On to Siena
By traveltripz on Jul 28, 2007 in Siena, Italy
Italy is easy to navigate around and it was no time before we reached the city of Siena.
Firstly we drove into the city as far as was allowed and then realised that we would have to park outside the city limits, so we drove back out to find a park. Of course the only spot available was on a hill and we had to reverse park, something neither of us are keen on at the best of times. Remebering that we are doing this in reverse to how we usually park because everything is on the opposite side of the car.
I drive forward mentally ticking off how this is supposed to work, take a big swing while reversing and back into the space. Now I usually drive a rather large Holden Statesman so I make sure I have lots of room etc. When we hop out of the car we notice a group of guys a bit further down the road, standing and laughing back at us. And when we look back at the car we can understand why. Considering we are driving a tonka toy, the exaggerated arc to park the car was quite unneccesary. We could have picked the car up and placed it in the space.
So, with the car all locked up safe and sound we set off into the city.
The Torre del Mangia was built in 1325 - 1348 and is situated in the Piazza del Campo and next to the Palazzo Pubblico which was built between 1297 and 1342. The Palazzo Pubblico is reminiscent of classic Gothic architecture and has an amazing array of frescoes.
In medieval times the Torre del Mangia was the tallest tower in Italy. It is 102m in height and is now the second tallest in Italy, after the Torrazzo in Cremona. The tower can be seen from all around Siena.
To signify that the church and the state held equal power in the region, the tower was built to be the exact same height as the Duomo.
There are excellent views over Siena and the surrounding countryside from the bell tower which has approx 500 steps to reach the viewing platform. The circular stairway is narrow and it is a tight squeeze for two way traffic on the stairs.
We stroll up and down the hilly streets exploring the shops and seeing it is so hot we stop for a gelato in a corner store.
The water in this fountain was potable and very cold, so we filled up our drink bottles after taking a long refreshing drink to cool off.
We are planning to return and would love to stay in Siena for a few days to take in the sights in a more leisurely fashion.
