The Palazzo Spannocchi is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

style urban palace located on the Piazza Salimbeni, just off Via Banchi di Sopra in the Terzo di Camollia of the city of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

, region of Tuscany,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The building was associated with an ancient mercantile family of Siena.

History

It was built in 1473 by Ambrogio Spannocchi, adjacent to the Gothic

Palazzo Salimbeni Palazzo Salimbeni is a Gothic style urban palace located on the Piazza Salimbeni, just off Via Banchi di Sopra in the Terzo di Camollia of the city of Siena, region of Tuscany, Italy. The building, associated with an ancient mercantile family of ...

and faces the Mannerist Renaissance Palazzo Tantucci. Spannocchi had been named Treasurer to

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

of the Sienese Piccolomini Family. The design and construction was entrusted to the Florentine

Giuliano da Maiano Giuliano da Maiano (1432–1490) was an Italian architect, intarsia-worker, and sculptor, the elder brother of Benedetto da Maiano, with whom he often collaborated. Biography He was born in the village of Maiano, near Fiesole, where his fathe ...

. The facade closely parallels the

Palazzo Medici Riccardi The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy. It is the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence and a museum. Overview ...

of Florence built a few decades prior. The sober facade, of smooth stone, has three stories, with

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed windows with round arches on the second floor. Unlike earlier

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

palaces, which often afforded transient wooden scaffolds for either balconies or awnings, this palace has a solid protruding ceiling cornice near the roofline with classical busts putatively of Roman emperors. The interior courtyard had a scenic stairwell leading to second floor. It faces a square with a statue of the Sienese scholar

Sallustio Bandini Sallustio Bandini (19 April 1677 – 8 June 1760) was an Italian archdeacon, economist, and politician. He was an advocate of free trade, and removal of local feudal tariffs and tolls. He wrote an influential piece on this subject, titled ''Discor ...

(1882) by

Tito Sarrocchi Tito Sarrocchi (5 January 1824 – 1900) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Sarrocchi was born at Siena to a humble family, as a boy was orphaned of mother. He had to help support his two sisters and his father, who had become nearly blind. At ...

. This entire square was reformulated in the 19th century by removing a garden found in front of the Spannocchi palace. To the left of this palace, at the bottom of the piazza stands the Gothic style

(14th-century), also once belonging to an important banking family of Siena, and now historical of the

Monte dei Paschi di Siena Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (), known as BMPS or just MPS, is an Italian bank. Tracing its history to a mount of piety founded in 1472 () and established in its present form in 1624 (), it is the world's oldest or second oldest bank ...

bank. Across the piazza is the late-Renaissance style Palazzo Tantucci (1548), offices of the bank. South along Via Banchi di Sopra, are the Palaces Bichi Ruspoli and Tolomei. To the north, along the street is the small church of Santa Maria delle Nevi.Monte dei Paschi di Siena
entry on palace.

References

{{Coord, 43.3210, N, 11.3308, E, source:wikidata, display=title

Spannocchi Spannocchi is an Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance ...

Houses completed in the 15th century Renaissance architecture in Siena