Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Treasures Museum) & Facciatone, Siena (must see)

The Cathedral Treasures Museum preserves some of the finest artworks created for Siena Cathedral. Founded in 1869, the museum occupies part of the unfinished extension of the cathedral. Construction of this vast new nave began in 1339, but the project was abandoned after the Black Death of 1348 devastated Siena’s population and economy.

Among the museum’s greatest treasures are original statues by sculptor Giovanni Pisano, once displayed on the cathedral façade. Another highlight is the enormous late-13th-century stained-glass window, measuring around 30 square meters. Its nine panels depict the Virgin Mary, the four Evangelists, and Siena’s four patron saints.

The museum also houses important sections of painter Duccio di Buoninsegna’s celebrated Maestà, completed in 1311 for the cathedral’s high altar. According to tradition, the finished altarpiece was carried in procession from the artist’s workshop to the cathedral while the people of Siena followed with candles. The front showed the Madonna and Child surrounded by saints and angels, while the reverse originally contained 46 narrative scenes from the lives of Christ and the Virgin. The altarpiece was dismantled in 1771, and many panels are now dispersed among museums worldwide. Major surviving sections can be seen on the museum’s upper floor.

Other displays include rare manuscripts, religious objects, sculptures, and paintings spanning the 13th to the 19th centuries.

From the museum, visitors can access the Facciatone, the unfinished façade of Siena’s abandoned cathedral extension. Reaching the top requires climbing 131 steps along a narrow spiral staircase, but the reward is one of Siena’s finest views. From the terrace, you can admire the cathedral, Mangia Tower, the city’s tiled rooftops, and the rolling Tuscan countryside beyond. The Facciatone is both a spectacular viewpoint and a lasting reminder of Siena’s medieval ambition.