Die Kirchen von Siena project

The research project on the churches of Siena (Die Kirchen von Siena) was founded by Peter Anselm Riedl and Max Seidel with the aim of studying the Sienese corpus through a research project of innovative character and of high scientific value that involved experts specialized in various fields. The scientific approach and the preservation of the monuments was made possible by the collaboration with the University of Siena and with the other cultural institutions of the city. The special series Die Kirchen von Siena was published starting in 1985 and it consists of 18 volumes that follow the alphabetical order of the names of the churches and are divided into sections with texts, pictures, and plans.

The physical archive

The archive on the churches of Siena is the result of years of research carried out by Monika Butzek in the city's archives and libraries. The project Die Kirchen von Siena had to be based on as complete a record of the archival documents as possible. The extensive material is divided into folders and a card index system. The folders contain papers, documents and annotations related to the individual churches and noble families of Siena. The index cards are mostly dedicated to artists, single archives, and bibliographical entries.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CATEGORIES

CHURCHES - They are in alphabetical order. Each church has a specific folder which contains information concerning history, architecture, furnishing and single artworks. There are also the relative archive signatures and bibliographic references.

ARCHIVES and LIBRARIES - It contains the list of archives and libraries in alphabetical order. When possible, the documents are divided by the section of the printed catalogue and each card reports the title/name of the document, the collocation and the sheet or page number.

ARTISTS - They are organized in alphabetical order by surname. The single entry reports the name of the artist, the period of activity and the area of specialty. They also include the list of documents and bibliographic references related to the single artist.

FAMILIES - The cards of the sienese families are organized in alphabetical order and for the most prestigious families, where the number of entries is consistent, a single folder was created. In this category there is also a section which contains the graphic representation of all the family trees.

COAT OF ARMS - This category contains the list of numerous heraldic symbols belonging to the city’s secular and religious institutions. The cards, organized and divided by the different typologies, report a graphic reproduction of the coat of arms with a brief description and the name of the institution.

BIBLIOGRAPHY - The archive preserves many bibliographic references related to multiple aspects of Siena that were organized in two main sections: one contains a list of publications in alphabetical order by the name of the author, in the other one the entries were divided by topic.

OTHER DOCUMENTS - It contains material concerning the project The Churches of Siena (Die Kirchen von Siena) mainly the press releases. Furthermore there is a folder dedicated to the most important palaces of Siena.

HOW TO MOVE IN THE DIGITAL ARCHIVE

CHURCHES select the folder corresponding to the initial letter of the church then choose the church from the list. In case of churches titled to the same Saint, it was added an element of disambiguation. For the complete list of churches with relative altars and chapels select the folder “list of churches and altars”.

ARCHIVES and LIBRARIES choose between archives and libraries, then select the folder corresponding to the initial letter of the archive/library (always consider the first word of the name). Open the folder of the archive/library and then choose the specific section of the catalogue.

ARTISTS select the folder corresponding to the initial letter of the surname of the artist then scroll down the cards in order to find a specific artist (they are in alphabetical order). The folder “salari, puntature e pagamenti” contains the documents that report payments to the artists in chronological order.

FAMILIES select the folder corresponding to the initial letter of the name of the family, then scroll down the cards in order to find a specific family (they are in alphabetical order and the name of the family is always repeated at the left top of the card). In some cases there is more than one folder for each letter. In order to find the representation of the family tree, select the folder “Family Tree” and then choose the file named as the initial letter of the family.

COAT OF ARMS select a category and then scroll down the cards to find an heraldic symbol. For the category “Families”, select the folder corresponding to the initial name of the family. The folder “Typologies” contains a compendium/vocabulary of the different elements and colors that can compose each coat of arms.

BIBLIOGRAPHY choose between the two folders “by author” or “by topic”. After you select by author, select the folder corresponding to the initial letter of the author’s last name, then scroll down the cards to find the bibliographic references in alphabetical order. If you select by topic, open the folder of a specific topic and then scroll down the cards (in this case they don’t follow a particular order).