Until March 1, visitors are invited to Siena’s Santa Maria della Scala museum where entrance will be free. One of the oldest hospitals in Europe, the fourteenth-century building is throwing open its doors as part of Siena city council’s ‘February at the Museum’ initiative to promote local heritage during the low tourist season. Until March 1, visitors can enjoy the temporary exhibition, ‘Body and Soul: Places and Works of Hospital Care in Tuscany from the Fourteenth to the Nineteenth Century.’ In addition, guided tours (5 euro) of Santa Maria della Scala will be available on Sundays from 11am to 12:30pm and on Thursdays from 3:30 to 5pm. On February 8, the focus will be on the 400 artworks of the Children’s Art Museum; on February 12, admire the thirteenth-century frescoes of the Sala del Pellegrinaio; on February 15, take a look at the priceless relics in the basements; on February 22, the history of the pilgrims’ way to Rome, the via Francigena, will be explained; on February 27, find out about Siena’s Fonte Gaia, carved by Jacopo della Quercia and whose original statues are on view at Santa Maria della Scala.
For more information and to book tours, e-mail infoscala@comune.siena.it
