City in Tuscany, Italy; est) 58,400. Founded by the Etruscans, it has medieval sculpture including works in the 13th-century Gothic cathedral by Pisano and Donatello, and many examples of the Sienese school of painting that flourished from the 13th to the 16th centuries. The Palio (“banner”, in reference to the prize) is a dramatic and dangerous horse race in the main square, held annually (2 July and 16 August) since the Middle Ages.
history
Siena was politically unstable internally as well as being involved in external warfare for most of the period 1355–1559. The city was governed by Visconti of Milan 1399–1404; by the pope 1458–63; under heavy Spanish influence from the 1520s to 1552 and directly by Spain 1555–57; it was then sold to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence.