The Palazzo Tolomei is an imposing,

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 ...

style urban palace, located on Via Banchi di Sopra in the present

contrada A (plural: ) is a subdivision (of various types) of Italian city, now unofficial. Depending on the case, a will be a ''località'', a ''rione'', a ''quartiere'' (''terziere'', etc.), a '' borgo'', or even a suburb. The best-known are the 1 ...

of Civetta, 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 it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, Italy.

History

The building is one of the oldest palaces in the city and was erected between 1270 and 1275 by the Tolomei family. It served as the first permanent headquarters of the Sienese commune during the early years of the Guelph era, before the construction of the Palazzo Pubblico in the Piazza del Campo, and it also functioned as a bank and private residence. It stands on the west side of the Piazza Tolomei, across from the church of San Cristoforo. The aristocratic Tolomei family for many years was associated with this parish church. On the Via Banchi di Sopra, it is a few houses south and across the street of the Palazzo Bichi Ruspoli, a few blocks north of the Piazza del Campo. The original palace of this

Guelf The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, ri ...

aristocratic family was mostly destroyed by

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

mobs in 1267 but was rebuilt in its current form shortly after the new Guelph regime came to power. The stone palace, with its tall first floor,

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

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...

decoration in upper floors, was restored in the 1960s and is now home to

Banca CR Firenze Banca Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze S.p.A. known as Banca CR Firenze, was an Italian savings bank. Once a listed company, the group now part of Intesa Sanpaolo since 2007. History Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze (The Saving Bank of Florence) was fou ...

. Among the most notable members of the Tolomei family was Pia Tolomei, who lived in the thirteenth century. In 1295, however, she was supposedly murdered by her Guelph husband from the Maremma, who wished to remarry. Her story was popular in the 19th century as a symbol of faithfulness to principles in the face of treachery and self-interest. Gaetano Donizetti made her the subject of his tragic opera,

Pia de' Tolomei Pia de' Tolomei was an Italian noblewoman from Siena identified as "la Pia," a minor character in Dante's ''Divine Comedy'' who was murdered by her husband. Her brief presence in the poem has inspired many works in art, music, literature, and cin ...

. She was initially immortalized by

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

, who encounters her in Purgatory:Commune of Siena
entry. Palazzo tolomei, si, targa pia de' tolomei

:Ricorditi di me, che son la Pia: :Siena mi fe', disfecemi Maremma: :Salsi colui che innanellata pria, :Disposato m'avea con la sua gemma.'' :Remember me, who am the Pia; :Siena made me, but the Maremma unmade me: :He who had engaged with his ring me first, :Disposed of me from his jewel.

The Tolomei family also bore ''Saint

Bernardo Tolomei Bernardo Tolomei (10 May 1272 – 20 August 1348) was an Italian Roman Catholic theologian and the founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto. In the Roman Martyrology he is commemorated on August 20, but in the Benedi ...

'' and the ''Blessed Nera Tolomei'', memorialized in the facade of the church of San Cristoforo. In front of the palace stands a column crowned with a Roman She-wolf.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1212 Houses completed in the 13th century Tolomei Gothic architecture in Siena 13th-century establishments in the Republic of Siena