Italian Road Trip #4 - Medieval Siena

Hey, fellow Stemians!

Our Tuscany journey continues! After visiting several small towns that are not on most tourists’ map, our next destination does get quite a lot of attention from visitors. Nevertheless, this town deserves at least a short visit thanks to its gorgeous medieval core. Welcome to Siena!

Unlike previous couple of days, clouds have completely covered the sky. The temperature was significantly lower but luckily, it didn’t rain. We parked our car just outside the town center and after a 10-minute walk we were there. We immediately noticed how different the architecture is compared to smaller towns in Tuscany. Buildings are taller, facades painted in vivid colors and decorated with huge attention to details.

Streets in Siena are quite winding and sloping and you can get lost quite easily. But if you keep going downward you’ll most likely reach Piazza del Campo, an enormous square (and this is not exaggerating!) where most of the streets in the old town meet. We were in awe at how much space there is between the opposite sides.

In fact, this piazza is so big that horse races are held here, twice a year! The track is laid out at the outer ring of piazza, allowing spectators to watch the race from the center. Imagine how crazy the atmosphere gets as the horses and jockeys enter the final lap! On the other days, when there’s no special event going on, people like to just sit down and relax, there’s place for everyone.

Towering on the south-east side of Piazza del Campo is Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) accompanied with the tower, Torre del Mangia, which literally means Tower of the Eater. It got its name by its first guardian, Giovanni di Balduccio who was infamous for his wastefulness. The tower itself used to be one of the tallest structures in Italy during the middle ages.

We got a little hungry from all the walk so we decided to have a break and grab a €5 sandwich from the bakery right on this square (of course, it’s a bit overpriced to eat here since it’s right where everyone hangs out but we were really hungry so we didn’t feel like searching for a cheaper place).

With our bellies full, we continued towards one of the best known attractions in Siena -
Duomo di Siena. This magnificent cathedral is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in this part of Italy. Combining elements of Gothic, Romanesque and Classical style, it’s truly a feast for eyes and we spent quite some time marveling at the details.

Time came for us to wrap our Siena visit, but not before we grabbed some gelato to keep our sugar at an optimal level. We found a bistro short walk away from the Duomo and made a final stop before our departure. Gelato was devoured in a matter of minutes and pretty shortly we were back in the car and on our way to Florence. Join us in the next post, where we visit this remarkable town!

Until next time, travelers! :)

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!steemitworldmap 43.319558 lat 11.330853 long Medieval Siena d3scr