Complesso museale Santa Maria della Scala

Officially established in 1774 following the marriage between Caterina Piccolomini di Modanella and Giuseppe Spannocchi, the collection is the result of three distinct nuclei and boasts a much older origin, whose history is intertwined with the great historical and political events that shook the whole of Europe during the seventeenth century.

In 1328, the hospital expanded its structure with the construction of a men's pilgrim lodge, achieved through the acquisition and demolition of surrounding houses to overcome a height difference of three floors. This pilgrim lodge marked the beginning of the development of the area designated for male assistance, extending the hospital towards the little square of Selva. 

Giuliano Briganti (1918-1992) was one of the most important art historians of the twentieth century. He graduated in 1940 with a thesis about Pellegrino Tibaldi and he dedicated his entire career to the study of various artistic movements, such as Baroque and Vedutismo. His historical-artistic formation has been strongly influenced by outstanding figures, first of all Roberto Longhi, with whom he started the magazine Paragone Arte.

The Children's Art Museum was established in Siena in 1998 and quickly gained recognition in the city for its rich cultural program of artistic events and related educational activities aimed at young audiences.
In 2007, it relocated to Santa Maria della Scala, gaining a new venue, a space dedicated to its collection, and taking on the role of Educational Services within the museum complex.

The Fonte Gaia was completed in 1419, a little more than ten years after the start of the project by Jacopo della Quercia. A very strong civic symbol, it represented an ideal frame for that precious resource that was water for any citizen, especially for those living in hilly areas.

The idea of an archaeological museum takes shape in Siena between the late 19th century and the early 20th century, within those institutions that, due to various circumstances, had seen the formation of small nuclei of antiquities.

The path, which develops in the tunnels overlooking the internal road, illustrates, through archaeological materials, documentary sources, and a rich array of photographs and reconstruction tables, the historical development of Siena from the first discoveries in the urban area to the extraordinary flourishing of the communal era and the completed structure of the hospital in the mid-15th century.