A day in Siena (Monday 12th August 2013)

Siena is a really nice little city. We both like it a lot. Well worth the visit. Like Lucca it is a walled city, the walls also dating back to Renaissance times. This is Porta Camollia, 50m from our B&B.

It's probably about the same area as Lucca within the walls but has one significant difference – it's got hills. So, in a sense, it's sort of like a cross between Lucca and Riomaggiorie. We were both very tired so after breakfast we went back for a lie down. It was about 11:00am before got going to have a good look at the city.

The street called Via Camollia is just near our B&B and provides a direct route to the centre of the city where all the action is. This narrow street is lined with apartment buildings, restaurants and cafes, tabacchi (tobacconists) and any number of different retail stores.

It's an easy 15 minute walk to Piazza del Campo. The street was very busy with tourists and locals by the time walked along it.

The Piazza del Campo is a stunning public square. It's an odd shape, more semi-circular than anything else but not exactly so. To my surprise it is not flat like one would expect it to be from the photos I saw on the web. It is much higher on one side than the other. If you can imagine a saucer than has had one side squared off at the lowest point then you'll get the picture. The centre is paved in red brick with a fountain at the top end and the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall) at the bottom. All around the perimeter of the piazza are restaurants and bars with their awnings, umbrellas and tables and chairs out the front. A very colorful scene. There are some souvenir sellers in the middle of the piazza but not so many to ruin the view and the vibe. Kerry brought a tea-towel and I a Vespa keyring, in anticipation of a larger purchase when I get home!

On Friday this week the famous "Il Palio" is being held. It's a bareback horse race three times around the perimeter of the Piazza del Campo, precisely where the restaurants have their tables and chairs today! This part of the piazza is today covered in a thick layer of well compacted dirt in preparation for Friday's race. The race has been run on August 16 every year since 1701. Another race is held on July 2 which had its origins even earlier in 1656. Siena is made up of 17 wards and the people are fiercely proud of the part of the city they come from. Each year ten of the seventeen wards are represented by a horse in the race. The horse and its jockey wear the colours of the ward. The first horse past the post wins – whether it has a jockey on its back or not! We will have left Siena by Friday (but won't be far away so you never know!) so probably won't see the race. I made some inquiries with a police officer this afternoon and discovered that there is a practice run at 9:00am tomorrow morning. That's where we'll be!

Adjacent to the Palazzo Pubblico is the magnificent Torre del Mangia. This 88m red-brick tower, topped with a marble crown just dominates the view. Like the Eiffel Tower you just can't stop looking at it. The red-brick and marble was set against the background of a perfect blue sky. What a sight to behold. For a paltry eight euros one can climb the tower for a view of Siena and the Tuscan countryside. So I did. Kerry elected not too so I took lots of photos and video. The stair-case is very steep and very narrow. For most of the way it is no wider than the length of my forearm plus a hand length. For a short while it's just a forearm length wide! The old knees (and the lungs) felt the climb but it was worth the effort to see such a superb panorama.

After the climb I needed a gelato so we sat in the stands around the piazza and watched the preparations for tomorrow's race practice. We then headed off to the city's cathedral, Duomo di Siena, not far from the Piazza del Campo. We took the scenic route, however, which more interesting. Along the way we found an electronic palm reader so I paid my 50 cents to find out my future!

I doubt it would have made any sense in English. Only Emily understands the full significance of that comment.

Incidentally, Siena is sort of at the edge of something like a low escarpment so the city abruptly ends there.

The Duomo di Siena is indeed a spectacular building. Made entirely of marble and adorned with all manner of Saints, Popes and gargoyles it stands atop a hill just near the escarpment. The cathedral has a large dome and a tall bell-tower. The bell-tower is built of alternating white marble and black marble horizontal stripes. This is carried through to the inside of the church where the massive columns supporting the building are constructed in the same way.

The black and white stripes reflect the colours of Siena. Even though they are horizontal, and not vertical, it's still just a bit too close to Collingwood for either of us to be able to live here! Upon the walls of the church hang many large Renaissance period paintings. Sculptures line the walls. The cathedral was built over a period of 50 years, being largely completed by 1263, with modifications and alterations made to it over the next 200 years. It's hard to comprehend that this building is 800 years old!

Evening was starting to fall so we made our way back to Via Camollia and found a little Trattoria on the street for dinner. I had spaghetti with wild boar and Kerry had a nice dish of spinach and ricotta ravioli in pureed pumpkin. Of course the obligatory carafe of vino rosso and an espresso was required with the meal.