Apartment excellent condition, first floor, San Domenico - Fontebranda, Siena

This elegant 350-sqm apartment is set in the very heart of Siena, just 150 m from Piazza del Campo yet in a very quiet and private location. Sitting at the first floor of a manorial palazzo, the dwelling is made up of a huge reception hall with kitchen and toilet and three spacious bedrooms with private bathroom. From the windows, one can enjoy a stunning view over the Follonica Valley, just outside the city walls.
Services are all available in the historic center of Siena, where one can find many boutiques and shops of any kind and for any need. Historic cities such as Monteriggioni, Montalcino, San Gimignano and Florence can all be reached in less than an hour by car.

DESCRIPTION OF THE APARTMENT
The apartment (350 sqm – 3,766 sqft) is set on the first floor of the palazzo, and was owned by the famous Piccolomini family. The main entrance of the apartment, crossing a small hallway, opens into a beautiful and refined reception hall featuring high coffered ceilings and silk wallpapers, all in perfect and original shape. The secondary entrance, once used by the staff, leads directly into the habitable kitchen and to a service toilet. The sleeping area includes three spacious bedrooms, very elegant and all equipped with private bathroom.

Original details have been carefully preserved and one can still admire the old terracotta and parquet floors, colorful frescoes on the walls and original, handmade wooden doors. The windows on the northeastern side of the palazzo ensures a stunning view over the Follonica Valley, a green are just outside the walls of the city that was once home to a huge natural spring supplying Siena with clean, drinking water.
 
On the ground floor, the apartment also owns a private cellar (30 sqm – 323 sqft), very convenient as a storage room and/or workshop.
 
It is also possible to buy a spacious two-car garage (sole owner) located inside the neighboring palazzo.

HISTORY OF THE PALAZZO
The palazzo, in its original splendor, dates back to the 16th century and follows the track of the road, both in planar layout and following the unevenness of the road.
It is not clear when the building was actually bought by the Piccolomini family, what is sure is that it was a much smaller building in the beginning. The garden next to the palazzo was bought, and we have the original deed, in 1516 by Francesco di Bernardino Piccolomini. In the following year, the palazzo was expanded and slowly incorporated the nearby buildings.
Giovan Battista Piccolomini, a notable architect, had some role in the expansion and decoration of the palazzo, albeit not as a designer himself.
The huge garden at the rear was bought by Piccolomini in 1657 by one Alfonso Bandini. The original 16th-century look has been maintained and the only change over the years was the closing of five arches on one side of the courtyard to hide the garden from the alley that was built on one side of the palazzo.
Structurally speaking, the palazzo was elevated around 1737 to convert the mezzanine into a full-fledge floor, which was later decorated and enriched just like the apartments below. With the same date there is “a series of expenses made by Mr. Muzio Piccolomini for the renovation and decoration of the upper floor”.
Other works dates back to the 1797, such as the new iron door, travertine pillars to reinforce the support wall of the garden and the renovation of the muraglia castellana. The façade overlooking the garden was restored in the 19th century, since one can see the circular arches above the windows: cracked plaster shows the original ogival arches underneath.

CLOSEST CITIES AND TOWNS
Closest services (50m; 1’), Monteriggioni (18km; 25’), Montalcino (42km; 50’), San Gimignano (43km; 50’), Roccastrada (55km; 50’), Volterra (55km; 1h), Montepulciano (62km; 55’), Pienza (69km; 1h 5’), Cortona (72km; 1h), Grosseto (75km; 1h), Florence (77km; 1h 15’)

CLOSEST AIRPORTS
Firenze Vespucci (86km; 1h 5’), Perugia San Francesco (116km; 1h 25’), Pisa Galilei (120km; 1h 35’), Bologna Marconi (168km; 2h), Roma Ciampino (245km; 2h 50’), Roma Fiumicino (260km; 2h 45’)