Domenico di Bartolo
"Il Governo degli infermi"
Pellegrinaio
Santa Maria della Scala

Situated opposite Siena's cathedral, the Santa Maria was one of the first hospitals in Europe. It was independently organised to take in wayfarers and to care for abandoned children and the poor.
 

The Santa Maria hospital was founded by the cathedral canons. However, a medieval Sienese legend tells of a mythical founder, a cobbler by the name of Sorore, who died in 898. Thanks to the legacies of Siena's noble families and to the considerable alms that poured into the hospital funds, the Santa Maria quickly gained importance in the economy of the Sienese Republic. In addition, a large number of agricultural properties, known as grance, were scattered throughout the territory of the Republic, and for centuries these provided further support to the hospital's intense activity.
 

The original nucleus of the Santa Maria is represented by the church, built in around the mid 13th century and reworked to assume its current appearance at the end of the 15th century. Many great Sienese artists worked for Santa Maria della Scala at some time, making it the city's third important centre of art, together with the cathedral and the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall).
One of the most prestigious examples of this is the Pellegrinaio ward, built in the second half of the 14th century and decorated almost a century later with an important fresco cycle devoted to the history of the hospital. The Pellegrinaio, now the fulcrum of Santa Maria's museum itineraries, not only represents a significant opportunity for a historical and artistic reading of a 15th-century cycle of great originality and grandeur, but also recreates in great detail the history of this century-old building and the functions carried out there.
 

One of the Santa Maria's many functions, that of taking in abandoned children, is shown in the first fresco on the left, painted by Lorenzo Vecchietta and representing Episodes from the Life of the Blessed Sorore (ca. 1441). The painter portrays the dream experienced by the hospital's mythical founder's mother who, even before the birth of her son, predicted his charitable vocation and his responsibility for the foundation of the prestigious hospital institution.
 

From the mid-13th century, the hospital's children were systematically registered when they first arrived there. They were generally abandoned at night in the hospital square or, from the 14th century, in a purpose-made pila (stone basin), later replaced by the ruota (wheel). Most of them came from Siena, but also from the surrounding area, especially from the areas around the grance, the landed properties run by the hospital. Nearly all the abandoned children carried some kind of identification (one half of a metal disc, for example, or a piece of paper bearing their name or place of birth, or an explanation for their abandonment), so that the parents would not completely lose hope of being able to take back the child once their economic or social conditions allowed them to, though this was nearly always in vain.
Strangely enough, these foundlings were considered to be privileged, since they could count on a roof over their heads, food, and real and well-organised care. Like the oblates and the rector of the Santa Maria, the foundlings wore a uniform bearing the insignia of a yellow ladder. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of their care lay in the fact that they had the opportunity to receive an education and learn a trade. In fact, when they reached eight years of age they were trained for work, depending on their particular aptitudes. Those who showed a gift for music even received special tuition so that they could join the group of musicians belonging to the church of the Santissima Annunziata.
 

The girls were guaranteed a dignified marriage and were given a dowry. This often consisted of linen, furniture, flour and grain, necklaces and clothes. The latter were usually blue, brown, white or red, woven within Santa Maria della Scala and sewn and embroidered by themselves and their companions. The boys, having learnt a trade, left the hospital when they were about twenty years old, taking with them their earnings from the work carried out until then. Sometimes they also had a small sum donated by the hospital of Santa Maria. They were not completely left to fend for themselves either, since they continued to have contact with the hospital which remained an important point of reference for them.
 

The Santa Maria della Scala has not been used as a hospital for several years now. Siena's Town Council is currently carrying out the complete restoration of the building, made possible by a project that has succeeded in combining the building and restoration work with a number of museum exhibitions, offering visitors a wide variety of cultural themes. Since 1995 attention has been given to the progressive restoration and opening up of various areas of the complex (the Pellegrinaio, the Sagrestia Vecchia (old sacristy), the church of the Santissima Annunziata), as well as oratories, chapels, Renaissance picture cycles, exhibition spaces and restoration workshops - such as that of the 15th-century Fonte Gaia by Jacopo della Quercia -, the new Archaeological Museum and, recently, Palazzo Squarcialupi. The project also includes the organisation of various activities linked with tourist, study and research needs, thus reaching a wide cross-section of the public which, more and more, sees the Santa Maria della Scala as a privileged reference point for European culture.
 

17^th century sink
Palazzo Squarcialupi
Santa Maria della Scala

This building, which looks onto Piazza del Duomo and stands at right angles to the main Santa Maria della Scala building, was very probably erected in the first half of the 14th century in order to create a hospital for women.

The remodelling of a pre-existing building which probably belonged to the Squarcialupi family is documented by a resolution made in 1336 when the General Communal Council conceded the use of two alleys to Santa Maria della Scala for the extension of its buildings. It is very likely that the resolution refers to the construction of the group of buildings between Via del Capitano and Piazza del Duomo, known variously as the "Pellegrinaio delle Donne" ('women's pilgrim hospice') (whose function is attested from the 14th century), "Spedale delle Donne" ('women's hospital'), "Convento delle Fanciulle" ('young women's convent'), and recently "Corsia Mercacci" ('Mercacci ward') after a well-known doctor.

The work, which was completed in about 1338, was promoted by rector Giovanni di Tese dei Tolomei. Despite further interventions at repeated intervals in history, the first two floors of the building still display most of their 14th-century features.

The three storeys are now used as follows: a bar, a bookshop, and display areas on the ground floor, conferences, workshops and libraries on the first level, while the top floor is reserved for exhibitions of special importance. This wing of Santa Maria della Scala affords striking views over the cathedral and the Sienese countryside.