ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book seeks to examine the history of Siena from its origins in order to understand the city’s contributions to the development of the modern world. It aims to make the twenty-first-century city, as well as its contrade, Palio, and traditions comprehensible to anyone visiting the city. Siena’s modern challenges may be unique, but the city has faced and overcome great challenges before, and there are many reasons to believe that the future for the Sienese is bright. Beyond Siena’s political, artistic, and architectural legacy, the city is famous today for its Palio festival and contrada system. Siena’s history was closely connected to the fate of its banks and commercial institutions. In fact, it’s only slightly oversimplifying the situation to state that Sienese exceptionalism, at its core, is the byproduct of the city’s wealth, in particular its chief financial institutions.
