Siena

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A Day trip to Siena and San Gimignano

The Treats of Tuscany

Before we start our description of the day trip, many apologies to our loyal blog viewers (if we actually have any left) that it has been so long since our last entry. Ironically, the last thing we said in the last entry was how our blog entries were getting more and more up to date. Lets hope that we can recapture the beauty of two weeks ago.

After a day and a half in Florence we booked a day trip to Siena and surrounds. This excursion was highly recommended by Tim as he did this exact thing 9 years back, when he was still little Tim touring Europe on his own. We met up with our local Italian tour guide at 9am and headed out to Siena as our first destination. Siena was unlike all the other towns we’ve encountered previously, mostly because it was so well preserved and the town itself managed to escape the devastations of WW2 and it felt as if we had gone back to medieval times while walking around in the old town. Soon our Italian tour guide passed us onto a local Siena tour guide who was very enthusiastic and seemed thrilled to share this enthusiasm for the local history and culture with us. First we visited the Saint Catherine church where we were given an extensive history lesson on the famous Saint. She was the one to persuade Pope Paul to return Rome when he based in Paris and was known to publicly practice exorcisms, something quite dangerous for a woman in a time when witchcraft was dealt with rather severely. We also saw some of the rare relics they keep in the church - including the still very well preserved little finger St. Catherine sitting innocently in a glass cabinet. They reckon one of the reasons why her finger is so well preserved (apart from divine protection of course) is that she spent so much time fasting that her body was too dehydrated and devoid of fat and generally just too tough for decomposition. Also, being such a famous and popular saint, after her canonization there was some dispute about what should happen to her leathery remains. She had been buried in Rome but the Sienese wanted her back. So what to do? Well someone obviously called King Solomon’s bluff because only her head and finger ended up making the voyage back to Siena. Pretty medieval stuff I reckon!

We then walked around the old town and our tour guide explained the ancient tradition/festival of the horse race around the Palio - the town square. Siena is divided into 17 neighborhoods and each year (since the Middle Ages) they have held a horse race between the 17 neighborhoods. This is not just any tame, friendly neighborhood race. It is a fierce competition and any tactics that one can think of to jeopardize the chances of the other teams or promote your own are allowed and USED! Tricks like bribery are pretty common and in the past jockeys have even been kidnapped! Unfortunately (or luckily) we missed the festival by couple of days. The loyalty to their own neighbourhood does not end with the festival, everywhere you walk in Siena the territories are clearly marked. Apparently when star-crossed lovers from two rival territories get married it can cause some interesting family politics, not least of which is to which of the territories does the new born belong.

At the end of the Siena part of our tour we were given an hour for lunch and some exploration on our own, just enough time for some souvenir shopping (well, somebody has to support the preservation of the old town!). It was a mad rush! Somewhere between Tim glued to the TV for the latest Olympic swimming update and me buying postcard, we managed to catch our tour bus and head off to our next destination - San Gimignano.

Our time in San Gimignano, was unfortunately limited to a brief afternoon visit. It is the archetypal Tuscan town, perched on top of a hill and very beautiful! San Gimignano is also well known for their wine, specifically white wine (perhaps its best feature!) Of course Tim and I got some local wine to go with our supper that night. We took a brief hike to the top of the koppie and had a picturesque view from above. The only pity about that little town is that it was flooded by large number of tourists (including us). The entire town has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site so its very well preserved and with all the tourists the whole village has a very strange atmosphere. Its almost as if you are walking through a Disney World exhibit, and its strange to think the people actually live and work here. There aren’t any warning signs about not feeding or gawking at the locals though.

So Siena and San Gimignano were pretty cool, but the highlight of the day came a little later. We got back to Florence in the late afternoon and took a quick break and unloaded at the hostel. We didn’t quite know what to do for supper, but we wandered out into the streets anyway, and ended up picking up some cheese and bread at the supermarket and continued our meandering through the town getting a little grumpy because we couldn’t find a spot to eat it. We passed the Duomo - not really suitable, past the square in front of the Uffizi - too many tourists. Then blam! We hit the Arno at a bridge one down from the Ponte Vecchio just as the sun was setting behind the river. So beautiful! To the west, the sky a deep orange shimmer of the Florentine skyline, to the east the first evening lights were beginning to twinkle through the grey. It has got to be one of the most romantic sights on earth! We laid out our spread on the bridge and spent the rest of the evening watching the sky darken and the bustle of tourists and locals alike. A perfect end to a pretty special day.

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Comments

[The Monties]

MORE WOWS!!!
WE can't believe this - just when WE think now all the highlights have dried up - more and more and more arrive!! WHAT MEMORIES!! And as for that sunset....... wish WE were there, ne? So Ting, it is nearly time to come home - how on earth are you going to settle down to a mundane lifestyle after all you've experienced?? Look forward to seeing you soon! With much love to both of you. Your Monty parents.