Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana/Museum of the Duomo

Avg. User Rating:

Piazza Del Duomo, 8, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

Not right?
Update Address

Show More Info

Facciatone & Duomo Photo - Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana/Museum of the Duomo, Siena, Italy

User Reviews

Results 1-2of 2 Reviews

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo - Duccio Woz Ere

by Liam Hetherington

Manchester, United Kingdom

June 10, 2008

Best of IgoUgo Off to one side of the Cathedral is the museum of its treasures. The Sienese are inordinately fond of one of their chief artists, whose work is on display here, one Duccio di Buoninsegna, a comtemporary of Cimabue (Giotto's teacher). Indeed the free ...Read more Off to one side of the Cathedral is the museum of its treasures. The Sienese are inordinately fond of one of their chief artists, whose work is on display here, one Duccio di Buoninsegna, a comtemporary of Cimabue (Giotto's teacher). Indeed the free tourist guide published by the Opera della Metropolitana is called 'My name is Duccio'. This highlights the benefits of Biglietto Cumulativo, or combined ticket. €10 get you a ticket to this Museum, the Duomo, the cathedral's Crypt and Baptistery, and the Oratorio di San Bernardino. The latter two can easily be missed out in my view, but you get a saving with this ticket than if you were wanting to visit the Duomo, the Crypt (both of which are well worth it) and the Museo separately.

To tell the truth, the exhibits here are pretty ho hum. The works of their star man Duccio did not grab me. Maybe if they had explained more about his history and techniques I would have enjoyed it more, but instead they just had two of his greatest pieces. The 'Maesta', or enthroned Virgin was created between 1308 and 1311 for the duomo's high altar. It is a pretty darn big double-sided altarpiece, angels and saints on the front, 26 panels narrating the story of the Passion of Christ on the reverse. I preferred his huge round stained-glass window, its rich colours still vibrant. This was truly impressive.

Also located here are the original statues from the Duomo's facade, sculpted by Giovanni Pisano, amd the usual selection of monstances and mouldy relics. There is a nice room upstairs with scale-like roof panels displaying the coats of arms of (one presumes) the bishops of Siena, dating from AD78 up until the late '90s. They are not half-way across the ceiling yet...

For me the main attraction of the Museo is the access up to the roof. For the building you are actually in was once intended to be part of the cathedral. The overconfident burghers of Siena hit upon the wheeze of finally getting one over on their rivals by constructing the largest cathedral in Christendom. To this end they started constructing a shell at right angles to the existing cathedral, whose nave would hence form the transept (the 'cross-bar' of the traditional cross shape), in 1339.

Then the money ran out.

Actually, work on the enormous new edifice halted more because of the arrival of the Black Death less than a decade later, a pandemic that killed roughly a third of Europe's population, and the discovery that the very ground was unable to bear the weight of quite so much stone. My theory that Siena was bankrupted by the amount of gold leaf they used in their paintings is not backed by any reputable scholar (pah, historians! What do they know?). And so the Facciatone, or 'big facade' remained as construction halted, and life went on around it. What would have been the nave is now an actual annex to the Piazza del Duomo, Piazza Jacopo della Quercia. That shows just how big this Duomo Nuovo would have been. This unfinished skeleton wall can be accessed through the Museo, and is the best reason for a visit I would say. You climb up to a narrow walkway, that gives views across to the cathedral or the Palazzo Pubblico. It is not as high as the Torre del Mangia, but the walls are only thigh-high, and it got pretty gusty up there! I would NOT recommend taking small children up there.

I would recommend getting a €10 combined ticket, and as this gives access to the Museo you might as well go in. However, I would class the works of art on display as less worthy of your time than the view of from the facciatone, a true work of art displayed below you.

The museum is open 10:00-17:00 between 3rd November and 28th February, 09:30-19:30 1st March to 15th March, 09:30-20:00 16th March to 30th September, and 09:30-19:30 from 1st October until 2nd November. Close

From journal Sainted Siena

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo

by kylebarber

Seattle, Washington

December 11, 2000

Adjacent to the cathedral is this small museum featuring works recovered from or originally intended for display in the duomo. Our group passed through the building quickly as little caught our attention, but caught a few interesting perspectives ...Read more

From journal Italy: Sienna

Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana/Museum of the Duomo

What's Nearby?

Nearby Things to Do

Popular Siena Hotels

Popular Things to Do in Siena

Avg. User Rating:

User Reviews

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo - Duccio Woz Ere

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo