Tradition says that the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala was founded in the 9th Century, while the oldest documents testify to its existence since the 11th Century. It is one of three great buildings in the artistic and cultural triangle of Siena, along with the Duomo and the Palazzo Publico. It has been in use since the end of the 11th century to give aid to the sick and to pilgrims that trod the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome.
