Basilica of San Domenico, Siena

Basilica of San Domenico, Siena tickets: which one to buy

Entry is free with a donation box; there is no ticket and no guide service, and the church is not included in the cathedral's OPA SI pass. Walking tours of Siena include it and cost a moderate amount, usually pairing it with the house of St Catherine a few streets downhill, which is also free.

The basilica stands on the hill of Camporegio above the Fontebranda spring, ten minutes from the Campo and five from the bus terminal at Piazza Gramsci, which makes it the first church most visitors arriving by coach actually pass. Nothing needs booking and there is never a queue. The terrace beside the church gives the standard postcard view of the cathedral and the town across the valley. The house of St Catherine, five minutes downhill, is free and preserves her cell and the family dyeing workshop.

Visiting Basilica of San Domenico, Siena: what to see

The Dominicans began building in 1226 on land given by the Malavolti family, and enlarged the church in the fourteenth century into the huge brick barn you see now: an Egyptian cross plan, a single nave under open roof trusses, and almost no decoration, which is exactly what a preaching order wanted. Fires, military occupation and the removal of baroque altars in 1941 have left it emptier still.

What draws pilgrims is Catherine of Siena, who took the Dominican habit here in about 1363 and whose chapel halfway down the nave holds her preserved head in a reliquary, brought back from Rome after her death in 1380, and one of her thumbs in a separate case. Sodoma frescoed the chapel walls in 1526 with her ecstasy and her swoon. An earlier portrait of her by Andrea Vanni hangs in the Chapel of the Vaults. The Chapel of the Vaults at the west end is raised above the nave and holds the earliest known portrait of Catherine, painted by a follower who knew her.

Basilica of San Domenico, Siena opening hours and the best time to go

Open daily from morning to evening with a break in the middle of the day in some seasons and closure during mass. The church is cold and dim; the trussed nave photographs best in the middle of the day when light comes through the clerestory. Siena is busiest around the Palio on 2 July and 16 August. The feast of St Catherine on 29 April brings processions from the church to her house. Dress modestly. Photography without flash is allowed.

Allow thirty minutes. The Fontebranda fountain below, the house of St Catherine and the contrada of the Goose are all on the walk downhill towards the Campo. The terrace beside the church is where photographers set up for the view of the cathedral, particularly at sunset. Bus travellers arriving in Siena pass the church on the walk in from Piazza Gramsci, which makes it a natural first or last stop.