena they amassed great fortunes and soon became one of the most wealthy banking families and money exchangers of their times.
The family owned numerous castles and fortified towers from the Montagnola to the Maremma and also churches, houses and towers in Siena also.
