A path suspended between history and urban scenery
The Costarella dei Barbieri, short but intensely, connects Piazza del Campo to via di Città, creating a natural bridge between the pulsating heart of the square and the noble city. The scenic slope and the stone steps capture the gaze and guide the visitor upwards, among the facades of buildings that embrace in a hug of bricks, light, and history.
The name of the ascent comes from the barber shops that operated here: small lively places where beards and hair were cut, but also meeting places, news exchanges, and discussions of city events, contributing to build the social life of the neighborhood. Even today, walking along the Costarella, one can feel the ancient atmosphere: the sound of footsteps on the stone, the smell of the shops, the chatter rising from the square like a timeless echo.
Architecture and urban life
The perspective descending towards Piazza del Campo makes the Costarella one of the most photographed spots in Siena, especially at sunset, when the golden light ignites the bricks and transforms the ascent into a natural scenery. The buildings lining it tell centuries of Sienese history: Gothic and Renaissance architectures coexist naturally, like pages of an open book about the city.
During the Palio, the Costarella becomes a strategic and vibrant place: contradaioli, tourists, and curious onlookers traverse the ascent without pause, transforming it into a human river flowing towards the shell of the Campo, filled with anticipation and emotion. Along the Costarella, the stage for the Captains is set up. The ascent is part of the daily rhythm of the Sienese: students, workers, and elderly cross it with a steady pace, making it an integrated element of urban identity.
At night, when the crowd thins out, the Costarella transforms: the warm lights of the street lamps cast soft shadows on the stone and the silence returns to the street its most intimate and poetic soul. It is a short ascent, but capable of enclosing beauty, verticality, history, and lived life, leaving those who walk it with the feeling of having touched the authentic heart of Siena.
