Last weekend, six of us set out for an adventure in Tuscany. Siena is a wonderful medieval town about 60km south of Florence, and it is where our trip began. We arrived Thursday evening, had a late dinner, did a little walking, and then settled into our comfortable hotel, Albergo la Perla, for the night. The next day, we were able to see quite a bit before leaving for Florence in the afternoon. Although we had to do a lot of walking up and down hills, Siena is not an especially big place and everything was within easy walking distance of the hotel. Our first stop was the Piazza and Basilica of San Domenico. It's somewhat amazing that entry was free, because the main attraction in this church is the incorruptible head of Saint Catharine of Siena. Saint Catherine is especially significant because she is one of the patron saints of Italy. She died and was buried in Rome, in the Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, but since Siena was her home, the people there wished to have her body. An attempt to steal the remains was partially successful; they made off with her head and a thumb. According to legend, when their bags were searched by Roman guards, they prayed to Saint Catharine for assistance. When the bag containing the remains was opened, the guards found only rose petals. Seeing the head was... very strange, to say the least. I can't say I understand the tradition of collecting relics. Remembering someone by holding on to something they owned is one thing, but encasing body parts in gold and glass is just strange. After the church, we were able to visit the convent where Saint Catherine lived just as it was opening. Again, entry was free, but we weren't able to see much, just two small chapels. In the gift shop, there were rosaries blessed on Saint Catherine's head. As unique as that would be, I declined to purchase one and only bought a post card. Aside from Saint Catherine, one thing Siena is known for is a horse race, called Il Palio, which is held twice a year in the main Piazza, Piazza del Campo. There are colorful crests for each of the competitors, which represent different city wards. Flags bearing these crests were available in all the gift shops, but they were about seven euros each. My postcard, which has them all, was a bargain at sixty cents. The flags were also hung in the churches we visited. The odd mix of the secular and the religious reminded me of Venice. Otherwise, the two places had little in common. Unlike Venice, Siena did not feel like a tourist city. In Venice, we have found it difficult to practice Italian, because even when we speak Italian people reply to us in English. (Although, strangely, most people on Burano seemed to think we were French.) In Siena, few people spoke English. It made things a little more difficult for us, but between the six of us we managed to ask the questions we needed and to get our point across. We were quite proud of ourselves. People in Siena also seemed friendlier, and I think that had to do with the greater amount of open space as with the smaller numbers of tourists. Finally, there was so much to do for free. Churches were just open; we didn't need tickets or a Siena card. This is not to say there are no places specifically set aside as tourist attractions. The most important of these are in the Piazza del Campo- the Palazzo Publico and the Torre de Mangia. The torre especially was well worth the price paid and the time spent climbing stairs; the view from the top was spectacular. In these pictures, it is easy to see another difference between Siena and Venice. Siena is a very medieval town. Venice started as a medieval city as well- the Byzantine and Gothic architecture are clear proof of that- but Venice changed from one style to the next over time. It is not just medieval, but it is Renaissance, baroque, rococo, and neo-classical. One final observation in comparison with Venice is that while Venice fancied itself as the next Rome, often to the point of great arrogance, Siena seems to have been much more reverent. Depictions of Romulus and Remus appear throughout the town, and legend has it that Siena was founded by the son of Remus, named Senius. Also in Siena, I'm pretty sure we discovered the best deal on pizza in all of Italy. For just €2,50 each, we got huge slices of pizza, which we enjoyed while sitting in the Piazza del Campo. (Which we later discovered was illegal, but no one really cared.) Later that afternoon, we boarded a bus bound for Florence.
It's somewhat amazing that entry was free, because the main attraction in this church is the incorruptible head of Saint Catharine of Siena. Saint Catherine is especially significant because she is one of the patron saints of Italy. She died and was buried in Rome, in the Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, but since Siena was her home, the people there wished to have her body. An attempt to steal the remains was partially successful; they made off with her head and a thumb. According to legend, when their bags were searched by Roman guards, they prayed to Saint Catharine for assistance. When the bag containing the remains was opened, the guards found only rose petals. Seeing the head was... very strange, to say the least. I can't say I understand the tradition of collecting relics. Remembering someone by holding on to something they owned is one thing, but encasing body parts in gold and glass is just strange.
After the church, we were able to visit the convent where Saint Catherine lived just as it was opening. Again, entry was free, but we weren't able to see much, just two small chapels. In the gift shop, there were rosaries blessed on Saint Catherine's head. As unique as that would be, I declined to purchase one and only bought a post card. Aside from Saint Catherine, one thing Siena is known for is a horse race, called Il Palio, which is held twice a year in the main Piazza, Piazza del Campo. There are colorful crests for each of the competitors, which represent different city wards. Flags bearing these crests were available in all the gift shops, but they were about seven euros each. My postcard, which has them all, was a bargain at sixty cents. The flags were also hung in the churches we visited. The odd mix of the secular and the religious reminded me of Venice. Otherwise, the two places had little in common.
Unlike Venice, Siena did not feel like a tourist city. In Venice, we have found it difficult to practice Italian, because even when we speak Italian people reply to us in English. (Although, strangely, most people on Burano seemed to think we were French.) In Siena, few people spoke English. It made things a little more difficult for us, but between the six of us we managed to ask the questions we needed and to get our point across. We were quite proud of ourselves. People in Siena also seemed friendlier, and I think that had to do with the greater amount of open space as with the smaller numbers of tourists. Finally, there was so much to do for free. Churches were just open; we didn't need tickets or a Siena card.
This is not to say there are no places specifically set aside as tourist attractions. The most important of these are in the Piazza del Campo- the Palazzo Publico and the Torre de Mangia. The torre especially was well worth the price paid and the time spent climbing stairs; the view from the top was spectacular.
In these pictures, it is easy to see another difference between Siena and Venice. Siena is a very medieval town. Venice started as a medieval city as well- the Byzantine and Gothic architecture are clear proof of that- but Venice changed from one style to the next over time. It is not just medieval, but it is Renaissance, baroque, rococo, and neo-classical.
One final observation in comparison with Venice is that while Venice fancied itself as the next Rome, often to the point of great arrogance, Siena seems to have been much more reverent. Depictions of Romulus and Remus appear throughout the town, and legend has it that Siena was founded by the son of Remus, named Senius.
Also in Siena, I'm pretty sure we discovered the best deal on pizza in all of Italy. For just €2,50 each, we got huge slices of pizza, which we enjoyed while sitting in the Piazza del Campo. (Which we later discovered was illegal, but no one really cared.) Later that afternoon, we boarded a bus bound for Florence.
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