Palazzo Tolomei

It served as the first permanent headquarters of the Sienese commune during the early years of the Guelph era, before the construction of the Palazzo Pubblico in the Piazza del Campo, and it also functioned as a bank and private residence.

[2] On the Via Banchi di Sopra, it is a few houses south and across the street of the Palazzo Bichi Ruspoli, a few blocks north of the Piazza del Campo.

The original palace of this Guelf aristocratic family was mostly destroyed by Ghibelline mobs in 1267 but was rebuilt in its current form shortly after the new Guelph regime came to power.

Her story was popular in the 19th century as a symbol of faithfulness to principles in the face of treachery and self-interest.

Gaetano Donizetti made her the subject of his tragic opera, Pia de' Tolomei.