Museo dell'Opera del Duomo

Original cathedral sculptures and Duccio's Maestà

The cathedral museum, in the unfinished right aisle of the never-completed Duomo Nuovo. The single most important room contains Duccio di Buoninsegna's Maestà (1311), painted as the high altarpiece of the Duomo: a vast double-sided panel of the Virgin in majesty on one side and the Passion narratives on the other.

Other rooms hold original sculptures by Giovanni Pisano (the apostles and prophets of the Duomo façade, now replaced by copies) and Donatello. The narrow stone staircase up to the Panorama dal Facciatone — the top of the unfinished new façade — gives one of the best views over the city.

things to do museum
A story
Duccio's Maestà, displayed here, was carried through Siena's streets in a public procession on 9 June 1311 from his workshop to the high altar. According to a contemporary chronicle, the bells of the city rang continuously and shops were shut for the day. Now it hangs broken into panels — back and front separated, several pieces sold off in the 18th century — but the central front face is still one of the supreme images of Italian painting.