PER LA SPERANZA DI MOLTI
EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY OF THE FLOOR OF SIENA CATHEDRAL
FOR THE FIRST TIME, ALESSANDRO FRANCHI’S HOPE IS VISIBLE
27 JUNE – 31 JULY / 18 AUGUST – 15 OCTOBER
On the occasion of the twenty-fifth Ordinary Jubilee of the Catholic Church, proclaimed by Pope Francis in 2025, whose central message is Hope, from 27 June to 31 July and from 18 August to 15 October, Siena Cathedral unveils its magnificent marble floor, which reflects five hundred years of the city’s artistic, cultural and religious history.
“We live our faith, especially in this Jubilee Year, trying to be a witness that gives hope to the world,” exhorted Pope Leo XIV, addressing the faithful from the loggia of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. “A world that suffers so much pain because of wars, violence and poverty. But the Lord asks us Christians to be true witnesses.”
Following the invitation of Pope Leo XIV, the numerous “pilgrims of hope” who will pass through Siena, along the Via Francigena, are called to travel, inlay after inlay, a path dedicated to “the humblest” of the theological Virtues, but no less significant, indeed fundamental in contemporary society: Spes non confundit, Hope does not disappoint (Saint Paul, Romans 5, 5).
In the Jubilee Year, the Hope made in 1870 by Leopoldo Maccari, Giuseppe and Antonio Radichi on a cartoon by Alessandro Franchi will be visible for the first time. The inlay is usually covered, even when uncovered, to allow access to the Cappella del Voto, a sacred space intended for meditation and prayer. The figure reflects the typical iconography, which includes the gesture of the hands clasped on the chest, the gaze turned upwards and the significant attribute of the anchor of salvation, to which to “anchor” the hopes of humanity. The symbol of stability comes from a passage by Saint Paul, who invites us to hold firmly to Hope: “In her we have as an anchor of our life, both sure and steadfast, which enters even within the veil of the sanctuary, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us” (Ebrei 6:19-20).
The title of the spiritual and symbolic journey is inspired by the prophecy of the Persian Sibyl, whom we encounter in the last panel of the right nave. The drawing of the priestess, wearing a veil and holding a book, is attributed to the painter Benvenuto di Giovanni (1482). The prophecy, inscribed above the lectern, derives from the Sibylline Oracles cited by Lactantius in the Divine Institutions and refers to one of the miracles performed by Christ: “With just five loaves and two fish he will satisfy five thousand men on the grass. Gathering the leftovers, he will fill twelve baskets “PER LA SPERANZA DI MOLTI”.
The itinerary begins from the entrance door, the one on the right of the central portal, on whose architrave one can read an inscription relating to the first Jubilee of the Christian era proclaimed by Pope Boniface VIII on 22 February 1300: these are some “Leonine verses” in Latin – by the papal writer Sylvester of Adria – which were recited in a chant by pilgrims heading towards Rome. Once the visitor has crossed the threshold, he or she will be able to admire the scenes created with the technique of marble inlay, the juxtaposition of polychrome marbles from the area surrounding the city, and of the sgraffio, the engraving of the contours that follow the preparatory cartoon drawn by artists, almost all “Sienese”, including Sassetta, Domenico di Bartolo, Matteo di Giovanni, Domenico Beccafumi, with the exception of the Umbrian painter Pinturicchio, author of the famous panel with the Mount of Wisdom-Happiness, a depiction of the path to Virtue as the achievement of inner peace, through philosophy and knowledge. As Professor Giovanni Minnucci, Rector of the Opera della Metropolitana di Siena, observes, “the overall vision of the fifty-six inlays of the floor can represent a moment of personal and silent reflection, forgetting, at least momentarily, our frantic races and our daily worries, in the fruitful search for the meaning that each of us intends to give to our own life. A meaning that, for the faithful, in the Sienese Temple dedicated to Maria SS.ma Assunta, cannot fail to be sublimated in the meditated search for God”.
Beyond the Floor, where further spiritual and expressive stages will be inserted, the journey focused on the Jubilee theme continues in the monumental complex of the Cathedral of Siena, from the Crypt, where the theme of the Resurrection is frescoed, to the Baptistery where Donatello‘s Hope is preserved, recently restored and part of the iconographic program of the Baptismal Font, up to the Museum of the Opera, where the visitor will be invited to observe the back of the Maestà by Duccio di Buoninsegna. Among the episodes following the burial of Christ depicted in the large panel, the appearance of the Savior, dressed as a pilgrim, to two disciples on their way to the village of Emmaus is striking. The Christian’s encounter is therefore with the humble Christ who reassures the people of believers of the existence of eternal life. Furthermore, all the “pilgrims of hope” will be able to admire, in the Santissima Annunziata, a subsidiary church of the Cathedral as well as the archiepiscopal rectory and pilgrim sanctuary, as part of Mete contemporanee, the installation Mantel I and Mantel II (2016-2018) created by the Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere, which addresses themes such as transformation, transcendence and the reconciliation of bodies in the face of mortality.
The official catalogue of the Floor is Un libro di marmo by Marilena Caciorgna, recently published in Italian and English by Sillabe, which analyses not only the historical-artistic aspects, but also examines the themes and numerous inscriptions accompanying the inlays, grasping their deepest meaning, that of a journey of wisdom and faith. It is possible to complete the complete itinerary dedicated to Hope through Pass that include, in addition to the visit to the uncovered Floor, that of the entire complex that rises around the Cathedral, one of the most notable in the European artistic context, but also that of the Palazzo delle Papesse, which is linked to the patronage of Pope Pius II and from which it is possible to access the panorama of the entire city. Both passes can be booked or purchased at the museum locations or at the Dear Guest Visitor Center.
Among the services offered, there will also be guided tours and cultural experiences in which professionals in the sector, in various languages, will lead visitors to discover this masterpiece. In particular, we highlight The Duomo’s claviger – First in the Cathedral: during the first period of uncovering of the Floor, it will be possible to take an exclusive tour (from Tuesday to Friday), starting at 7:30 am until 8:45 am, following the opening, the switching on of the lights, the organization and the preparation for the welcome together with those who work daily to ‘awaken’ the Cathedral. With the natural light of the early hours of the morning, the claviger will begin his work in the Duomo, in the Piccolomini Library and in the elevated path of the attics of the Temple with the opening of the Gate of Heaven.
The extraordinary uncovering of the Floor, which is accompanied by the numerous services mentioned here, was promoted by the Opera della Metropolitana and is organized by Opera Laboratori.
Info e booking
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