Siena, Italy
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
Siena is one of the hill top villages in Tuscany. It is in the northern part of Italy.
It was a rival of Florence during the Middle Ages but lost the battle of economic and political superiority, even though at one time the population was over 60,000, until the black death killed off over 1/3 of the population.
As often happens in well preserved medival towns, a historical event changed its course of history. In this case, it was later conquered by Florence in 1550 and became a much smaller player in Italy political and economic life.
Many think Siena is the best preserved medieval city in Italy. This town is built on three hills; has winding lanes and dramatic up and down small roads that require strong legs to walk; and is charming beyond belief!
So, let’s explore together this interesting city and learn about Siena.
Dramatic Veiws of Siena
It is amazing how jumbled yet dramatic this hill town is—it has amazing views, up and down hills with twisted paths and narrow roads.
This is one of the most relaxing places we have ever visited. There are 3 important sites which require about half a day to see and then experience dolce vida—the good life.
Here are some pictures:
Siena’s Main Square—the first key site.
The main square is pedestrian only. The city hall and its 330 foot tower that dominate the square. The tower is atop a chapel that today is only used to bless the horse racers of the Palio horse race.
The tower’s name is the Torre del Magnia on the Public Palace. The Public Palace still houses the municipal offices that are used today to govern Siena.
The Palio horse races are scheduled annually on 2 July and 16 August.
The Palio Horse Race
The Palio horse race is a contest between 17 different neighborhoods, complete with mascots and unique colors to identify the contestants, but only 10 get to compete in the actually race—they are drawn by lot. The seven losing neighborhoods are automatically in the next race, so in any given year all 17 get to complete (remember there are 2 races each year) but the lucky neighborhoods may get 2 chances in a given year.
The neighborhoods are called contrade, and the race winner gets a palio, or painted flag with the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The race consists of three laps around the square and the jockey does not have to be on the horse to win—a riderless horse can win the race.
The race has been held since 1665.
This may be the most unusual horse race in the world where conspiracy and bribery are not only common, they are in couraged so long as a disliked rival doesn’t win. Rivalry is fierce—think about college or pro football competitions.
Here are the 17 different flags of the neighborhoods. This vendor sells the small flags for 8€, the big ones for 10 €.
It is quite common for businesses to display the 17 neighborhoods as we can see from this picture.
Although the first Palio is not until 2 July, it is commonplace to see practices like these two young men with their flags working out the routines. They are the Eagle Contrade.
Another interesting feature of the square is the Gaia Fountain.
Gaia in Italian means joyous and it got its name from the joy it brought the residents of Siena when it was completed in 1342.
The panels on the outside of the fountain were added in 1419.
They have been removed to protect them and the carvings are replicas.
The scene on the panels are from the Book of Genesis.
The wolfs in front of the panel represent the she wolf of Rome.
The City Hall and the Civic Museum
This is the chapel of the building. It was built as thanksgiving for deliverance from the plague.
The first floor area is constructed in stone, and the upper floors are made with red brick.
The she wolf symbol has an interesting legend about this symbol displayed in most important sites in the city. It is said that the city was founded by Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus (one of the founders of Rome), making them the nephews of Romulus. They fled Rome after the murder of Remus by Romulus and they took the she-wolf with them to Siena.
The round symbol in this picture is the a christogram in the symbol of St. Bernardino. This symbol was placed on the palace in gratitude for his sermons to the citizens of Siena.
Siena’s Cathedral Area—the second key site.
The Cathedral is constructed of black and white marble. It was constructed between 1216 and 1263 according to Wikipedia.
The alternating black and white stripes are the symbol of Siena.
The upper facade mosaic is the coronation of Mary (triangle at the top).
Directly below the top mosaic is a large rose window. This photo shows these features very well.
There are 3 entrances to the cathedral. The central entrance is a bronze door.
The Duomo tower is the exact height of the tower on the Palace. One reason behind this symbolism is that the church and the secular world are equal.
The detail on the church is stunning. Many statues of saints are on the facade of the church. Please note the symbol of the she-wolf on the right column in this photo.
The marble floors and interior are magnificent but we didn’t get a chance to visit.
Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico
This is the third important site of Siena.
It is dedicated to Saint Cateriniana, a peasant girl, who had visions starting at age 5.
She wrote over 400 letters to the Papal leaders urging the church to unite from the French and Italian Pope disputes.
She is credited for helping to unite the church during this conflict.
Here is a picture of her church:
City Gates
Once a walled city, there are several city gates here. The city walls are over 1000 years old.
Great Food and Wine in Siena
Eating in Italy is an art—it is so important to the culture of this country. It is a slow experience, full of wonderful tastes, and often becomes the evening entertainment along with the food.
Italian meals are usually 4 or 5 courses.
They are several meal combinations, such as Antipasti, Primi, secondi, Contorni, insalata, fromaggi, dolce, and cafe.
The primi and secondi are usually hot courses and the primi often is a pasta choice, while the secondi is a meat or fish course. Depending on the food choice you may select contorni (side dishes) or maybe the meal will have a insalata, sometimes served with the meal or as a separate course.
The meal ends with fromaggi (cheese) or fruit and for most dolci (dessert).
A proper meal ends with cafe (coffee).
Here are 3 great meals we ate at Bagoga—it was full of locals and some tourists.
First, let’s start with the owner Papa, who has ridden in the Palio and makes you so welcome. He loves his guests and treats them in the best spirits of hospitality. Here I am with him:
A great primi—tagliolini con pancetta-carbonara (for me)!
Anne had tortino caldo di fromaggio (warm cheese pie with a walnut cream sauce)— she loved it!
Our secondi was pork filets covered with a delicious thin slice of lard for Anne ( she raved about the distinctive flavors —see the first picture below) and steak in pepper sauce for me (second photo).
Our third meal at Bagoga was on a Sunday afternoon. It was a great experience—Fiorentina T-Bone Steak!
The best way to start—a special wine from Papa’s vineyard. It was expertly decanted by David our waiter.
These steaks are huge (about 2.2 lbs) and traditionally cooked rare. It is so good and tender, it melts in your mouth. These 2 pictures don’t do it justice!
A Great Wine Tasting Experience
Right across from our wonderful bed and breakfast small hotel was a fabulous wine store. The owner, Fredricco, provided us an amazing wine tasting from the Tuscany region.
He was funny, and explained what made the small batched local wines special.
Here he is bringing down the 3 bottles we were going to try.
He was an excellent host and made this a fun experience.
Here is the 3 wines we tasted.
Fredricco makes his own olive oil. We got to sample some before our wine tasting.
He had an old grape press in the corner of his wine cellar cave that was carved out in the Middle ages.
I got a new appreciation for Chianti Classico.
Our Final Thoughts
Wow—what a report! Siena is a place to go to relax—slow down and enjoy life.
I think you can see why we are in the business—it just is awesome to help folks have a great vacation.
We hope you enjoyed this report.
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ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 50 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
