Mid Morning in Siena, Italy

Monday, August 13th, 2007 at6:19 am by traveltripz

siena After strolling around the streets, well hardly a stroll really as the place is very hilly, so it was more like – after mountain climbing up and down the narrow, uneven cobbled streets, we crossed the piazza to enter the beautiful Duomo.

This stunning building is Gothic in design except for the Romanesque style Campanile. The floor is etched and inlaid marble is one of the most impressive in all of Italy. Most of the floor is generally covered and only fully on display at certain times of the year. The Duomo houses many outstanding examples of Tuscan Art and sculpture by such artists as Bernini, Michaelangelo, Benvenuto di Giovanni, Matteo di Giovanni, Domenico Beccafumi to name but a few.

We stroll around the interior in a leisurely fashion taking in the sights and trying not to get in the way of tourists taking photos.

The cathedral was built in the 1300’s between 1215 and 1263 on the site of a 9th century church.

The symbolic colors of Siena are black and white as these were the colors of the horses of the city’s legendary founders Senius and Aschius. This theme shows in both the interior and the exterior columns of black and white striped marble.

In 1999-2003 and entrance of the earlier church was uncovered and led to the discovery of 13th century frescoes depicting scenes from the life of christ and the old testament. The public are now able to visit the site.

There was a time when it was planned to make the Duomo the largest in Italy, but the black plague in 1348 brought construction to a halt as so much of the population succumbed to the disease.

Siena has a fascinating history, and the city was once a bitter rival of Florence for political and religious status.

Few cars were allowed within the city limits and seemed to be mainly cars and tonka trucks that delivering goods. As a little truck would wend its’ way up the street, everyone would squeeze into whatever space they could until it passed.

We found a little cafe and had focaccia filled with salami and fresh salad. The tomatoes are so fresh you can smell the flavor.

I just love how you can turn a corner, look up and there is a work of art nestled within the decorative elements of a building.

The amazing view as we are heading back down the road to the car. Everything I see is like a salve to my soul. I feel so much in tune with this awesome country.

We arrive back at the car to find it has been broken into. There wasn’t much in there but they have taken our mascot, Chilli and Paula’s driving glasses. Poor pickings I’m afraid, we had been warned about this sort of thing so we had taken anything of real value with us.

So it’s back in the car and off through the winding, narrow roads through the fields of gorgeous Sunflowers, to San Gimignano. And it is very true, sunflowers do follow the sun. In the morning when we were driving to Casole d Elsa there were enormous yellow sunflowers for as far as the eye could see all standing upright facing an easterly direction, during the day they moved from east to west and at night they once again face the East.

It reminded me a bit of movie ‘The Day of The Triffids’.