 Before the battle, the Sienese army of around 20,000 faced a much larger Florentine army of around 33,000.Prior to the battle, the entire city was dedicated to the Virgin Mary (this was done several times in the city's history, most recently in 1944 to guard the city from Allied bombs).The man given command of Siena for the duration of the war, Bonaguida Lucari, walked barefoot and bareheaded, a halter around his neck, to the Siena Cathedral ("Duomo di Siena").