You are standing at the Croce del Travaglio, the crossroads where Siena’s three main streets meet. Here rises the Loggia della Mercanzia, built in the 15th century as both a meeting place for merchants and a commercial court. Beneath its wide arches of pale stone, contracts were negotiated, deals struck, and disputes settled. Its style blends the last traces of Gothic with the balance of the Renaissance, and the façade is adorned with statues of saints who protected the city. Look closer and you’ll notice finely carved benches decorated with figures from ancient Rome and allegories of the virtues, while the ceilings above were painted with colorful frescoes a century later. The loggia kept pace with Siena’s life: in the 18th century it became the seat of an aristocratic club that still exists today. For visitors, though, it remains what it has always been: an open portico at the city’s main crossroads, a place that speaks of Siena’s merchant power and its flair for art and spectacle.