The fall of the Republic of Siena in 1555 ushered in a long period of peace. The power and wealth conquered in the preceding centuries and the close ties between the leading families of Colle and the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany caused Colle to be raised to the rank of a city and proclaimed a diocese by Pope Clement VIII, thanks to the crucial intervention of Grand Duke Ferdinand I and over the objections of the bishops of Volterra and Siena. The first bishop was appointed: Usimbardo Usimbardi, a member of one of the Colle families closest to the Medici, and three days of festivities were proclaimed, with a solemn procession, the free distribution of bread, and the exposition of the Holy Sacrament in the churches. The bells rang joyously, alternating with cannon salvos shot from the city walls. Bishop Usimbardi saw to the construction of the new cathedral, the renovation of the bishop’s palace, and the building of the seminary, renewing the entire configuration of the town square. Usimbardo improved the distribution of the interior space of the bishop’s palace and organized the façades of the palace on Piazza del Duomo and Via del Castello with architectural elements such as ground-floor windows covered with bowed iron grilles and stone door and window sills, borrowed from Florentine models. The new cathedral was also positioned with the façade overlooking the square, . . .