Site Description
The Sala dei Nove (Hall of the Nine) in Siena’s Palazzo Pubblico houses one of the most ambitious and intellectually complex fresco cycles of the Middle Ages: Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Allegory of Good and Bad Government, painted between 1338 and 1339. The room was used by the Council of Nine, Siena’s elected governing body, and the frescoes were intended not merely as decoration but as a powerful visual reminder of the ethical stakes of governance.
Spanning three walls, Lorenzetti’s cycle unfolds a sophisticated moral and political narrative. On the north wall, the Allegory of Good Government presents a personified figure of Justice flanked by Virtues, beneath the gaze of a wise ruler who represents the common good (Il Bene Comune). The figures are bound together by cords held by Concord, symbolizing the harmony that just rule produces. Adjacent to this is the Effects of Good Government in the City and the Country, a panoramic depiction of Siena and its surrounding countryside prospering under wise leadership—bustling markets, dancing citizens, well-maintained roads, and fruitful farmland reflect civic order and peace.
In stark contrast, the east wall contains the Allegory and Effects of Bad Government. Here, Tyranny—an ominous horned figure—sits enthroned, surrounded by personifications of Cruelty, Deceit, and War. Justice lies bound and defeated, while the city crumbles into chaos: buildings collapse, citizens fight, and no one is safe. The countryside is depicted as barren and war-torn, suggesting that the consequences of corrupt rule extend far beyond the city walls.
Lorenzetti’s fresco cycle is exceptional for its secular, civic focus at a time when most monumental painting remained religious. It is also groundbreaking in its use of spatial illusion and architectural detail to evoke real urban life. The Effects of Good Government may be the first large-scale portrayal of a living city in Western art since antiquity, and it offers a rare glimpse into how 14th-century Sienese imagined their own social and moral order.
The Sala dei Nove remains a touchstone for the study of medieval political thought, civic identity, and the visual strategies used to cultivate ethical governance. It is both a reflection of Siena’s pride in its republican government and a prescient warning about the fragility of justice and peace.
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Eric Hupe
Artist Biography
Ambrogio Lorenzetti (c. 1290–1348) was a leading painter of the Sienese school in the early 14th century. Active primarily in Siena, he distinguished himself through his refined technique, narrative clarity, and interest in naturalistic space and civic themes. Though trained in the tradition of Duccio and Simone Martini, Ambrogio developed a unique visual language that engaged with both classical ideas and contemporary concerns. He was one of the first Italian painters to explore depicting real, lived environments—cities, countryside, and human interaction—in large-scale fresco cycles. His most celebrated work, the Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the Sala dei Nove of Siena’s Palazzo Pubblico, is a masterpiece of civic humanism that anticipates many of the social ideals of the Renaissance. His career was tragically cut short by the plague of 1348, but his legacy endures in his ambitious blending of art, politics, and philosophy in a secular context.