Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena

The Pinacoteca Nazionale is a national art museum in Siena, Tuscany, Italy, inaugurated in 1932. It is recognized as one of the most important Italian museums, distinguished by its extensive holdings of Sienese paintings with gold backgrounds from the 14th and 15th centuries. The institution provides a comprehensive survey of Sienese art from the 13th through the 17th centuries, tracing the development from Duccio di Buoninsegna through the Lorenzetti brothers and Simone Martini to later masters such as Sodoma and Domenico Beccafumi. It is housed in the historic Brigidi and Buonsignori palaces in the city center.

The museum's collection originated in the holdings of abbots Giuseppe Ciaccheri and Luigi de Angelis, who assembled works by leading Sienese painters between 1750 and 1810. Luigi de Angelis made an initial attempt to catalogue the collection. In 1816, Giovanni Bianchi founded the Accademia di belle arti di Siena, which took possession of these works. The collection was expanded through donations, notably the complete collection of the Santa Maria della Scala hospital and the Spannocchi-Piccolomini collection in 1835, the latter largely derived from the Gonzaga collection of Mantua. In 1847, Alessandro Saracini, president of the Academy, commissioned Carlo Pini to restructure the collection and correct errors in de Angelis's catalogue, establishing a chronological order. The collection passed to the Comune di Siena in the 19th century, was transferred to the Province of Siena in 1864, and renamed Galleria Provinciale delle belle arti in 1866. On 4 March 1915, Niccolò Bonobligo donated the Palazzo Buonsignori to the provincial administration with the condition that it become a museum or pinacotheca. By decree of 15 May 1930, the move to Via San Pietro was decided; the Palazzo Brigidi was annexed to address space constraints. The collection was installed in the palazzi Buonsignori and Brigidi in 1932 under the name Regia Pinacoteca di Siena, later changed to Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena. Cesare Brandi, who first fully catalogued the collection, published the first scholarly catalogue in 1933.

The Pinacoteca Nazionale holds one of the largest collections of Sienese paintings with gold backgrounds from the 14th and 15th centuries. Its holdings span from the late 12th and 13th centuries through the 17th century, offering a systematic overview of Sienese painting development. The collection is particularly strong in works from the Duecento and Trecento, with significant representation of the key figures who defined the Sienese school. The museum's scope extends beyond purely Sienese art through the Spannocchi Collection on the third floor, which since 1977 has displayed northern Italian and international masters, notably including works by Albrecht Dürer and Lorenzo Lotto. This collection differs markedly from the Sienese core and includes Flemish, Dutch, and German works. The Spannocchi-Piccolomini collection was donated by the family to the Accademia delle Belle Arti in 1835; its older portion appears to have been contributed by Enea Silvio Piccolomini, with origins in his activities around 1460 at Mantua and with the Gonzaga court. Documentation of its provenance derives from an 18th-century manuscript by Abbot Girolamo Carli in the Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati in Siena.

The second floor contains the earliest works, from the late 12th and 13th centuries through the first half of the 15th century. Rooms 1 and 2 display Romanesque works including a late 12th-century crucifix from San Pietro in Villore and a crucifix dated 1215, plus works by Guido da Siena. Rooms 3 and 4 are devoted to Duccio di Buoninsegna and his followers, including the Master of Badia a Isola and Ugolino di Nerio; specific works include Duccio's Polyptych N. 28, Madonna and Child with Saints Polyptych, and Madonna of the Franciscans. Rooms 5 and 6 present Simone Martini and his followers, including Lippo Memmi, Luca di Tommè, and Bartolo di Fredi's Adoration of the Magi. Room 7 features the Lorenzetti brothers, Pietro and Ambrogio, with Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Annunciation (c. 1344), alongside works by Paolo di Giovanni Fei and Bartolomeo Bulgarini. Rooms 8 and 9 cover the period after the 1348 plague through the early 15th century. Rooms 10 and 11 are dedicated to Taddeo di Bartolo and Andrea di Bartolo. Rooms 12 and 13 focus on Giovanni di Paolo and Sassetta, while rooms 14 and 15 display high Renaissance masters including Francesco di Giorgio, Matteo di Giovanni, and Neroccio di Bartolomeo. Rooms 16 and 17 are almost entirely devoted to Sano di Pietro. Room 19 contains works by Vecchietta, Benvenuto di Giovanni, and Girolamo di Benvenuto. The first floor holds 16th-century works, including Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta's Sacra famiglia and Bartolomeo Neroni's Il paradiso in room 22, multiple works by Pietro di Francesco Orioli in room 23, and sculptures by Gano di Fazio in room 26. Rooms 27 to 32 display works by Sodoma, Domenico Beccafumi, Girolamo del Pacchia, and Marco Pino. Rooms 33 to 36 present 17th-century paintings by Domenico Manetti, Rutilio Manetti, Bernardino Mei, Francesco Nasini, Astolfo Petrazzi, Pietro Sorri, and Raffaello Vanni. The third floor Spannocchi Collection includes works by Giovanni Battista Moroni, Bernardo Strozzi, Paris Bordone, Sofonisba Anguissola, Francesco Furini, Lucas Cranach the Younger, Albrecht Dürer, Alessandro Varotari (Il Padovanino), and Giulio Carpioni.

The museum occupies two historic palaces in Siena's Terzo di Città district on Via San Pietro 29. The Palazzo Brigidi was built in the 14th century and served as the residence of the Pannocchieschi family. The Palazzo Bichi-Buonsignori was constructed in the 15th century with a façade inspired by the city's Palazzo Pubblico. It was thoroughly restored in the second half of the 19th century and was until recently believed to have a 19th-century neo-medieval façade based on the Palazzo Pubblico; however, restoration work in 2022 revealed that the façade is largely original. The building comprises four floors, with the ground floor serving as entrance, offices, and service spaces. It houses an Etruscan sarcophagus and a door from the destroyed Olivetan convent at the Porta Tufi city gate.

The Pinacoteca Nazionale is located in the historic center of Siena at Via San Pietro 29. The museum is organized across four floors, with the visit beginning on the second floor for the earliest works and proceeding to the first floor for 16th- and 17th-century art, with the third floor dedicated to the Spannocchi Collection. The ground floor functions as entrance and administrative space. The museum's official website is http://pinacotecanazionalesiena.it. The institution continues to serve as a major repository and exhibition venue for Sienese and related Italian art, having hosted significant temporary exhibitions including Simone Martini e "chompagni" in 1985, L'Héritage artistique de Simone Martini in 2009 in collaboration with the Petit Palais d'Avignon, and Da Jacopo della Quercia a Donatello. Le arti a Siena nel primo Rinascimento in 2011.