Siena Cathedral
medieval church in Siena, Italy
Siena Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
Since its construction in the early 13th century, the cathedral has been central to Sienese identity. The cathedral complex was continuously expanded from its earliest days until the Black Death halted construction in 1348. The citizens of Siena continually advocated for the cathedral to become one of the largest churches in Europe.
The cathedral was designed and built between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The dome, completed in 1264, rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The bell tower has six bells, with the oldest cast in 1149. The nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches.
“Siena Cathedral” enters the record as medieval church in Siena, Italy. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Siena, Cathedral and medieval can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Siena Cathedral” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Siena, Cathedral and medieval provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q282554. VIAF identifies the subject as 131336027. The Library of Congress control number is n79063201. Authority coordinates are 43.318, 11.329. 2 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1348, 1215, 1263 and 1264.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Siena Cathedral” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.