Siena

Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the provincial capital of Siena province. The historic center of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.

Sienas cathedral, the Duomo, begun in the twelfth century, is one of the great examples of Italian romanesque architecture. Its main facade was completed in 1380. Its campanile and baptistry make a fine group. It is unique among Christian cathedrals in that its axis runs north-south. This is because it was originally intended to be the largest cathedral in existence, with a north-south transept and an east-west aisle, as is usual. After the completion of the transept and the building of the east wall (which still exists and may be climbed by the public via an internal staircase) the money ran out and the rest of the cathedral was abandoned.