On the way to Montepulciano we took a detour to Siena, Merkin and The GreaseMonkey have just come back from a holiday in Italy where they have spent some time here and reminded Rosie and The Operator how beautiful it is….we thought we will call in quickly en route and check it out.
Doing the tourist fly by we are concentrating on the big three in town, ll Campo, The Duomo and The Church of San Domenico, all three are easily walked between.
Walking to ll Campo through the narrow winding Sienese streets it takes your breath away as you break out from the alleyway and catch your first sight of the expanse of the square. This is the heart of the city of Siena, originally it was a field just outside the city walls, which only encircled the Duomo . In the 1200s the city expanded and the focus of power shifted from the church to the city council.
Another crackingly ‘real’ city, full of folk going about their day to day business and tourists side stepping the busy, focused locals. Back in the day Siena was Florence’s arch rival and just as big and important. It was the first city in Europe to ban traffic from its main square in 1966.
The brick surface of the square is divided into 9 segments representing the council of 9 merchants and bigwigs who once ruled Siena. The square and the buildings are the colour of the soil on which the city stands and Rosie favourite watercolour, Burnt Sienna.
The city hall dominates the square with its huge medieval front and 330 foot tall tower which is the tallest in Italy. At the base of the tower is a chapel that was built in 1348 to thank God for ending the Black Death, after it killed nearly a third of the population. The chapel should really be used for thanking God that the top heavy tower is still standing after all this time with no reinforcing…..These day the chapel is only used to bless the Palio contestants (the wild, yearly horse race round the square) and the bell in the tower is only ever rung during the race.
Standing in front of the Town Hall looking back out into the square it rises before you like a natural amphitheater and is stunning. Rosie and The Operator needed a Latte sitting on the edge of the square just to take in the beauty and all the sights.
The Fountain of Joy is in the square and is a propaganda piece showing the people of Siena how wonderful the Republic was for providing its people with water back in the 1500s.
Now, off to the Duomo….through the narrow winding streets you walk uphill to the highest point in the city.
Then you pop up in the small square that houses this magnificent Cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary, dating back to 1215. The marble facade is exceptionally beautiful and you could just sit and stare for hours at all the detail.
On the way back to the car park, past San Domenico we stumble across some amazing views back to the city. What a beautiful city, Rosie and The Operator are glad Merkin and The GreaseMonkey prompted a return visit.
Onwards we travel to Montepulciano….The Operator has a bottle of red waiting for him with his name on it after he has parked up….
