The Medicea Fortress is a huge red-brick fortress built for Cosimo I by Baldassarre Lanci in 1560, following Siena's defeat by the Florentines in the 1554-5 war.
More than 8,000 Sienese died either from battle wounds or through starvation and disease in the 18-month siege, reducing the town's population to a mere 6,000. The town was repressed by its florentine masters, its banking and wool industries were suppressed and all building work ended.
The fortress now houses an open-air theatre, and from the antrance bastions there are glorious views of the country-side.
