Sienna

We made a day trip out of the medieval town of Sienna, based on various recommendations we’d received, as well as on the details of our travel guide.

Sienna is a charming Italian town built high in the Tuscany hills, overlooking some very scenic terrain. It is famous for it’s very restrictive attitude toward cars (they aren’t allowed in the city center, which is nice), and the biannual Palio event. It just so happened that we showed up during the Palio, and it made the trip hat much more worth it. After taking the train from Florence to Sienna, we walked up the hill into the city to find the deep streets of the city blanketed in heraldic banners. People were walking to and fro wearing broad scarves with the various flags emblazoned on them, representing the neighborhood from which they come. There are 17 neighborhoods in the town, and each was clearly demarked with the corresponding flag. Some of the neighborhoods are “the Dragon”, “the Fox”, “the Goose”, “the Wave”, and “the Eagle”. I feel sorry for the people who live in the neighborhood of “Wood” or “the Snail”.

The Palio itself is a very short series of events, where “riders” are chosen from each contrade (neighborhood) to represent their borough. There are several heats and a finale. The town square is turned into a racetrack and covered with sand, and thousands of onlookers watch the race. The best part about the race is that the track is shaped like a half moon, so riders often fall off of their horses when making the ninety degree turn in front of the tower. We had the good fortune to observe this happen in true Sienna style (I think it was the rider from the Wave neighborhood). All day the streets, seemingly cut deep into the shadows of the tall facades of the city, were thronged with people in the best sort of festive manner.

We bought some bread, olives and olive oil, cheese, and a local type of pastry and made a lunch of it on the back steps of the Duomo del Sienna. We also took a complete tour of the cathedral itself, as well as the crypt and museum therein. Among the highlights were the remains of St. Clement, tied up with golden ribbons in a little glass box, and some other bits and pieces of dead people. The same was true of the cathedral of Santo Domenico, wherein the preserved head of St. Catherine was on display to see. Yes. The remarkably well preserved and creepy severed head of St. Catherine, was on display in its own little alcove.

This was one of my favorite stops in the whole trip, and I would come to Italy for this town and event alone. This web page has more info on Sienna, as well as some interactive pictures.