Siena’s Cathedral unveils the beautiful mosaic floor, crafted by 40 artists and artisans between 1300 and 1500.
It is composed of 56 panels, with different size and shape, which have been made with different techniques: the graffito, the famous tiny holes and cutting lines created in the marble and then filled with black stucco and mineral pitch, and the marble intarsia. The panels are important because they create an interlocking marble carpet and they represent some scenes from the Bible: allegories about fortune and ancient philosophers; the ten Sibyls of antiquity representing the revelation of Christ to virtuous ancient peoples; and symbols of Siena.
The floor is covered most of the year by sheets: because of its fragility, it has to be protected by the wear from visitors’ shoes.
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