Trip 3: Siena November 7th,2011
Upon arrival in Siena, we quickly dropped our bag at the hotel, which was a little more medieval than our previous hotel, and headed to the Piazza del Campo to grab a quick lunch. The Piazza del Campo is famous for its horse races which are held twice a year on July 2nd and August 16th, and it also houses the Palazzo Comunale which has the largest tower in the city. Of course, we climbed the tower- our second big trek upward of the day (after the Duomo that morning). The view from the top was amazing! You could see the extents of the small winding city with the hills and olive groves in the background. Now I know why people think Tuscany is so beautiful! After climbing the tower we headed to the Piazza del Duomo to see the Santa Caterina Cathedral and its Baptistery. Once again, this huge church was very similar to many other churches we have seen, however I have to say for some reason it sticks out to me. It must be the layers of different color marble inside (similar to Genovese style of architecture) with the dome which appeared lopsided when you looked up (maybe it was?). Anyway, it was impressive like the rest of them. After visiting the church, we headed back to the Palazzo Comunale to sketch. Before we sketched, two of my classmates, Greg and Josh, were challenged to a race around the Piazza there to imitate the horse races they have twice a year. I have to say this was hilarious. Everyone in the Piazza stopped to watch these two sprint around the roughly quarter mile long piazza. Some American ladies watching said it was the most entertainment they have had all day and they gave Greg (who won) two euros as a reward. After the race, we sketched for a few minutes before we became too cold so we decided to get hot chocolate. Later that night, we strolled through the city to see what it had to offer. We went to bed early that night in order to wake up early to head to Rome!
Upon arrival in Siena, we quickly dropped our bag at the hotel, which was a little more medieval than our previous hotel, and headed to the Piazza del Campo to grab a quick lunch. The Piazza del Campo is famous for its horse races which are held twice a year on July 2nd and August 16th, and it also houses the Palazzo Comunale which has the largest tower in the city. Of course, we climbed the tower- our second big trek upward of the day (after the Duomo that morning). The view from the top was amazing! You could see the extents of the small winding city with the hills and olive groves in the background. Now I know why people think Tuscany is so beautiful! After climbing the tower we headed to the Piazza del Duomo to see the Santa Caterina Cathedral and its Baptistery. Once again, this huge church was very similar to many other churches we have seen, however I have to say for some reason it sticks out to me. It must be the layers of different color marble inside (similar to Genovese style of architecture) with the dome which appeared lopsided when you looked up (maybe it was?). Anyway, it was impressive like the rest of them. After visiting the church, we headed back to the Palazzo Comunale to sketch. Before we sketched, two of my classmates, Greg and Josh, were challenged to a race around the Piazza there to imitate the horse races they have twice a year. I have to say this was hilarious. Everyone in the Piazza stopped to watch these two sprint around the roughly quarter mile long piazza. Some American ladies watching said it was the most entertainment they have had all day and they gave Greg (who won) two euros as a reward. After the race, we sketched for a few minutes before we became too cold so we decided to get hot chocolate. Later that night, we strolled through the city to see what it had to offer. We went to bed early that night in order to wake up early to head to Rome!
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