Late Medieval Urban Design and Planning in Siena, Italy
by Michelle LaFoe

Scholars often describe the development of late medieval Italian towns as 'uncontrolled and haphazard', categorizing it as irrational organic growth with no sense of order. There is, however, clear evidence to the contrary, that medieval communal governments of northern and central Italy created a highly ordered urban environment and, secondly, paid a great deal of attention to the hierarchy, structure, and physical appearance of the 'public' streets and communal spaces. As a result, the overall form of the city established by the communal government prevailed until the definition of beauty and order on which it was based changed two centuries later. This change occurred with the application of the values represented in the treatises of the fifteenth century. Siena serves as an excellent case study because the physical city and its legislated statutes are solid sources of information that codified the prevailing planning practices and desired urban ideals.

© 1999 Michelle LaFoe and the ACSA International Conference in Rome; Italian version © 2000 Publicazione del Commune di Siena e la Commissione delle città del EEU.

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