From today 26 June until 31 July and from 18 August to 17 October the Cathedral of Siena uncovers its magnificent floor making it visible to visitors. Made from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century, with the technique of the marble commesso and grafito. A particular type of processing explains theWork of the Siena Metro which is responsible for protecting and promoting the cathedral complex. “The first inlays were drawn on white marble slabs with grooves made with a chisel and a drill, filled with black stucco. This technique is called graffiti. Then colored marbles were added juxtaposed together as in a wooden inlay: this technique is called commesso marble ". It was the way to transfer the artists' idea to the floor, based on their preparatory cartoons.
The two openings, which will allow visitors to admire the extraordinary spectacle of this precious floor, are in some way related to the dates of the Palio, July 2 and August 16. That of 2 July, due to the Covid emergency, will not be done, the city council of Siena has already decided. For now, the appointment of the Palio dell'Assunta in mid-August remains pending. In any case, there are two dates that mark the summer calendar in Siena, linked to the Palio and the Duomo which is located not far from the famous Piazza del Campo.
A precious carpet of polychrome marble, unique and extraordinary
The floor is perhaps the most significant work of the Duomo, considered unique not only for the particular technique used but also for the message of its representations which are a constant invitation to Wisdom. The Monte della Sapienza square - a symbolic representation of the way to virtue - bears the signature, in its preparatory cartoon, of the famous Umbrian painter Pinturicchio (1452-1513). The other drawings are by almost all Sienese artists who worked between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: from Sassetta to Domenico di Bartolo, from Matteo di Giovanni to Domenico Beccafumi. The latter is the author of the drawings for the biblical itinerary but is also the innovator of the marble commesso technique. Instead of combining marbles of different colors as had been done up to his time, he decided to use marbles with different shades than the base color. The result is particular chiaroscuro effects where the figures seem to be made with monochromatic paints.
It is just an example to give the idea of the overall work that Giorgio Vasari in the sixteenth century he defined "the most beautiful ..., great and magnificent that had ever been made ...". Since the nineteenth century it was necessary to protect it from the trampling of those who entered the Cathedral. In fact, iconographic evidence of the time testifies to the first roofs with wooden planks, which in any case kept visible some clippings, protected by cords, in the central nave.
The "curtain" on this extraordinary work of art opens with the entrance inscription in front of the central portal. And then the image of the founder of human wisdom, Hermes Trismegistus. The she-wolf nursing the twins, symbol of Rome and which since the Middle Ages has also been the symbol of the city of Siena. The Sibyls with their oracular responses. The inlay designed by Pinturicchio represents the image of Fortune and the ascent of the wise men to the mountain of Sapienza. And again, the philosophers, the history of the Jewish people, the events of Salvation achieved by the figure of Christ. In the hexagon under the dome the chiaroscuro obtained with the new technique of the mannerist painter Domenico Beccafumi.
From the Duomo to the Museo dell'Opera, an itinerary of extraordinary artistic value
La new lighting of the cathedral, built in 2018, has allowed a further revaluation of this floor. The intervention was in fact designed to highlight, thanks to particular lighting techniques, every single inlay without losing the overall view. Everything to see and admire the floor of the Cathedral of Siena, along an itinerary that will also allow you to visit the Opera Museum where the famous Floor plan by Giovanni Paciarelli (1884) which allows you to have an overview of the inlays and the path that leads from the entrance to the main altar.
(ph credit: Opera della Metropolitana di Siena)
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