Nearby Attractions
Piazza Il Campo
A universal symbol of the city, the distinct formation of the Piazza del Campo is just one of the reasons why UNESCO recognizes Siena as the ideal embodiment of a medieval city. Built in the exact place where the three antique hilltop towns sloped together, before eventually combining to create the community of Siena.
The main square, commonly called “il Campo” was built on the intersection of the three main roads that lead to and from Siena, destined to be a neutral ground where political and civic holidays could be celebrated. The homogenous architectural form of the square and the buildings facing itwas not an accidental happening; the government created guidelines in 1297, before the actual building of the square and civic buildings. If any structure didn’t adhere, then they were torn down - as was the antique church for St. Peter and Paul. This signifies that it was always the city leader's intention to create a harmonious structure between the buildings and the square.
The Sienese Crete:
domineering horizons
“The Sienese Crete is thus a singular region. Like an island: exuberant, uncompromising, where the sun really shines, the wind blows unhindered, the light is blinding, and sight can range mercilessly everywhere, chasing distant horizons, wonderful lines, and unforgivable damages.
The Chianti, a land of harmony
...This is an example of the fruitful union of the classical Greek “fusis”and”sofos” of nature and logic. Their marriage has given rise to a sort of divinity: the nymph of the Chianti, the soul of this land. Brambles and grape vines make up her hair, the wind is her breath, sparkling streams reflect her eyes, wine flows in her veins and rolling hills are the contours of her body. Her smile shines like the sun, and she is as proud as a castle and gentle as an abbey. She is simultaneously earthy and ascetic, older than time while elegant in her youthfulness. She is endowed with mysterious magic and loves to be on display, to express herself, to welcome visitors and be an object of desire. She slowly reveals herself to those who have the patience and courage to discover her innermost essence, the union of nature and logic. Now it is becoming clearer why the exploration we are embarking on is one of imaginary lands: the home of the nymph could never be as it is if it weren’t for the intervention of man and their ability to perpetuate and comprehend this intervention. This means that the identity of the Chianti resides primarily in a conscious effort to generate harmony between the forces of nature and the intellect of man. ..”
Chianti, the eternal wine
The magic of Chianti pours persuasively from the bottles of that wine which the whole world envies. The modern history of “Chianti Classico began in the 19th century with the “father” of modern vine growing and winemaking in Chianti who was the inspiration for production discipline: baron Ricasoli.
This land’s ancestral links with vine and wine was recently confirmed by an archaeological find in the area: some seeds of “Vitis Vinifera” dating to 23 centuries ago. Then in the late middle ages vineyards played a leading part in agriculture and the economy.
Derivation of the word Chianti, according to a 790 document in the abbey of San Bartolomeo in Ripoli, is hard to identify: probably it evolved from the Latin clangor, meaning the typical sharp sound coming from the dense woodlands, the aristocrats’ hunting horns and the shrieks of animals. But some linguists maintain that it is of Etruscan origin. Land of great wines, thanks to the monks who cleared woodland to plant vineyards around the abbeys, and thanks to the peasants who perpetuated the cultivation thereof.
The modern history of Chianti Classico began in the 19th century with the “father” of modern vine growing and winemaking in Chianti who was the inspiration for production discipline: baron Bettino Ricasoli. In 1874 he codified the rules for making wine (traditional Tuscan vinification system) and defined Chianti blend proportions, attributing a percentage to each of the main grape varieties: “from Sangioveto the wine receives its main dose of bouquet and a certain vigour of sensation; from Cannaiulo the sweetness that tempers the hardness of the former but without removing the perfume since the latter also has this characteristic. Malvasia, which could be done without in wines intended for ageing, tends to dilute the product of the first two grapes, increases its flavour and renders it lighter and more readily suitable for everyday use at table”.
"Pan d'un giorno, vin d'un anno", this ancient proverb marvellously encapsulates the cuisine of Sienese Chianti. Produce, seasons and territory, reflecting an economy that was once based on sharecropping and on sending products, ingredients and recipes to the town.
Wine was brought by the Etruscans. Chianti was and remains synonymous with Italian wine. Over and above being drunk, it is used extensively in local cookery.
Chianti bread is baked in a wood-fired oven. It lasts all week: you start with the bread knife and it’s as good on the last day as on the first. Any leftovers become, depending on the season, panzanella, ribollita, pappa col pomodoro, and occasionally also that mixture with poppies which once calmed any epileptics in the family. Toasted it is the basic element of fettuntaor with (black) cabbage on slices. For this you need olive oil, the precious liquid gold which was another gift from the Etruscans and whose flavour underlies all Chianti cookery. When necessary it was used as drastic medication or as the basic ingredient in love potions.
Cheese is marzolino and pecorino which was largely the fruit of trade during the twice-yearly pasture changing when flocks passed through Chianti.
Chianti also had its “poor man’s spicery”: garlic and onion, sage and bay leaf, pepolino (thyme) and rosemary, radicchio and bitter herbs, basil thyme and salvestrella, juniper berries and acacia flowers. The meat is among the world’s best: beef and veal, pork, cinti senesi and wild boar, free range chickens, guinea fowl and pheasant, duck and mallard, rabbit and hare, pigeon and wood-pigeon. And lamb at Easter. The desserts taste of corn, of fresh eggs, of honey and jams: tarts, pine-seed cakes and sponges, both plain and filled.
Take care with Chianti raisin wine, which is neither sweet nor dry: it’s raisin wine. If you’re lucky enough to find any, don’t go dipping biscuits in it. That would be a sin, and not just a venial one.
Il Palio
The Palio is the most important event in Siena, taking place on July 2 and August 16 every year.
In the Palio, the various Sienese "contrade", or areas in which the city is divided, challenge each other in a passionate horse race in the heart of the city in the Piazza del Campo.
Originally, there were about fifty-nine "Contrade"; now only seventeen remain, ten of which take part in the historical pageant and in the race at each Palio (seven by right and three drawn by lots).
The 17 Contrade which still exist today are: the Eagle, Snail, Wave, Panther, Forest, Tortoise, Owl, Unicorn, Shell, Tower, Ram, Caterpillar, Dragon, Giraffe, Porcupine, She-Wolf and the Goose.
Each Contrada has its own unique emblem and colors and represents an area of the city. As one walks through the streets of Siena it is easy to know in which Contrada you currently are in by observing the flags and emblems displayed along the street. Much like street signs, corners often designate the entrance into a different Contrada with signs as the ones in the picture below.
Civic Museum
Each hall contains very beautiful artworks
The Civic Museum is in Piazza del Campo, inside the Palazzo Pubblico (entrance from the Cortile del Podestà), which were built to host the Nine Lords who governed the Republic of Siena.
Inside is a collection of artworks of exceptional value, among which some precious frescoes that are the masterpieces of the greatest Sienese artists: La Maestà (1315) and the Guidoriccio da Fogliano(1328) by Simone Martini in the Sala del Mappamondo(Hall of the Globe), where a fresco was also found, La conquista del castello di Giuncarico (The conquest of the Giuncarico castle), which scholars attribute to Duccio di Boninsegna; Gli Effetti del Buongoverno in città e in campagna (The Effects of Good Governance in the city and in the countryside) and L'Allegoria e gli effetti del cattivo governo(The Allegory and the effects of bad governance) (1339-39) by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Sala dei Nove(Hall of the Nine); the cycle Virtù Dei e Uomini Illustri (Virtues, Gods and Illustrious Men) (1413-1414) by Taddeo di Bartolo in the Antechapel.
The great notoriety of these artworks, which are found in all the art history books, threatens to overshadow the extraordinary artistic heritage that is found in every hall of the Civic Museum, with a journey between artworks realized between the fourteenth and the late nineteenth century: in the Sala di Balìa the Sienese Martino Bartolomeo depicted on the vaults between 1407-08, Allegorie e altri personaggi(Allegories and other characters), while Spinello Aretino, helped by his son Parri, during the same years, realized the remarkable challenge of painting, on the walls, the Storie di Alessandro III (Stories of Alexander III) (the Sienese Rolando Bandinelli, Pope from 1159 to 1181); the Sala del Concistoro(Consistory Hall), accessed through a beautiful fifteenth-century portal, attributed to Rossellino, offers an overview of one of the masterpieces of Italian Mannerism, the cycle of the Virtù pubbliche e dei relativi esempi desunti dalla storia greca e romana(Public Virtues and relevant examples taken from Greek and Roman history), painted by Domenico Beccafumi between 1529 and 1535; in the Chapel you can appreciate the original furnishing that continues to give it an authentically gothic look, mostly thanks to the very beautiful wooden Choir, finely carved and inlaid by Domenico di Niccolò, between 1415 and 1428, which represents, in each of the 21 seats, the various articles of the Credo; the Sala del Risorgimento with great scenes that tell the story of the Savoy and the wars of independence.
The Duomo
in Siena lies in a piazza above the Piazza del Campo, a great Gothic building filled with treasures by Pisano, Donatello and Michelangelo as well as frescoes by Pinturicchio.
The exterior of the cathedral is pretty impressive, and if you don't have a lot of time in Siena, you might not even go inside and just enjoy the outside. Built between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure, the cathedral is in the form of a Latin cross with a slight projecting dome and bell tower. The exterior and interiors are decorated in white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, black and white being the symbolic colors of Siena.