Siena
Siena - Piazza del Campo with
the Torre del Mangia tower
Siena was an Etruscan city, and in Medieval times a city to rival Florence, its historical enemy. To this and other rivalry between Tuscan towns we owe so many beautiful buildings and monuments: who between Florence and Siena could build the most impregnable castles wall, or the most ornate churches? Siena is a Renaissance jewel. Open any door in Siena and art pours out - paintings, frescoes, sculptures. The Duomo of Siena is one of the oldest cathedrals of Italy.
The architecture of the Piazza del Campo, the main square in Siena, which was built on the Roman Forum, is powerful. The Piazza del Campo in Siena, repeatedly dubbed the most beautiful square in the world, awaits you like a spider in its web of narrow streets and medieval alleys. It's a marvel of symmetry and proportion, with a distinctive nine-segment design that represents the 13th and 14th century authority of the City.
In the maze of Medieval alleys of Siena you'll also find master craftsmen working alabaster.
Italian Mini Dictionary
Contrade (singular contrada) = The historical boroughs,
or districts, into which Siena is divided
Sbandieratori = Flag bearers juggling with their flags
Corteo = Procession
Siena is also famous for its Palio, a bareback horse race run in Piazza del Campo, the heart of the city, among Siena's various contrade (see box) which have competed against each other since the Middle Ages. The Palio, a tough, no-holds-barred race during which the horses get often injured and killed, is now largely discredited for the animal cruelty involved.
A medieval square, quadrangular and shell-shaped with irregular and varying ground levels, is hardly the appropriate place for a horse race. The horses used in the Palio are thoroughbreds that give their all when they are running, and often take the sharp bends and corners of the Piazza at high speed, with all the dangers and fright associated.
"Palio" is an Italian generic term for a prize, or something which is at stake. Many other historical and traditional competitions held all over Italy in towns and cities are called "Palio". The actual "palio" in Siena, ie the prize for the contrada winning the race, is a rectangular silk standard, also called "drappellone", with a painting of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, the city's patron saint, always made by different artists. This is why the second Palio of Siena is run on the 16th August, the day after the Feast of the Virgin Mary's Assumption, and is therefore called "Palio dell'Assunta". There are two Palios a year; the first, the "Palio di Provenzano", is held the 2nd of July in honour of Madonna of Provenzano.
The most beautiful part of Siena's Palio is actually the corteo storico, the pageantry preceding the horse race, with flag-bearers and other people wearing Renassaince dresses and uniforms parading around the magnificent square. Each contrada has its representatives wearing rich costumes, holding standards and throwing in the air flags with the district's symbol. That procession lasts about two hours, while the actual race is like a lightning bolt and is over in a couple of minutes. The corteo storico involves about 700 "figuranti" (people wearing traditional costumes), has great artistic and historical value, is loved by visitors and could very well be preserved while the inhumane horse race should be scrapped.