http://www.scholarsresource.com/browse/work/-1436218325
This is some pictures of the Fresco "The Allegory of Good and Bad Government" in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena Italy.
It was painted circa 1338-1340 by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
You will see on the wet damp side of the room, a lot of moisture damage has occurred, and much of the Bad Government side is destroyed.
There is a piece of purposeful or intentional damage, on the South wall- that is nothing to do with moisture. This wall is in a well lit and warm part of the room and there is little age damage, but a tiny bit of the Fresco have been removed. Now on the link you need to go to image 15 to see the intentional damage.
Although from the images it is hard to see that it is intentional damage, when you see the piece missing- it is obvious, as the lime plaster has been removed some layers deeper than the damage elsewhere on the fresco.
I am not sure what exactly the building is but it looks like part of the city wall or attached to the city wall like it is some sort of administrative building. At the entrance there are three men sitting in a huddle, two men standing behind; one of which has taken the arm of the other as if to tell him something about what the three men are doing. There is also two small children in the vicinity. The huddled men are sitting on a bench attached to the fence and they are concentrated on whatever has been removed from the Fresco. The man behind distracting another appears to have a wee small monkey in his hand.
It is thought the building the men are sitting outside is possibly a Tavern, although none hold drinking vessels- one man holds a blue glass bottle. I also doubt it is a Tavern as there appears to a statue of a saint on the wall inside.
In actual viewing of the fresco, I could see where the water flowed down the image from one of the wooden beams in the ceiling over this area but the moisture damage is a different colour to the this small area, and not so delineated to as to remove such a specific area.
Taking the date of the fresco- it would seem unlikely that these men are playing cards- dicing maybe? I would be interested in opinions.
In 1404 Siena was in the control of the Visconti but here is a brief history of the City.
http://www.wga.hu/tours/siena/history.html.
~Lorredan~
What Are These Men Doing in Siena?
1The Universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
Eden Phillpotts
Eden Phillpotts