the 13th century, one of the most important cities in Italy was Siena, as it controlled the southern Tuscan wool industry and dominated the trade routes between France and Rome. It also maintained
Italy's richest pre-Medici banks. Siena's power reached an apotheosis with the defeat of a much superior Florentine army at the battle of Montaperti in 1260. The
city then embarked on an unrivaled urban redevelopment. From 1287 to 1355,
the city underwrote the completion of a cathedral, a campo, and the town hall.
The prosperity came to an abrupt halt with the Black Plague, which reached Siena in
1348; by the end of the year, two-thirds of the 100,000 population had died. The city never recovered and froze in its current constellation, constituting a snapshot of a late medieval Italian city. In its earlier days, the city had been divided into at least three factions, each one located on one of three spurs that reached over the hilltop. To unify the city, the campo was constructed more
or less at the center of the city on unclaimed land that sloped steeply into a ravine. A large terrace was built over the ravine to form
the campo. At the far end, a town hall was constructed-the Palazzo Publico (1297-
1310), with four stories facing the campo and with elegantly proportioned reception and councilor rooms, many decorated with frescoes recounting important events in the history of the city