The Allegory of Good and Bad Government
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 Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Palazzo Pubblico frescos: Allegory and Effect of Good and Bad Government, Smarthistory
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The Allegory of Good and Bad Government is a series of three fresco panels painted in the Sala Dei Nove by Ambrogio Lorenzetti from around February 26, 1338 to May 29, 1339. The paintings are located in the Sala dei Nove (Salon of Nine or Council Room) in the Palazzo Pubblico (or Town Hall) of the city of Siena, Italy. The series consists of six different scenes: Allegory of Good Government, Allegory of Bad Government, Effects of Bad Government in the City, Effects of Bad Government in the Country, Effects of Good Government in the City and Effects of Good Government in the Country (the titles are all modern conveniences).
The Allegory and Effects of Good and Bad Government series was commissioned entirely by a civic group, the Council of Nine (the city council). The subject matter in this work is not religious like most artworks of the time, but civic. The Republic of Siena was one of the most powerful of the fourteenth century Italian city-states. It was an urban hub filled with bankers and merchants, with many international contacts. The fourteenth century was a turbulent time for politics in the Italian cities. There were constant violent party struggles; governments were overthrown, and governments were reinstated.
The murals occupy an extensive amount of space, covering three of the four walls of the Council Room. The only wall that does not have a mural is the southern wall, as this wall contains the only window of the room. The door from which the council would enter is found on the opposite northern wall. On the eastern wall Lorenzetti depicted the scenes of the Effects of Good Government, while on the western wall, opposite the fresco displaying The Effects of Good Government lays the depiction of The Effects of Bad Government. Overlooking both these murals, the personifications of the allegorical depictions of the virtues of good government are found on the northern wall.
In The Allegory of Good Government, the composition is built up from three horizontal bands. In the foreground the figures of contemporary Siena are represented. The citizens act as symbolic representations of the various civic officers and magistrates. They are linked by two woven cords or concords which Concord gathers from under the scales of Justice. Behind them, on a stage, there are allegoric figures in two groups, representing the Good Government. The two groups are connected by the procession of the councilors. The upper band indicates the heavenly sphere with the floating bodiless ghosts of the virtues. Wisdom sits above the head of the personification of the Commune of Siena. He sits upon a throne and holds an orb and scepter, symbolizing temporal power. He is dressed in the colors of the Balzana, the black and white Sienese coat-of-arms. Around his head are the four letters C S C V, which stands for Commune Saenorum Civitatis Virginis, which explains his identity as the embodiment of the Siena Council. That character is guided by Faith, Hope, and Charity. He confers with the proper Virtues necessary for a proper and just ruler. The virtues of Good Government are represented by six crowned, stately female figures: Peace, Fortitude and Prudence on the left, Magnanimity, Temperance and Justice on the right. On the far left of the fresco the figure of Justice is repeated as she is balancing the scales held by Wisdom. The figures are naturalistic, and supposedly the female figures represented the ideal of female beauty in Siena. At the feet of the ruler are two playing children. They could be the sons of Remus: Ascius and Senius, who, according to Roman legend, are the founders of Siena. It is also believed that the two children are Romulus and Remus themselves, who founded Rome. The text within the lower border of the image reads: “This holy virtue [Justice], where she rules, induces to unity the many souls [of citizens], and they, gathered together for such a purpose, make the Common Good [ben comune] their Lord; and he, in order to govern his state, chooses never to turn his eyes from the resplendent faces of the Virtues who sit around him. Therefore to him in triumph are offered taxes, tributes, and lordship of towns; therefore, without war, every civic result duly follows --useful necessary, and pleasurable.” Below the fresco is the Lorenzetti’s signature: AMBROSIUS LAURENTII DE SENIS HIC PINXIT UTRINQUE.§§§
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