By 1916, Milan was being bombed by Austrian Zeppelins, which brought a stop to most normal activities. With most of his pupils as well as his sons in the war, it was at this point that Leandro Sr. closed his Milan studio and moved to the safer and beautiful medieval city of Siena at the invitation of Count Guido Chigi Saracini, and stayed there from 1916-1922, where he worked on restoring and building up the Counts collection by acquiring great examples of the best instruments. For several years, the Chigi-Bisiach studio attracted clients including famous concert artists from all over to have their instruments repaired, adjusted and appraised.