Basilica of San Domenico Audio Guide

Basilica of San Domenico: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to the Basilica of San Domenico

   Welcome to the Basilica of San Domenico, one of the most important churches in Siena, in the heart of Tuscany. You are standing before a vast red-brick building on a hillock at the foot of the historic center, framed by houses that seem to climb the slope below the Cathedral. It is a stern, powerful sight, and it was meant to be. This church is also known as the Basilica Cateriniana, the Basilica of Catherine. The name honors Saint Catherine of Siena, who lived nearby and attended Mass here. Today the basilica holds several relics of her, which is why pilgrims and curious travelers alike come to this hill. Over the next few minutes we will look at how the church grew, what makes its architecture so austere, and how Catherine's story is woven through its chapels. We will also look at the artists whose work fills its walls. Take a breath, slow your pace, and let the building set the rhythm.

2. 02

   Bricks, Friars and a Long History

   The basilica was built between 1226 and 1265, and it was enlarged during the fourteenth century. That is a long life, and it has not been a quiet one. Fires, military occupations and earthquakes have all left their mark, along with many later interventions and modifications. The result is an unmistakable Cistercian-Gothic look and an unusual relationship between the outside and the inside. This is Dominican architecture. Saint Dominic and Saint Francis had created a new way of living the religious life, well suited to the growing commercial cities. The imposing bulk of this church is a visual statement of how much influence the Dominican friars had in Catherine's Siena. The story did not stay on one track. Under the reforms of Grand Duke Leopold, the Dominican convent was suppressed, and in 1786 it became a Benedictine monastery of the Cassinese congregation. The Benedictines stayed until 1912. In 1920 the Dominicans were finally able to return to their church and convent, where they still live today.

3. 03

   Reading the Architecture

   Look at the proportions. The interior follows an Egyptian cross plan, built around a single nave. The church is about 77 meters long and 30 meters wide, and it rises to about 27 meters at its highest point. Dominican builders favored a plain, open space where a large crowd could gather and listen to a preacher. The severe brick walls and the lack of decoration are part of that idea. Here is a curious detail about getting in. The entrance is on the left side of the church rather than at the front. Behind the façade stands the raised structure of the Chapel of the Vaults, so there is simply no room for a central doorway. The church adapts to its hillside site rather than hiding it. Inside, the chapel of Saint Thomas Aquinas lies to the left of the nave. On the right is the chapel of Saint Catherine of Siena, where her head relic is kept. Together they frame the two great figures of Dominican thought and devotion.

4. 04

   Catherine's Church and Its Treasures

   Catherine's story is the beating heart of this basilica. Much of her mystical journey unfolded here, and her relic, the mummified head, rests in her chapel. Her head came back to Siena in a notable way. In 1385 her confessor Raymond informed the Consistory of the Republic of Siena that the head was in the city. A solemn procession then set out from the church of San Lazzaro, outside Porta Romana, and moved to this basilica. The relic was enclosed in a copper bust, which is now kept in a case to the right of the chapel entrance. The art here follows her story. Andrea Vanni's fresco of the saint is held to be a true likeness of the Sienese saint, since Vanni was one of her disciples. In the Chapel of the Vaults hangs a canvas of the solemn moment on 29 June 1461, when Pope Pius II, Enea Silvio Piccolomini of Siena, blessed his nephew Francesco Piccolomini, archbishop of Siena, after handing him the papal bull of canonization. The painting was commissioned by the Piccolomini family for their altar in the Basilica of San Francesco and was moved here in 1890. Sodoma painted two famous scenes beside the altar, in 1526: the Ecstasy and the Fainting of Saint Catherine. Elsewhere, look for Francesco di Giorgio's Adoration of the Shepherds, one of the few paintings by an artist better known as an architect. In the left transept, a chapel houses the Maestà by Guido da Siena, mentor of Duccio di Boninsegna.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   The basilica has been part of Siena's life for centuries. The funeral of the painter Simone Martini was held here in 1344, and the church has welcomed friars, monks, pilgrims and artists ever since. Before you go, pause in the nave and notice how the silence feels. Many visitors describe the red-brick basilica as a place of contemplation. Then let your eyes travel from the severe walls to the glowing paintings in the chapels, and ask yourself how the two fit together. Outside, look back at the hillside and at the houses climbing below the Cathedral. Siena is full of stories like this one, and this hill is a good place to keep listening for the next.