Settled for the first time by Etruscans (c. 900-400 BC), Siena was founded, according to legend, by Senius, son of Remus. Anyway, it didn't prospered under Roman rule, because it wasn't sited near any major roads. After the Lombard occupation, the situation was changed, and the city developed as a trading post. Conquered by Charlemagne in 774, the city became republic in 12th century, which existed for over 400 years. In the Italian War of 1551-1559, the republic was defeated by the rival Duchy of Florence in alliance with the Spanish crown, and that ceded it to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to which it belonged until the unification of Italy in the 19th century. In 1995, its historic centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because "the whole city of Siena, built around the Piazza del Campo, was devised as a work of art that blends into the surrounding landscape."
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