Siena’s Magnificent Cathedral Reopens, and It’s Free

| Thu, 06/18/2020 - 00:00
The Cathedral of Siena

After a three-month closure due to the nationwide lockdown, the Cathedral of Siena along with the Opera Museum have reopened to the public. Access will be free until July 31; visitors may opt to make a donation, and any collected sum will serve to fund a study for the next conservation projects for the Duomo complex.

The Cathedral and the museum are open every day from 10:30 am to 6 pm (on Sundays, the Cathedral is open 1:30 pm to 6:00 pm to allow for liturgical celebrations). 

The Baptistery of San Giovanni, the Crypt, the Panorama and Duomo Nuovo (“the most awe-inspiring viewpoint in Siena”), the Porta del Cielo and the Piccolomini Library, all part of Siena’s Duomo complex, will be closed to the public until 31 July 2020. 

It is possible to reserve a guided visit of the museum with access to the facade in advance, offered daily from 6 pm to 7 pm, to a maximum of 20 visitors for €20 per person.

Visitors to the Cathedral and Museum will be taken the temperature at the entrance; they can also download the free The Right Distance app, which notifies you when you’re too close to another person. 

On the first weekend of reopening (June 13-14), 1700 people visited, most of them Italian. 

The Siena Cathedral, or Duomo, was designed and completed between 1215 and 1263.

From 1 August 2020, the entire monumental complex of the Cathedral, the Piccolomini Library, the Museum of the Opera, the Panorama and "Duomo Nuovo", the Crypt and the Baptistery will reopen regularly to the public. Hours and rates are available on the Duomo website.

From August 1, 2020, with one ticket, you can access all of the Duomo complex’s sites, including the so-called Porta del Cielo (Gate of Heaven), which allows you to look at the inside of the cathedral from the attics, a spectacle that is even more impressive when the magnificent inlaid marble mosaic floor is uncovered.

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