The Palazzo Pubblico, the town hall of Siena, stands at the lower end of the steeply sloping Campo, with the Piazza del Mercato at its rear. The building project was initiated in the 1280s, when it was decided to combine in one building the Customs offices, the Mint and the Council offices, together with the residence of the Podestà. The new palazzo was designed to face the Campo, unlike the old Mint, which had overlooked the Val di Montone. The structure consisted of a central tower block of slightly trapezoidal plan. The ground-floor façade was faced in stone, with four doors of a characteristic Sienese type (a shallow arch contained within a pointed arch). Above this were two storeys faced in brick, each with four three-light windows, and the whole was crowned with battlements. In 1304 the tower was extended on the rear, market side and heightened by one storey, with three two-light windows at the front. Between 1307 and 1310 the two-storey side wings were built, canted slightly in relation to the central
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The Palazzo Pubblico, the town hall of Siena, stands at the lower end of the steeply sloping Campo, with the Piazza del Mercato at its rear. The building project was initiated in the 1280s, when it was decided to combine in one building the Customs offices, the Mint and the Council offices, together with the residence of the Podestà. The new palazzo was designed to face the Campo, unlike the old Mint, which had overlooked the Val di Montone. The structure consisted of a central tower block of slightly trapezoidal plan. The ground-floor façade was faced in stone, with four doors of a characteristic Sienese type (a shallow arch contained within a pointed arch). Above this were two storeys faced in brick, each with four three-light windows, and the whole was crowned with battlements. In 1304 the tower was extended on the rear, market side and heightened by one storey, with three two-light windows at the front. Between 1307 and 1310 the two-storey side wings were built, canted slightly in relation to the central
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