Siena

Siena

If you have only one day available we suggest a quick route that goes straight to the soul of Siena, in order to capture the atmosphere of this wonderful city full of art in Tuscany and admire the main monuments.

The city of Siena is divided into Terzi and Piazza del Campo, which is the point at which ideally meet the three hills on which stands the Tuscan town.

Your itinerary will develop in the Third City and will start from the heart of Siena, Piazza del Campo.

His curious shell shape will seize your attention, divided into nine segments. At the center is a copy of the Fonte Gaia by Jacopo della Quercia while one side is closed by the Public Palace, seat of the Town Hall and the Civic Museum.

From the museum it leads to the Torre del Mangia, 87 meters high built in brick by brothers Rinaldo. From its 400 steps, you can enjoy a wonderful view of the city, yet quite similar to what you could appreciate the late thirteenth century and represented in the fresco of the Good Government by Lorenzetti.

I went down from the tower, enjoy the walk to Piazza del Campo. We are in the monumental scenery of the Palio of Siena, known throughout the world, which runs along the three famous streets in the shape of Y: Banchi di Sopra, Banchi di Sotto and so City.

If you fancy a break, make a stop at the Pasticceria Nannini Conca d'Oro, Via Banchi di Sopra n. 24. This former bakery indulge a sweet tooth for more than a hundred years with the specialties of Siena: from gingerbread Ricciarelli, from nooks to brigidini served with cappuccino or a glass of vin santo.

Let us now via Pellegrini to the Duomo, the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Definitely great-looking facade, made up of white marble and blacks. Upon entering, you can see the famous stained marble floor and richness of the statues. Also inside the famous Piccolomini Library, a real treasure trove of masterpieces: hosts 4 sculptures of Michelangelo Buonarroti, Pinturicchio's fresco on the altar and the "Madonna with Child" by Jacopo della Quercia.

From the cathedral rises to Facciatone the New Cathedral, witness the dream Siena to erect the largest cathedral in Christendom. The company fell through because of the Black Death of 1348. Although this cathedral was never finished climbing the 130 steps to enjoy a wonderful view of the Mangia Tower and Palazzo Pubblico.

The Facciatone houses the Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana with the Majesty of Duccio.

The historical-artistic Siena passes through the Sienese school that you went spreading between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

In the early decades of the '400, in fact, with the transition from Gothic to Renaissance is both Siena Florence lived an extraordinary artistic flowering. Among the most emblematic places in this regard, Santa Maria della Scala (the museum complex of the old hospital) and the National Art Gallery.

If you still have time, you can go to Piazza del Campo, behind which you will find Market Square, where once took place the sale of livestock. Today in century loggia called "big turtle" on Friday there is a market for agricultural products at zero km.