Today we woke up at the lazy hour of 9 am and slowly took on Siena. Siena is a medieval town that is quiet, dreamy and such a refreshing change from the hectic pace of Florence. It doesn’t have the big names and attractions of Florence, but it has good food, happy people and enables you to come face to face with medieval relics of centuries gone by.
My Rick Steves guide tells me that Siena used to be Florence’s archrival, but then the bubonic plague wiped out a third of the population and Florence emerged as the superpower city. There are very few tourists, the streets are narrow and winding, and old nonnas group together, stopping to talk about the days’ gossip. You see tunnels branching off from alleyways, religious pictures placed at the head of the tunnels from centuries past and symbols that have been carved and painted onto the walls, which reflect Siena’s 17 different neighbourhoods.
[The Duomo:]
[Siena in Autumn:]
[Ancient framed sculptures hang above doorways:]
[Relics of times gone by:]
The highlight of the city is by far Il Campo, which is Siena’s main square. It’s like a massive amphitheatre- sloping downwards towards the City Hall and the City Tower. At the top of Il Campo is the Fountain of Joy where pigeons take sips of water to escape from the heat and the sculptures delight all the people passing by.
[The City Tower:]
[Il Campo:]
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