Palazzo Tolomei

The Palazzo Tolomei, in Siena

The Palazzo Tolomei is one of the oldest private residences of Siena, which gives its name to the square. The Siena audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this thirteenth-century Gothic palace, built for the powerful family of merchants and bankers Tolomei.

The residence of the powerful Tolomei family

In front of you stands the Palazzo Tolomei, which gives its name to the square. It is one of the oldest private residences of Siena, built in the thirteenth century for the Tolomei family, rich merchants and bankers who were among the most powerful of the town. Their influence was such that they durably marked the political and economic life of Siena, at the time when the town rivalled Florence by its commercial and banking prosperity. The palace, of Gothic style, presents an elegant stone façade pierced with paired windows and adorned with the arms of the family. Its noble sobriety and its antiquity make it a precious witness of the medieval Sienese civil architecture, at a time when the great families asserted their prestige by the construction of such buildings. A witness of the power of the great merchant dynasties and the prosperous past of the town, the Palazzo Tolomei is a fine stop of the discovery of Siena.

What to see

You admire one of the oldest private residences of Siena, built in the thirteenth century for the powerful family of merchants and bankers Tolomei, with an elegant Gothic stone façade pierced with paired windows and adorned with the family arms, a witness of the power of the great dynasties and the prosperous past of the town. The Palazzo Tolomei is a jewel of the heritage of Siena. It is a stop to be discovered, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Palazzo Tolomei lies on the square of the same name, in the heart of Siena, reachable on foot. You admire its façade from the square; the interior access follows its own conditions. You discover it during a walk in the centre.

Who was the Tolomei family in Siena?

Rich merchants and bankers who were among the most powerful of Siena, whose influence marked the political and economic life of the town; their thirteenth-century residence, the Palazzo Tolomei, is one of the oldest private residences of the town.

Where is the Palazzo Tolomei of Siena?

On the square of the same name, in the heart of Siena, in Tuscany, in Italy.