Italy, Florence's rival

Today I have decided to go to Siena. Honestly, I have never heard about this place before. However, many local people highly recommended to me visiting it. And it is located rather close to my temporary house. In fact, it is only 55 minutes by train.

Geographically, the city is situated in 70 kilometers from Florence, and it sits over three high hills on the height of 322 meters over the sea's level, between the rivers Merse and Arbia. The population here is about 55 thousand.

In the thirteenth century the Siena Republic was one of the wealthiest states in the whole Italy. It was the independent city-state of bankers and merchants. However, in 1348 it dramatically suffered from the plague, and one third of local people died. Eventually, in the fifteenth century Siena was conquered by another prosperous city of Florence, which had been its perpetual rival for many centuries.

So, I have arrived to Siena.

Many of the ancient walls from the eleventh century are still standing around the city. Nowadays, there are 12 remaining gates, that you can admire as you walk around its walls or through the historic centre. And I was lucky enough to pass through Porta Camollia, which is one of the most beautiful gates of Siena. You will hardly miss it if you arrive to the city by train. The most exciting detail of this door is the inscription on the arc, which states “Cor magis tibi sena pandit” meaning “Siena opens a bigger heart”.

In general, the city looks like a labyrinth, because it is very easy to get lost here, especially if you do not see the main dominants of the city, which are the towers of The Town Hall and The Cathedral. The narrow streets of Siena are not planted with trees, but you can breath here easily due to the fact that they do not allow the cars enter the old town.

Siena's heart is its central piazza known as Il Campo. It is one of the biggest medieval squares in the world, and it has an unmistakable peculiar shell-shape with circumference of 333 metres. Nowadays people are used to hanging out here as if they are on the beach.

Another remarkable feature is that the square is divided into 9 sectors. This planning appeared in the fourteenth century during the rule of the Council of Nine, when each section of this fan-like brick pavement represented the council. At the same time there was a tradition that during the city holidays or political discussions the citizens from 17 different quarters (or contradas) could occupy only their sectors according to their places of residence.

Il campo is also known for the famous Palio Horse Race run, which takes place here two times every year, on July 2 and August 16. By the way, you can see this event in one of the James Bond movies "Quantum of Solace".

So, there are 10 horsemen, who take part in the races, and each of them represents 10 out of 17 districts of the city. Riders wearing the medieval costumes and without saddles must complete three circles around the square; they are even allowed to push each other and throw the opponents off the horse. Each circle has a length of 333 meters, so, the horse racing lasts no more than 90 seconds.

While strolling around the city I have met many statues of the she-wolf suckling the infants. I knew that it was the symbol of Rome, but, as it turned out, it is also the symbol of Siena. Interestingly, the Sienna Wolf, unlike the Roman, does not look to the side, but forward.

According to the local legend, the brothers Aschius and Senius, the children of Remus, escaping from Romulus, took this image from the Roman house, which symbolized their lost fatherland. Finally, they have found a shelter on one of these Tuscan hills, where the city of Siena was later founded. Nowadays some people believe that Siena received its name after one of the survived brothers. 

If Il Campo is the heart of Siena, the Cathedral (or Duomo) is its soul. The church of Santa Maria Assunta, build in the Gothic style, sits at the Siena's highest point, and it is visible for miles around.

The cathedral was designed and completed between 1215 and 1263. The exterior and interiors are decorated in white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with addition of red marble on the facade. By the way, black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, which are linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius.

Undoubtedly, Siena is a glorious city with many attractions, but the most magnificent place here is its main square Il Campo, where I tried to stay for a while and spent the evening hours occupying the place at the local cafe.

I am really sorry to declare, but it is a big fortune for the modern tourists, that one day Siena has turned into a political and cultural outback. Thus since then the new buildings were almost not built here, and this fact somehow allowed the city to maintain its medieval appearance to the present day.