Blogs from Siena, Tuscany, Italy, Europe

SUN, 21 AUG 2022 – Day 9: Pisa - Florence - Siena - Today we’ll explore the undoubted highlights of Tuscany: Pisa and Florence! Now over 800 years old, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a classic sight in Italy and well worth a photo! Upon arrival in Florence, take an orientation walking tour of the city with your tour leader to see all the iconic sights, including the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria and the replica of the statue of David. After the tour, step into the world of Italian leather crafting as you visit a local leather factory and shop. Learn more about famous handmade Florentine leather products. Spend some free time over lunch to explore before returning to Siena where you’ll spend the night. Overnight – Hotel ... read more

Today was another 8:30am pickup from our villa in Bucine for our visit to the hilltop towns of Siena and San Gimignano. Both have a lot of buildings made of red brick, a characteristic of medieval (rather than Renaissance) towns. Siena is a university town with a university hospital doing a lot of oncology research. The town was built on the Via Cassia, the second oldest Roman road built by the Cassius. As we were driving into the city centre, we saw it was market day so we stopped for an hour to have a coffee, look at the Basilica Cateriniana di San Dominico and then mooch around the markets for a while. These were local markets, so as well as the usual tourist souvenir junk, they had everything for the locals like underwear, clothes, jeans, ... read more

9/6/2019 – Sienna Pinksterenzondag. Verplaatsing van Passignano naar Sienna. Siena schrijven ze hier. +- 90 km hoofdzakelijk langs een gratis autostrade. Gratis wil hier zeggen 'in slechte staat'. Kan dus nog erger dan bij ons. Op de middag stonden we dus al op onze nieuwe stek op een weeral prijzige camping. 35.50 € per dag, low season price, maar alles inbegrepen. Gratis douchen, gratis elektriek, gratis wifi, gratis zwembad, restaurant ter plaatse, en busstop naar het historisch centrum van Siena op 150 m. Omdat het zondagsdienst was slechts om het uur een bus. Die van 13.50 konden we nog net tegenhouden. Moderne bus ook. Airco en Italiaanse aankondiging van elke volgende stop. Met de kaart in de hand met aanduiding van de terminus waar we moesten afstappen een makkie. We zagen het centrum naderen en weer ... read more

What a night we had (but not as bad as it might have been). A 5-person soft rock group by the name of Lo Stato Sociale performed from 9PM until Midnight. The setup – stage, lights, huge SOUND system and fog machine – took two days to prepare (with regular testing of the sound system … which rattled the windows in the flat). When the concert was in full swing there were about a thousand young people dancing and clapping and singing along with the band. Most enjoyable to watch from our vantage point. At the end, the main vocalist climbed out onto the crowd and was moved around and then deposited back on the stage for the finale. Great fun. Of course the band dismantled their equipment from midnight until 2AM so there were some ... read more

Today Rosella was good enough to share her extensive knowledge of art and history and took us to Piazza Pubblico, the city hall with a frescoed history of the Sienese republic. The most important works are in the Hall of Good and Bad Government. This incredible allegorical work (by Ambrogio Lorenzetti) from the 14thCentury shows exactly what is necessary for a city state to sustain itself and its people. The room is divided into three walls: one for the effects of “bad” government, one of the effects of “good” government, and one representing the values and virtues that must be considered to create good over bad. This representation from almost 600 years ago is just as accurate today as it was when it was created. In the midst of the representation of “bad” governance is a ... read more