Lancia is to be the main sponsor as the famous Palazzo Chigi Saracini, in the heart of Siena, fully opens its doors to the public for the first time in 200 years.

This 'fairytale' castle, which is situated right in the heart of the cosmopolitan city, is home to a famous music school as well as a huge and valuable art collection, which numbers more than 12,000 items.

The public viewing, which is sponsored by Lancia, will run until the 15th June, while within the beautiful castle grounds will be displayed a new Lancia Musa. Much as Siena sees itself as a hospitable, International city, and the Palazzo Chigi Saracini is regarded as an institution that sums up everything that Italy stands for: style, taste and a warm, welcoming atmosphere, so too Lancia believe that the Musa, also reflects these core values, and that presenting the Musa at the Palazzo in Siena is a logical step forward.

The Palazzo Chigi Saracini

The palace that currently houses the Accademia Musicale Chigiana has a long, composite history.

Towards the middle of the twelfth century the noble Marescotti family built the tower that still stands at one end of the building; their emblem, an eagle with spread wings, overlooks the three-mullioned windows of the façade even now.

In 1506 the palace was purchased by one of the most important families of Siena, the Piccolomini Mandòli family, who undertook considerable modifications in its structure as well as in its decoration. The palace was thus given the Renaissance aspect that it continues to conserve in some parts, such as the courtyard and the upstairs loggia.

During 1770 the palace became the property of Marcantonio Saracini, and his brother Bernardino, who began an important restructuring process brought to an end in 1824 by his son Galgano. The façade, although maintaining its original Gothic style, was considerably enlarged, stretching along the curve of the street; the interior was modernized, even if only partially, by Agostino Fantastici. He also designed the furnishings of a sumptuous bedroom. It was in this period that the palace was enriched with its imposing art collection. In 1877 the Saracini family died out and the Chigi family, another one of the most important in Siena, inherited the palace, together with the entire estate and the Saracini family name. Fabio, the first of the new owners, died in 1907 during a hunting accident, leaving his nephew Guido as universal heir.
 

It was Count Guido Chigi Saracini who commissioned the architect Arturo Viligiardi with the restoration of the building, which underwent a full-scale restructuring inside and out (notably the rococo style concert hall), which continues to characterize it today.

Count Guido was the last owner of Palazzo Chigi Saracini, which was his residence. Upon his death in 1965, it passed into the hands of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana Foundation, founded by him, and to which it still belongs.

A vast and important art collection

The Palazzo Chigi Saracini, whose unmistakable form dominates the Via di Città in Siena, contains within its splendid halls a vast and important collection of works of art. They were gathered over the centuries, particularly between the 18th and 19th centuries by Galgano Saracini, a well-to-do enthusiast belonging to the Sienese family, from whom the Chigi descendants inherited the property at the end of the 19th century.

The collection contains works by artists belonging to all of the important periods of Italian painting, especially the Sienese school: from the "primitives" of the 13th century to the "purists" of the 19th century.

The names of Sassetta, Sano di Pietro, Botticelli, Sodoma, Beccafumi, Manetti, Vanni, Rosa, Cassioli, Maccari and others stand out in particular. There is also a large number of sculptures and of objects typically collected by aristocrats, such as ivories, porcelain, chinoiserie, silver, etc. Of particular importance is a large collection of ceramics from the most important Italian schools from the 16th to the18th centuries.

Accademia Musicale Chigiana

The Foundation

The Accademia Musicale Chigiana was founded by Count Guido Chigi Saracini in 1932 with the aim of organizing Master Classes for the principal musical instruments. Its founder, besides bestowing his material goods and providing the magnificent palace which he had restored and readapted for the purpose, was successful in bringing to Siena a large number of world famous musicians as Instructors of the various Classes. We need only recall, among others, Pablo Casals, Antonio Guarnieri, Alfredo Casella (Count Chigi Saracini's supporter at the time of the creation of the Accademia Chigiana), Arrigo Serato, Sergiu Celibidache, George Enescu, Andrés Segovia, Alfred Cortot, Jacques Thibaud, Nathan Milstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Hermann Scherchen, Guido Agosti, Gino Bechi, Gina Cigna, André Navarra, Riccardo Brengola, followed after his death by Franco Ferrara, Giorgio Favaretto, Goffredo Petrassi and still others too numerous to mention here.

The quality of the teaching staff has continued to be extremely high in more recent times as well, with such artists as Carlo Maria Giulini, Salvatore Accardo, Bruno Giuranna, Franco Petracchi, Franco Donatoni, Kenneth Gilbert, Severino Gazzelloni, Franco Gulli, Oscar Ghiglia and many others being called to Siena as Instructors.

It would also be impossible now to forget that many of the most well-known names in the field of international music have emerged from the Classes in Siena, such as Carlo Maria Giulini, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Oren, Roman Vlad, Nino Rota, Claudio Abbado, Salvatore Accardo, Uto Ughi, Daniel Barenboim and Alirio Diaz.