Enchanting but wet medieval town

We were impressed by the cuteness of Lucca and the beauty of Certaldo, two towns unknown to us. Today we visit the famous Siena which is (according to our guide) one of Italy’s most enchanting medieval towns.

It is a grey, drizzly and rainy day. I don’t feel in a mood for sightseeing. This is probably one of the drawbacks of not living in a permanent, spacious house. However, the other two options on a rainy day are: spending all day in Dora’s four square metres living room and potentially ending up a bit crazy; or driving around which could be a bit tiring and a bit costly. So we go sightseeing.

We are pleased we have found a free car park at the edge of the town with quick access to the town centre.

Apparently, Siena is a very ancient old town with a great architectural interest. Back in the middle ages, its dramatic rise caused some friction with Florence and both towns competed with each other economically and artistically. That is a bit of guide reading for you.

We are walking up to the historic centre. Clean, ancient, well preserved town, very pleasant to the eyes.

We come across back streets with hidden corners. I am not an art person. I am more interested in how people used to earn their living, what political and economical systems they had in place, how social classes used to relate. So I try to remember my history back at college and the self-knowledge I have built over the years.

I remember the Middle Age being one of the longest and dullest period in human history, no remarkable developments happened for centuries.

At last we get to the main square, where the cathedral is. We go to the ticket office to find out what the deal is. A day pass for €12 allows you to visit the cathedral, the library, the crypt and the baptistery. Very good value, we buy it. The cathedral doesn’t open until 15.00. It is 12.30 now. We have enough time to visit some sites and have lunch before that.

We take a look at the cathedral, quite unusual, quite stripy.

Incredible narrow windows, they go well with the horizontal stripes.

But also inset at an angle, great innovation to get light into the awkward corner…or an architectural cock up being resolved! GDR

Anyway, we will come back when it is open. We continue to walk around. We have brought lunch with us but we haven’t got any bread. We wonder what are the chances of finding ‘pane’ on a Sunday is.

We get to the Piazza del Campo, a sloping square which is the venue for the city’s famous annual horse race, Il Palio.

Interesting. Quick photo and walk off. The drizzle is becoming rain.

Siena might have competed with Florence in the middle ages, but I think, overtime, the latter has won, artistically and economically. We visited Florence back in 2007. The scale of it compared with Siena is incredibly, twice as big, and it looks much more prosperous. Siena seems to live off of tourism these days.

This is, allegedly, Prince Charles, the future head of the British Monarchy’s, favourite city. It has influenced his own architectural ideals, which have come to fruition in Poundbury. GDR

A very narrow street off to the right, with some stupid Chinese-like lamps which seems someone might have put them up for the Chinese new year and forgot to take them down. Not really matching with the architectural style of he town.

We come across a market. Maybe this is the place to find nice, delicatessen Italian bread. Nope! It is actually a temporary market lost of crap is sold. The British version of a Sunday boots camp.

We continue to photograph nice little houses. They look cute in photos but they look impractical, specially in winter. It must be freezing as they are so old.

We cannot find any shop that sells fresh pane. The weather is getting worse. This is not the best day to have a picnic, anyway. We forget about the pane and have a snaky bit for lunch in one of the bars.

We find a bar which does paninis for €1.80. It has free WIFI and it is also showing Formula 1. The former, ideal for me. The latter, ideal for Gary.

After lunch we walk back to the cathedral. It should be open by now. No one soul on the streets. Understandably, it is a miserable and it is Sunday. The few tourists who have chosen to visit Siena today seem to be in a hurry to finish their sightseeing and go back to the warm. They same as us,  y.

Like Poundbury, Siena has chosen a particularly style to express itself with. This is not particularly honest, just something tourists have come to expect. Those beat up, really wonky walls would have been plastered. The brickwork just really isn’t that good and has been hacked around too many times. Not now, that is part of the history, but what part of the history, which one do you choose? Charles choses a fake timber framed building, here it is to seduce the tourist. GDR

There it is the cathedral, majestic. The church knows how to preserve their assets, and have also plenty of money to do so.

Nice bit of modern glazing to protect the stained glass behind, wouldn’t get away with that sort of conservation in the UK. GDR

Black and white stripes inside too. This extravagant style doesn’t inspire me in any religious shape or form. The scale of it does impress me though.

High ceilings, to get closer to heaven.

And is this a coffered ceiling, like the Pantheon, or fake, painted on, an illusion. Does it matter if something is real or fake. Not according to the future King of the UK. What do you expect from someone that believes in fake medicine; Homeopathy! Oh the joys of a monarchical system, so reassuring. GDR

Black images of saints and angels hanging off the columns. They look quite macabre.

The dreary look of the walls contrasts with the brightness of the frescos painted on the ceiling.

In any room you enter they give you the chance to get to know more about the place. Of course, by paying a couple of euros. Incredible! after also paying to get in. The catholic church doesn’t miss any attempt to get money  out of anyone.

Anyway, very enjoyable visit, another Italian city done.

We get back to the warm Dora and drive towards Perugia, which we will visit tomorrow.

To spend the night, we have chosen an aire in a nearby village, Torrigiano. The drive in the rain is incredibly stunning, vast landscapes, covered mostly by vineyards.

On the way, we come across lots of villages built on the top of the hills. Very inconvenient, very laborious.

The sky, very moody. It looks a typical winter Sunday back in the UK. I look at Gary. Are we getting homesick?

SM