Complesso Museale Santa Maria della Scala

Museum Siena, Italy

The Santa Maria della Scala is a museum complex in Siena, located in Piazza del Duomo 2, right in front of the cathedral. Already one of the oldest and largest European hospitals, it was one of the first xenodochi and today, having exhausted its health functions, it is one of the most important museum and cultural centers of the city, following an important recovery operation based on the project of the architect Guido Canali, winner of an invited international competition in 1992. It houses a series of collections ranging from antiquity (National Archaeological Museum in the basement) to the modern era, alternating monumental rooms and narrow corridors, intertwining galleries dug into the tuff and large brick vaulted spaces. In its 350,000 cubic meters of extension (of which 13,000 square meters open to the public) there are therefore various historical and artistic testimonies, which can be read as a synthesis of the city and its history, covering a span of about a thousand years . The famous Pellegrinaio stands out, the most important cycle of the Sienese fifteenth century. The name "della Scala" dates back to the 12th century and recalls the particular location in front of the steps of the main church. Later the legend developed according to which the hospital had been founded following the vision of the mother of Beato Sorore, in which a miraculous stairway welcomed children abandoned in paradise.