Biblioteca Piccolomini
Biblioteca Piccolomini
5
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.

Top ways to experience Biblioteca Piccolomini and nearby attractions

The area
Address
Reach out directly
See what travellers are saying
  • SMLikestoTravel
    Bengaluru, India277 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    What a surprise! Don’t miss this
    This is one single room inside the Siena Cathedral which was originally intended to be used as a library. But as the room ended up being rarely used, we have 500 year old frescos with their original vibrant colours still intact with no restoration ever done on it. There is a longish queue to enter but it is well worth it.
    Visited May 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 20 September 2023
  • Mary S
    Hartland, Vermont12 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Not to be missed
    Absolutely beautiful room. Make sure to duck in while visiting everything else. We bought the ticket that let us go on the roof plus all the rooms. We loved every part of it. One caution as this happened to us---they swiped our ticket to the main Duomo to go to the roof. And then after that tour when we wanted to come back inside they said no you have already been in. We did work it out as our roof guide was nearby and we explained it to her but beware of this.
    Visited April 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 21 September 2023
  • ksufan88
    Wichita, Kansas5,459 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A must when visiting the cathedral
    Entrance to this smallish library is from within the cathedral. There was no line during our visit, but I can easily imagine there being one during the high season. The wall and ceiling frescoes are very colorful, and the lower portions of the walls are lined with glass cases containing very large and colorful books.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 30 November 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles2,120 reviews
Excellent
1,812
Very good
267
Average
33
Poor
4
Terrible
4

ksufan88
Wichita, KS5,459 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
Entrance to this smallish library is from within the cathedral. There was no line during our visit, but I can easily imagine there being one during the high season. The wall and ceiling frescoes are very colorful, and the lower portions of the walls are lined with glass cases containing very large and colorful books.
Written 30 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mary S
Hartland, VT12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Couples
Absolutely beautiful room. Make sure to duck in while visiting everything else. We bought the ticket that let us go on the roof plus all the rooms. We loved every part of it. One caution as this happened to us---they swiped our ticket to the main Duomo to go to the roof. And then after that tour when we wanted to come back inside they said no you have already been in. We did work it out as our roof guide was nearby and we explained it to her but beware of this.
Written 21 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SMLikestoTravel
Bengaluru, India277 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Family
This is one single room inside the Siena Cathedral which was originally intended to be used as a library. But as the room ended up being rarely used, we have 500 year old frescos with their original vibrant colours still intact with no restoration ever done on it. There is a longish queue to enter but it is well worth it.
Written 20 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ksarman
Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar6,848 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Solo
Be aware
It s located inside the car’ the deal but you need to book a special ticket that give you the access to this stunning place
Colorful , nice ambiance
Written 4 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

AK8397
Ontario, Canada885 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Couples
Don't expect to see stacks of books on display. This library is more of an art gallery.

The library is linked to the Duomo, with an entry door on the inside. There may be a lineup, so while you are touring the Duomo, keep checking to see when the line is short. The library is only one room and your visit will only take a few minutes. But it is worth the look! Fantastic frescoes on the ceiling and artwork everywhere. Awesome!
Written 6 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dr K.
Beirut, Lebanon416 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Couples
Small little library inside the duomo. Amazing ceiling and walls. We’ll worth it while in Sienna. Loved it with Siena in general
Written 17 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brun066
Florence, Italy12,580 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
I visited the Piccolomini Library in November 2022 for perhaps the sixth time. I have always found it fascinating for the narrative style of the artist who mainly worked on it, Pinturicchio, and in general for the liveliness of the pictorial decoration that covers the entire hall, very coherent because it was finished in a few years.
There are at least two ways to appreciate the cycle of Pinturicchio's ten panels frescoed between 1502 and 1507 and representing, on the walls, as many moments in the life of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, later Pope Pius II, since his departure for the Council of Basel (1431) until his death (1464). One way is that of the entrance, by this iconographic path, into the biography of Enea Silvio with his wanderings - somewhat cosmopolitan for the time - in Europe, from Italy to Switzerland to Scotland to England to France; not to mention Germany, where he stayed for a long time (for three years also as secretary of Emperor Frederick III).
The other way - the main one - to appreciate the paintings is that of the stylistic reading of the ten panels, which show the predilection towards detailed narration by Pinturicchio and his school, and which allow us to always discover new details of the narration itself. They range from the interest in the representation of the characters and their clothing, depicted with accuracy, with reference to their respective roles (emperors, kings, popes, cardinals, bishops, doges, oriental prelates and dignitaries, knights, courtiers, bodyguards, soldiers ...), the interest in the perspective construction of splendid architectures, both real and fictional (the court of the king of Scotland, the imperial one in Aachen, several rooms where the papal throne is located, the church of San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome, the court of the Duke of Mantua ), the interest in landscape representations (the storm with clouds, rain and lightning; the "Scottish-Italian" landscape, the landscape of central Italy; urban profiles that should be from time to time those of Trieste, Siena, Rome , Ancona). An extraordinary encyclopedia of places and events, in which you will never tire of browsing.
At the center of the room, then, the sensual Roman sculpture of the "Three Graces", object of ostracism from the nineteenth century onwards, and finally - hopefully definitively - brought back here in 1972 where the creators of the chapel had wanted it.
Overall, in the context of a sublime creation such as the Duomo of Siena, this Library is a further treasure chest of beauty.
Written 6 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maggie N
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Family
It was definitely worth seeing. The pope depicted in the ceiling was an interesting man. The manuscripts are gorgeous, especially if you’re interested in reading music. It’s a quick view, and worth it! The whole church is gorgeous.
Written 27 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dillons780
Long Island, NY521 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022
The library is connected to the Duomo di Siena and is a relatively small room which makes for a great quick visit after visiting the Duomo di Siena. The library is stunning and unlike anything we've seen before. Tickets are sold in combination with entrance to the Duomo di Siena. Highly recommend. 
Written 26 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jackiesamy
Miami, FL209 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021
excellent place, beautiful to visit i recommend to see it the place was not that crowded and the people was nice
Written 3 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 508
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

BIBLIOTECA PICCOLOMINI: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Biblioteca Piccolomini


Restaurants near Biblioteca Piccolomini: View all restaurants near Biblioteca Piccolomini on Tripadvisor