Last Saturday 28 dec, I was free from
arrivals and business matters so I decided to take a day off! … A whole
day only for me and my boyfriend. We decide to be "Tourists for a
Day": we will go to Siena!! … just like all my guests do… just
to understand if it is really worth it!
Last time I visited Siena, I was very young. I
went there on a sunday - trip with my parents and sister.. 25 years ago? Maybe
30? I know! It’s unbelievable … but as always happens…. you choose to massacre
yourself with a 24 hours flight … and you leave the beauty of your country to the
others… we are really stupid.
Anyway!! Yes. Siena is beautiful as described in all the books, guides, websites …blogs and so on. It is worth it.
And if you come to Tuscany you cannot miss a day-trip there.
It is very similar as Lucca and at the same time
very different….It is slightly smaller than Lucca. Lucca is completely
flat. Siena is "up and down". I am sure my guests will love to know it. It is
much more crowded than Lucca. On the other side it is a jewel… and when you start walking throughout the daedal of medieval streets … you forget everything, you forget similarities and differences, you forget where you have parked the car, and you forget how to come back to the train station… (now I can understand why so many guests get lost so often!!) When the cathedral appears to your eyes at the end of the narrow and shadowed road.. it is vibrant…. it is really exiting. It’s beautiful. Nothing more than beautiful.
After a first quick glance to the cathedral, we went straight to Piazza del Campo.. almost desert in this end of the year.. ( a very good reason to come to Tuscany off season is that the number of people you share your emotion really decreases. In my personal opinion this increases the value of your experience)
.. We walked all the Palio track… admired the majestic buildings overlooking the square .. until I found myself to take pictures to pigeons on the Fonte Battesimale more than to the monument itself. We all are always surrounded by pigeons. Tuscany must be the favorite place of all the pigeons on the world… … while taking pictures to pigeons.. I felt.. from my shoulders something was calling me: Sure! La Torre del Mangia was calling me. With my passion of climbing everything is possible to climb.. could I miss it? So we decided to walk up to the top of the tower. Almost 90 meters high.. I don t know how many steps… I haven t counted them.. but many!! We were so lucky to find a sunny and clear day.. without any wind.. despite it is the end of december the weather was really pleasant… it helped to enjoy the breathtaking view on the town and the surrounding countryside. Unforgettable.
We stayed on the top for 20 minutes… ( have a look at the couple! They have kissed for 20 minutes. I have arrived and they have already kissed. I was going away and they are still kissing. Twenty minutes is a very long time, isn't it?)
.. We walked all the Palio track… admired the majestic buildings overlooking the square .. until I found myself to take pictures to pigeons on the Fonte Battesimale more than to the monument itself. We all are always surrounded by pigeons. Tuscany must be the favorite place of all the pigeons on the world… … while taking pictures to pigeons.. I felt.. from my shoulders something was calling me: Sure! La Torre del Mangia was calling me. With my passion of climbing everything is possible to climb.. could I miss it? So we decided to walk up to the top of the tower. Almost 90 meters high.. I don t know how many steps… I haven t counted them.. but many!! We were so lucky to find a sunny and clear day.. without any wind.. despite it is the end of december the weather was really pleasant… it helped to enjoy the breathtaking view on the town and the surrounding countryside. Unforgettable.
We stayed on the top for 20 minutes… ( have a look at the couple! They have kissed for 20 minutes. I have arrived and they have already kissed. I was going away and they are still kissing. Twenty minutes is a very long time, isn't it?)
We took our way back to the Square… Some Shots in the Square…
a quick piece of pizza.. and go!!! Straight to the Museum of the Cathedral… Could I miss the just restored marble
mosaic floors and the Libreria Piccolomini? I could not! Amazing. The Church is incredibly decorated, pretty impressive. You realize that the 2 euros paid for the visit become acceptable. I mean: it's not good you have to pay for visiting a Church. I have never liked it and I have always though that art and history must be open to everybody and free.. but when you get into such a place you immediately understand that the strength and the work to preserve everything from the time and the ruin must be rewarded. The restoration of the original pavement is the result of an enormous work… The preservation and the maintenance of the decorated walls in the Piccolomini Libreria is another enormous art… this room is a huge treasure.. We were really astonished.. If I can use an italian common say: A Bocca Aperta… … without any mentions to all the other riches in the church… from the marble pulpit to the the cupola with its golden stars, the altar itself… The visit to the
Cathedral took more or less an hour, maybe slightly more… and it was becoming
late… but it has not finished yet….
We have been miraculated. Just out the Cathedral we were admiring the simmetry, the colours and the sunset light on the culumns of the facade… and our eyes bumped into … never the less than Steve McCurry exhibition which I knew it was ended at the beginning of november. I have accepted it: I’ve lost it!! I could not imagine such a gift from this Christmas!! It is still open til january the 6th. It was my day. Memorable.
