900–400 BC - Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the Etruscans when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina. A Roman town called “Saena Julia” was founded at the site in the time of the Emperor Augustus.

4th century AD - Siena didn’t prosper under Roman rule, as it had little opportunity for trade. It meant Christianity didn’t penetrate the town until the 4th century AD, when the Lombards invaded and occupied the area. Then, it prospered as a trading post, due to the reroute of trading on more secure roads.

774 AD - The oldest aristocratic families in Siena date their line to the Lombards' surrender in 774, to Charlemagne. At this point, the city was inundated with a swarm of Frankish overseers who married into the existing Sienese nobility and left a legacy that can be seen in the abbeys they founded throughout the Sienese territory.

1115 AD - Feudal power waned, and by the death of Countess Matilda in 1115, the border territory of the March of Tuscany, which had been under the control of her family, the Canossa, broke up into several autonomous regions. This ultimately resulted in the creation of the Republic of Siena.

12th century - 1555 AD - The Republic existed for over four hundred years, from the 12th century until 1555. During the golden age of Siena, before the Black Death in 1348, the city was home to 50,000 people.

1472 - Siena is also home to the oldest bank in the world, the Monte dei Paschi bank, which has been operating continuously since 1472.

1547 - 1555 AD - The Spanish-installed governor of Siena was Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, until he was ousted by a Sienese revolt, which reestablished the Sienese Republic. In the Italian War of 1551–59, the republic was defeated by the rival Florence in alliance with the Spanish crown. After 18 months of resistance, Siena surrendered to Spain on April 17, 1555, marking the end of the republic.

1559 - 1799 AD - The House of Medici were not able to give a stable structure to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, keeping almost unchanged the division between the so-called Old State, i.e. Florence, and the New State, i.e. Siena, and the southern part up to Pitigliano, with different laws and taxes. With the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici in 1737, who had no children, the Medici dynasty ended and the Grand Duchy passed into the hands of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty who kept it until 1799.

1859 AD - After the Napoleonic period and the Risorgimento uprisings, Siena was the first city in Tuscany to vote in favor of annexation to the Kingdom of Italy.

These are just some of the shots me and ‪@blackbeardsadventures‬ took. Check out our other videos on my channel to see more of this beautiful medieval city!

To learn more about Siena and/or plan your own trip: www.inspiruption.com/the-travel-lounge/siena