More than six centuries after the birth of Lorenzo di Pietro, known as Vecchietta (Siena, 1410 - 1480), the Santa Maria della Scala Museum Complex in Siena pays tribute to the artist who worked there most profoundly, with a new exhibition dedicated to his figure and artistic legacy.
The rearrangement, open to the public from October 25, 2025, aims not only to enhance Vecchietta’s importance in Sienese culture, but also to restore a coherent context to the place that was his main patron: the ancient Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala. The project, promoted by the City of Siena and conceived by Cristiano Leone, President of the Foundation, is curated by Giulio Dalvit, Associate Curator of the Frick Collection in New York. Completing the initiative is the publication of the first critical monograph on the artist since 1937, entitled Vecchietta, edited by Dalvit himself and available in Italian and English. Published by Paul Holberton Publishing of London in collaboration with the Frick Collection, the Italian version is produced with the contribution of the Fondazione Antico Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala.
The new layout offers a renewed reading of the most significant spaces of the complex: the Pellegrinaio, the heart of the museum, returns to the center of the museum’s visit, freed from invasive layouts, with its famous cycle of frescoes telling the story of the institution. Prominent among them is the Vision of the Blessed Sorore (1441), the first work signed by Vecchietta, in which the artist narrates the foundation of the Old Hospital. The Old Sacristy, conceived by Vecchietta between 1445 and 1449 as an authentic architectural reliquary, with the Apostolic Creed running along the lunettes, which return unobstructed. The Arliquiera, the wooden cabinet painted in 1445 to hold the relics, finds its location again inside the Old Sacristy, near the area where it was originally. Finally, the bronze Christ (1476), made by the artist for his own funeral chapel and now on the high altar of Santissima Annunziata, will be visible up close for the first time thanks to a new architectural structure.
The project will be accompanied by a rich program of events scheduled until March 29, 2026, all dedicated to the figure of Vecchietta, to give the public an opportunity to rediscover an artist who helped define Siena’s cultural identity. The new vision of the rooms of Santa Maria della Scala interweaves civic memory, historical heritage and a contemporary approach to viewing the works, inviting visitors to discover Vecchietta’s masterpieces preserved in the city.
Chianti Banca supported part of the rearrangement through liberal disbursement with Art Bonus.
“The rearrangement of the monumental floor of Santa Maria della Scala represents a historic moment for the museum complex: we are returning to the public the most identifiable part of it, the original heart of its vision,” says President of the Fondazione Antico Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala Cristiano Leone. “At the center of this operation is Vecchietta, a pivotal figure of Renaissance Siena, whose work for the ancient hospital defined a unique model of dialogue between art, architecture and care. Through a rigorous rethinking, we have brought order and meaning back to the complex, making legible and harmonious the relationships between the frescoes, the sculptures and the architecture that houses them. The large bilingual monograph dedicated to the artist, edited by Giulio Dalvit, and produced in collaboration with the Frick Collection in New York, is not only an editorial achievement, but the emblem of a method: that of a museum that looks at its heritage with the depth of research and with an international vision. This project marks the first concrete step that will lead to the unfolding of the master plan for Santa Maria della Scala: this first phase, developed by Studio Librizzi under the guidance of Professor Luca Molinari, restores to the complex its historical integrity and symbolic power, that of a place capable of combining knowledge and civic responsibility.”
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| Siena celebrates the Old Man: a new exhibit at Santa Maria della Scala |
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