In front of you stands Palazzo Tolomei, the building that gives this square its name. It is one of Siena’s oldest private residences, built in the 13th century for the Tolomei family, wealthy merchants and bankers who ranked among the city’s most powerful dynasties. Their influence was such that, long before the Palazzo Pubblico was built, the communal government was housed here for a time. The family played a central role in Siena’s public, political, and economic life, and several of its members remain famous today. Pia de’ Tolomei, for instance, lives on in literature thanks to Dante, who mentions her in his Purgatory; a plaque on the façade preserves her memory. Another was Bernardo Tolomei, later canonized, who founded the Olivetan order. The palace itself is not open to visitors, but its stone façade, with elegant Gothic windows, still makes a powerful impression. Look up, and it’s easy to imagine the authority this family once held over the city in the Middle Ages.