Senese Renaissance: the Piccolomini Library.

When thinking of the Renaissance, our mind usually goes to Florence when it comes to the Quattrocento and Rome when it comes to the Cinquecento. Tuscany as a whole was however a flourishing region for the arts around this time and although we mostly associate it with the later Middle Ages, we cannot exclude its role in the formation of some of the great masters of this period. Siena comes to mind, how could Florence’s most bitter enemy not reply in the form of beauty to the great cultural revolution that was taking place there?

Siena is perhaps the perfect example of a central Italian town with its epicenter divided in between the Comune and the Duomo. The cathedral in Siena is probably among the most representative in Medieval Italy, many of my Anglo-Saxon, German or French readers might not agree, but this is also one of the highest examples of Italian Gothic architecture. However, Siena’s prosperity did not end with the Middle Ages (the enlargement of the cathedral did though, but that is for another article). Rome had its popes, Milan had its Sforza, Naples had its Angiò, Urbino its Montefeltro, Ferrara its Este, Mantua its Gonzaga and indeed Florence had its own Medici, so who did Siena have? The Piccolomini, who ended up boasting two popes by the end of the century, had ruled over Siena and like their counterparts all over Italy, they also planned to beautify their city with masterpieces in the new Renaissance style.

The Duomo in Siena is home to the stunning Libreria Piccolomini, a true Renaissance masterpiece, that would make surrounding works pale even in Rome or Florence. How did it come to be? Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, who was a nephew to the family pope, Pius II, had the library built around 1495/96 and commissioned Umbrian master Pintoricchio, a pupil of Perugino (with whom he worked in the Sistine Chapel), to decorate the large room with stories from the life of his uncle, Pope Pius II, for a price of 1,000 ducats. He needed the library built to house the many books he collected during his Roman stays. Before starting the works, Pintoricchio returned to Perugia briefly to finish his other commissions and probably have a word with his master, Perugino; according to legend, when he comes back, he brings along another pupil of Perugino, his name was Raffaello Sanzio of Urbino. Yes, that one. There are many self-portraits of the two in the many frescoes decorating the room.

In summer 1503, Pintoricchio starts working on the library. The entire room is like an open loggia opening into the life of the Piccolomini pope, a loggia whose architecture is finely decorated in classical grotesques, indeed the library is both a tribute to the beloved Senese pope but also a triumph of true Renaissance classical revival. But let us be still and take it all in for a moment before entering this space because Pintoricchio begins by decorating the facade right over the entrance with the Coronation of Pius II, who is substituted by Cardinal Francesco as he becomes Pius III upon his pontifical election.

The frescoes in the Libreria are among the most relevant artistic scenes of the early 16th century in Italy. The great chronicler of Renaissance art, Vasari, praises Pintoricchio for his use of the Classical revival element of the grotesques and also for his thorough technique. The first part of the cycle was completed around 1503 with the vaulting decoration and the painted architectural element of the loggia that encasing all the various scenes. Work on the main frescoes started around 1505 and it is believed that it was completed around 1507. 

Enough with history, we came here for the arts after all; let us explore the Libreria itself. One enters this space from the nave through a rich marmoreal portal decorated by Marrina, it consists of two arches with bas-relief decorations. Over the entrance is the first of Pintoricchio’s frescoes, the Coronation of Pius III.

We leave behind the dark Gothic austerity of the Duomo and venture into the Libreria through a tiny door; we are struck with a sense of awe at the beauty of the space that surrounds us with its ethereal light and realistic, colourful frescoes, we just set foot into the very heart of the High Renaissance. The Libreria is a rectangular space, topped by a Quattrocento vaulting, the architecture is solemn, we are reminded of its role by the many, finely decorated, wooden cabinets; the majolica floors bears the crescent, the Piccolomini’s own armorial emblem. Over the entrance is the Flight from Eden of Adam and Eve which is contemporary to the chapel, also by Marrina. At the center of the room, as a testament to the humanistic love for the Classical world in the Renaissance, we have a fine ancient Roman sculpture of the allegorical Charities, coming from the Piccolomini’s own Roman palazzo. It is a bold statement that says “this is who we used to be, and now we’re doing it again”.

At the center of the vault is a long central rectangle, held by a number of triangular rib vaulting elements. The pictorial decorations are inspired by those of the then recently discovered Domus Aurea in Rome which started off that Renaissance love for grotesques. The pictorial elements are encased in a dramatic golden background which wants to remind us that we’re not in Rome, but at the heart of Medieval Siena. The theme is Pagan, we have allegories of the virtues, various myths, most of these scenes were inspired by actual archeological discoveries from the time. These were probably painted by the same hands who worked in the Borgia Apartments at the Vatican. 

Let us now admire the fine Pintoricchio scenes themselves now. The faux-loggia is divided into ten arcades which give off a sense of false perspective. We are in a loggia facing onto an imaginary Tuscan countryside. If we were to open the two, real, windows then it would be even harder to really tell illusion from reality. The pilasters are also decorated in the grotesques style. The scenes follow the life of Pius II. Pintoricchio worked on them together with pupils from the School of Perugino, including a certain Raphael. 

In the first, dramatic scene, Enea Silvio Piccolomini is seen departing for the Council of Basel, he is the beautiful, young knight in the foreground, while in the background is a foretaste of the tempestuous weather that he would encounter on his difficult journey and its effects on his fleet. In the crowd is a number of high-ranking characters such as a halberdier, a cardinal a knight walking his expensive hound, including someone who seems to be a visitor from an exotic and distant land. This scene is somewhat remindful of Benozzo Gozzoli’s Chapel of the Magi in the Palazzo Medici in Florence.

The following scene appears to be set in another Renaissance loggia, adjacent to the one in which we ourselves are. Here is Enea Silvio in his first major mission given to him during the Council of Basel. He departs for Edinburgh, with cardinal Niccolò Albergati, to visit the court of James I of Scotland, in order to seek an alliance with him. The throne takes a central position in the scene amidst lavish surroundings of what seems to be a very Italian take on what a Scottish castle would have been like at the time. The loggia is decorated with precious marbles and rich carpets, not really something you’d find in Edinburgh. The background seems to be set in a mysterious landscape which is somewhat different from the other Tuscan or central-Italian-like scenes in this cycle. In the center of the scene is the monarch looking towards Enea Silvio in his red garments, they are surrounded by a number of courtiers and dignitaries in flamboyant clothing. 

We move on to the third scene in which Enea Silvio is crowned as a poet by Emperor Frederick III. In this scene, the young man was sent to Aachen by antipope Felix V to render homage to the new emperor. Frederick III had a great liking for the young Piccolomini and made him his protonotary and finally crowned him as a poet in the manner of the Ancient Romans at the Capitoline Hill. In the fresco, the emperor is laying the laurel wreath on the head of Enea; with the young Piccolomini looking towards the imperial throne on the left. The scene seems to be set in a Renaissance piazza. A classical structure, à-la Piero della Francesca and Perugino, in the background, with many a barrel vaults and porticos, is towering over the whole event. It is a testament to the Renaissance love for well ordered architectural spaces on a central plan and the diligent use of the linear perspective as seen in the internal spaces of the structure. The scene, albeit serene, is crowded with many a young men bearing various kinds of weapons. The drawings for this scene are now at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

In the fourth scene, Enea Silvio submits himself to Eugene IV, as an ambassador of Frederick III. This act of obedience took place by the papal deathbed in reality, but for grandiosity’s sake it is shown here to be taking place in a majestic throne room which appears to be in classical Rome. At the center of the scene is the enthroned monarch and bishop, surrounded by his trusted (and untrusted) cardinals. He is shown to be giving a blessing to young Enea Silvio with a certain hint of affection and with the young man reciprocating by kissing the pope’s feet. Beyond the loggia is a vista on another city and another scene, in which Enea Silvio is consecrated as bishop of Trieste in 1447.

We’re now halfway through our journey as we come to the fifth panel in the story of Pius II. In this scene, Enea Silvio, as Bishop of Siena, is presenting Eleanor of Portugal to Frederick III. The Piccolomini is now Bishop of Siena when he presents Eleonora, Infanta of Portugal, to his emperor. He dealt with all of the bureaucracy related to the wedding and welcomed them both in his hometown on 24th February 1452 as we can see from the background in the scene, with a view of Siena in all of its unchanging glory. The joyful meeting between the two is taking place right outside the Porta Camollia, at the center of the scene is the column bearing the arms of the two families, the column is still visible to this day. Also present are a multitude of people who are representatives of the Senese society of the time, including other members of the Piccolomini family. Raphael himself designed the whole scene and his drawings are now at the J.P. Morgan in New York City. 

We move on to the sixth scene in which Enea Silvio receives the cardinal hat. This marks an important moment in his life as Italian families rightfully boasted their pride by having multiple cardinals and popes among their ranks, this is still true of some Roman families today. Enea Silvio was made a cardinal with the title of Santa Sabina by Callixtus III Borgia in 1456. Personally, this is my favorite scene because it is taking place within a spectacular architectural space whose rendering follows the perfect laws of linear perspective in the Renaissance. At the center of the chapel is one of the most splendid renditions of a Quattrocento pre-Trent altar in all of Italian art, in my humble opinion; the altar is decorated with a fine golden frontal and indeed an altarpiece which depicts a Conversazione Sacra between the Madonna with Child and the Saints James the Great and Andrew, patron saints of the Piccolomini family. In the foreground, under a baldacchino, is the papal throne with the pope in the act of placing the galero on a kneeling Enea Silvio.

In the seventh scene is another pivotal moment as Pius II is crowned in the Roman cathedral of Saint John in Lateran on 3rd September 1458. This is also one of my favorite scenes as the Pontifex Maximus arrives on a finely decorated gestatorial sedia. We are witnessing the focal moment in the liturgy as a new flame is lit before the pope to remind him of the frailty of human life. A long processional line of white mitres in the center of nave leads the pope towards the sanctuary of the splendid papal basilica. Surrounding the sea, a large congregation witnessing history being made alive.

In the eight scene we have the first major event in the papacy of Pius II as he invoked the Church during the Council of Mantua in 1459, under the court of Ludovico Gonzaga, to discuss the Ottoman threat and to regain Constantinople after its invasion in 1453. The iconographically unusual scene is taking place within a large portico, beyond it is a stunning rendition of what seems like Perugino’s Umbrian countryside with its fairytale-like hills, lakes and castles. Pius II is sat on the papal throne, once again crowned by a baldacchino, and is chairing the Council. A curtain is separating the cardinals from the other lay spectators. In the foreground is a table covered with an oriental carpet and on it are various books and symbols representing knowledge and wisdom. There is also a group of dignitaries and among them figures the poor, throne-less Patriarch of Constantinople, Gennadius Scholarius. 

In the ninth scene, Pius II gives homage to his hometown of Siena by canonizing local saint Catherine of Siena on 29th June 1461. The scene is fundamentally divided into two different scenes; in the first is once again, an enthroned Pius II, with his baldacchino bearing the Piccolomini arms, at the throne’s feet is Catherine’s body. In the other scene which seems to be taking place below the previous one but behind an imaginary curtain is a number of witnesses in the form of prelates and lay men, among the latter are two portraits of Pintoricchio and Raphael. The scene is taking place inside the ancient Constantinian basilica of Saint Peter, the only element which really gives it off is the baldacchino. 

Finally, we have the tenth and last scene, when Pius II arrives in Ancona to start the new crusade against the Ottomans as they were going to take over the entirety of the Byzantine Empire under Mohammed II. The then old and sickly pope traveled from Rome and arrived to the other end of the Papal States on 18th June 1464 so that he could bless the crusader armies and navies at their departure, he was just able to witness the arrival of the Serenissima fleet before his death on 14th August 1464. Sadly, the crusade was never to be after the pope’s death, but this fresco has nonetheless a celebratory tone. Many allies of Pius II are present in this scene, including the Venetian Doge, Cristoforo Moro, and Thomas Paleologus, the rightful heir to the Byzantine throne, in his splendid oriental garments. The Ottoman ambassadors can also be seen with the kneeling heir to the Ottoman Empire who was held captive in Rome at the time. In the background is a view of Ancona with its port and the many Venetian ships.

Here ends this splendid cycle of frescoes by one of the Renaissance’s greatest masters, a true gem in the heart of Medieval Siena and a fitting tribute to one of the many great popes of the Quattrocento. If you are ever in Siena, don’t give this splendid room in the Duomo a simple and quick glance.