The Palazzo Chigi all Postierla, but sometimes referred also to as Chigi-Piccolomini or Piccolomini-Adami is a
Renaissance style urban palace localized on Via del Capitano #1, corner Piazza Postierla, in the Terzo di Città , in the city of Siena, region of
Tuscany, Italy. The palace is up the street from the
Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, Siena
{{Coord, 43.317029, N, 11.32939, E, type:landmark, display=title
The Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo is a 13th-century Gothic style, brick and stone, urban palace located on via del Capitano, #13-19 in the city of Siena, region of Tuscany, Ital ...
.
History
The corner palace, with the round stone portal was commissioned by Scipione di Cristofano Chigi in the 16th century. The design is attributed the
Bartolomeo Neroni. The palace remained in the
Chigi family
The House of Chigi () is an Italian princely family of Sienese origin descended from the counts of Ardenghesca, which possessed castles in the Maremma, southern Tuscany. Later, the family settled in Rome. The earliest authentic mention of them i ...
till 1785. In 1919, it was owned by Giorgio
Piccolomini Adami. It was sold to the state in 1959.
The palace is notable because two rooms in the main floor retain the late
Renaissance decoration (1573), including stuccoes by
Marcello Sparti Marcello is a common masculine Italian given name. It is a variant of Marcellus. The Spanish and Portuguese version of the name is Marcelo, differing in having only one "l", while the Greek form is Markellos.
Etymology
The name originally means ...
and frescoes by
Bernard van Rantwyck
Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...
. The ceilings depict biblical episodes from the old testament. The twelve sybils are painted in the spandrels. One scene depicts the ''Chariot of Fire of Elias'', and ''Jacob's ladder'' and ''Isaiah''. Two niches have figures of Samson and David. Another room is frescoed with the ''Story of Camillus''. Wall canvases have paintings of Roman history. Other rooms have mythologic frescoes.
In 2014, the palace housed offices of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e per il Paesaggio per le province di Siena e Grosseto.
Beniculturali entry
director Mario Scalini, Coordinator Laura Martini.
In the Piazza in front of the palace stands 15th century column surmounted by an iron statue of the ''Lupa Senese'' or Sienese Wolf, symbol of the city. The fountain in the piazza is surmounted by an eagle, marking this area as part of the ''Contrada dell'Aquila''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chigi alla Posterla
Palaces in Siena
Renaissance architecture in Siena