Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana del Duomo

Duccio's Maestà, the great double-sided altarpiece carried through Siena's streets to the cathedral in 1311, is the reason most people come to the Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana del Duomo. It now hangs in a darkened room of its own, with the panels that once formed its back and predella shown nearby. The museum occupies part of the Duomo Nuovo, the vast cathedral extension Siena began in the 1330s and abandoned after the Black Death. Its unfinished walls still stand beside the cathedral.

Other galleries hold Giovanni Pisano's weathered marble prophets and sibyls, brought indoors from the cathedral facade, and the original round stained-glass window designed by Duccio for the apse. Pietro Lorenzetti's Birth of the Virgin is also here. Stairs lead up to the top of the Facciatone, the unfinished facade, for one of the best views over the city.

The collection is compact, and it suits anyone interested in Sienese Gothic art. It draws more than two million visitors a year.