Siena's Underground Legends and Mysterious Places

Beneath the medieval streets of Siena lies another city: a network of underground channels, legends about the men who maintained them, and fountains that have carried water for centuries.

Siena rewards a second look. By day, the terracotta roofs, Gothic palaces and honey-coloured stone are almost too picturesque. Piazza del Campo fills with people taking a coffee or an aperitivo. The lanes leading towards the Duomo invite you to wander without much of a plan.

Look a little closer and another character appears. There are passages under the streets, medieval fountains, and stories about the people who kept the city supplied with water. You do not need to believe in ghosts to enjoy this side of Siena. A little imagination, and a willingness to look past the obvious landmarks, is enough.

The Bottini: Siena's underground waterways

If Siena has a secret world, this is where to begin.

Beneath the historic centre runs a network of underground channels known as the Bottini. They were built to collect water and carry it into a city on a hill, with no large river nearby to supply it. Visit Tuscany describes a labyrinth of more than 25 kilometres of tunnels, and Visit Siena notes that the galleries were hand-carved in tuff.

The name comes from buctinus, the word first recorded in 1226 for the barrel-vaulted form of the tunnels. The tunnels are typically about 1.8 metres high and less than a metre wide.

There are two main branches. Fontebranda's runs for about 7.5 kilometres and lies deep. Fonte Gaia's is longer, about 15.7 kilometres, and shallower, and it feeds the fountain in the Campo.

Imagine working underground in the Middle Ages, following a dim passage with water running along a channel at your feet. These were working tunnels, built to keep the city supplied, not decoration for visitors.

The bottinai and the stories

Visit Siena's own page describes the bottinai, the men who looked after the tunnels, as almost legendary figures. It is said that they could tell a leak from the sound of a single drop, and that they could navigate in the dark by the rhythm of the water.

Some stretches of the tunnels were thought to hold "miraculous waters", while others were avoided for fear of restless spirits. Those beliefs are part of the history of the place, even though nobody has ever mapped the spirits.

Can you visit the Bottini?

Visit Tuscany says visits are guided and run in small groups. They take place only on certain days of the week and at set times, and they are not available all year. Entries are limited to about 1,000 visitors a year, so places can sell out quickly. Check the current arrangements before you plan anything, and ask about access too if you are visiting with children, because the passages are narrow and dark.

For the history in Visit Siena's own words, see Visit Siena's page on the Bottini. For visit arrangements, see Visit Tuscany's guide to the Bottini.

Fontebranda: a fountain with a working history

Fontebranda is one of the city's most evocative medieval fountains, and it has a character quite different from the bustle of the Campo.

It was a working part of the city, not only a monument. Water from the Bottini reached it through the tunnels of the Fontebranda branch. Visit it towards the end of the day, when the lanes are quieter, and take time to notice the scale of the structure.

Piazza del Campo: a square built on centuries of history

The Campo is usually photographed in bright sunshine, with visitors scattered across its shell-shaped paving. It is also a good place to think about the stranger side of Siena's history.

The square is dominated by the Palazzo Pubblico, the town hall, and the Torre del Mangia. Its buildings express the ambitions and rivalries of a powerful medieval commune. The Campo is also the setting for the Palio, the horse race that remains central to Sienese identity.

For a Halloween walk, come back after dark. Look up at the tower, notice the light on the brick façades, and then explore the narrow streets that lead away from the square.

The she-wolf and the founding legend

The Sienese founding legend ties the city to the story of Rome. According to the legend, Siena was founded by Senio and Ascanio, the mythical founders of the city. Their story is tied to Rome: the she-wolf of Rome, who nursed Romulus and Remus, became Siena's emblem. It was used across the city: on columns in the terzi, on coins, in civic ceremonies, and in the Contrade. You can still find it in the Palazzo Pubblico and the Museo Civico.

Look for the she-wolf as you walk. How many can you find? For a fuller account of the story and the symbol, read Finestre sull'Arte's article on the Sienese she-wolf.

Shrines and tabernacles in the streets

Siena's streets hold many religious images, shrines and tabernacles, and most people pass them without noticing. They are a reminder that devotion once extended into streets and everyday journeys, not only the major churches. Look for them as you wander, and enjoy the small details.

A different way to discover Siena

Siena's mysterious side is not about a haunted building. It is about seeing a familiar city differently.

The Bottini show the engineering a medieval city needed to survive. Fontebranda connects water, work and neighbourhood life. The Campo tells a story of civic power. And beneath all of it lie the stories people told to make sense of places they could not fully see.

For Halloween, that makes a more rewarding alternative to horror attractions. For the rest of the year, it is a reason to linger in Siena and look a little closer.

Planning a Halloween visit? Start with our guide to Halloween in Siena, with its family activities, trick-or-treating and seasonal events.

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By the Siena & Toscana editors.