Museo della Nobile Contrada del Nicchio
The Museum of the Nicchio neighbourhood is behind the Oratory of San Gaetano
The Museum houses the costumes and Palii (Palio banners) won by the Nicchio neighbourhood; entry to the Oratory is included in the ticket price. Among the works on show are silverware of the Sienese and Tuscan schools (15th to 19th century); religious vestments of the 17th and 18th centuries; ceramic ware (15th century); a Madonna and Child by Benedetto da Maiano (15th century); a polychrome terracotta figure of St Sebastian by Giovanni di Stefano (1443-1504); and a canvas by Francesco Rustichi (1592-1626).
The Nicchio neighbourhood has opened the doors of its Oratory and Museum for special occasions, showing works given by master potters for the 7th Arte dei Vasai (The Potters’ Art) exhibition in the context of contemporary ceramics. As well as the ceramic legacy, you can see two works owned by the Museum. The two paintings are by the contemporary artists Marco Antonio Tanganelli and the duo Cecilia Rigacci-Carlo Franzoso, also known as “Agathos”. The contrasts between the original small building and today’s spaces, between the exhibitions of earlier years and the present one, between the activities of the ’50s and current ones, show some of the evolution of the neighbourhood, as does the great precision with which the people of the Nicchio put together each little piece of the whole.