Deep inside the Tuscan countryside and surrounded by the wonderful landscapes of the “Crete”, Siena is a small jewel of art and architecture, that became famous all over the world not only for its marvelous Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral, but also for the “Palio”, an ancient horse race taking place every year during the Summer, just inside the “Piazza del Campo”. After visiting the “San Domenico” church, with the inside flags representing the different “Contrade” (the city is divided in different areas, “Contrade”, who challenge themselves during the “Palio”), just have a stroll along the “Via dei Banchi”, where you’ll find a lot of shops and have the possibility to taste the typical “senese” food like “Pici” with nuts sauce, boar dishes, cakes and sweets as for example “Panforte” or “Ricciarelli”. Of course the best is to match the food with a bottle of the local and famous wine of Montalcino, Montepulciano or Chianti.
From “Via dei Banchi”, through one of the arches under the side buildings, you can pass straight inside the “Piazza del Campo”, a non-squared square made in the shape of a shell in order to follow the inclination of the ground underneath: here you can see the Municipality Palace with its high and majestic “Mangia” tower, while in the middle of the place you’ll discover the “Gaia” fountain.
The well known Cathedral is on the upper part of the city: its marvelous façade decorated with pinnacles, arches and sculptures, was realized in most part by the famous Giovanni Pisano, while his son Nicola is the author of the wonderful pulpit that you can see inside the church. |
