Siena: Cold, Rainy and Carsick

On Wednesday, we took our field trip to Siena. It was a rather cold and rainy day and the ride up was not the greatest. I began to feel carsick only moments outside of Castiglion. The bus driver was having problems with the defrost and it was very hot and steamy. Mercifully, I fell asleep with my head against the cold window and that helped cool me down and prevent any actual sickness. I still felt queasy most of the day. That combined with the less than perfect weather to put a damper on my mood. Needless to say, I think I need to revisit Siena and give it another chance.

After arriving in Siena, we went to the Campo and Palazzo Pubblico, one of the main attractions for which Siena is known. The Campo is a large, sloping piazza that twice a year holds a horse race called the Palio. In the Palio, 10 of the 17 neighborhoods in Siena compete. It is a lottery system to decide which 10 compete and a lottery for which horse each neighborhood gets to ride.

On nice days, the Campo is filled with people sitting and relaxing on the brick pavement. It is rather a unique place and like I said before, I think I need to go back to experience it as it is meant.

As with every other Italian town, Siena has its own Duomo. It is in its very own distinctive Sienese Gothic style. Siena and Florence have always been in competition with each other, as both were banking towns. The Sienese wanted to expand their Duomo so that it would be larger than the Duomo in Florence. Their plan was to use the main nave as the smaller portion of the cruciform shape and to extend the new nave perpendicular to the existing portion. After a short period of construction, the Plague hit Siena and the project was never completed. Had it been completed, it would have been one of the largest churches.

The cathedral in Siena is known for its pavements. Tony said we were pretty lucky to have been able to see as many portions as we did because in an effort to preserve the floors, they are covered up for most of the year.

Connected to the Duomo is the Piccolomini Library. There were only a few books on display that contained illuminated texts with Gregorian chants. The ceiling was beautiful! I am glad that Josh pointed out the little door into that room, because it would have been easy to miss.

Siena, like many Tuscan towns, contains a Medici fortress. Surrounding the high walls of the fortress is a nice green space containing fountains and treelined paths. It will be nice to return during warmer weather when all of the fountains and water features are operational. To get a little perspective on how fortified the walls really are, Alli is standing against the wall in this picture.

It is going to be several weeks before I post another blog. On Tuesday we are taking an extended field trip to Venice and that is the spring board for our Spring Break. During Spring Break, the girls from K-State and I are going to Vicenza, Verona, Milan, Turin, Genoa, the five towns of Cinque Terre and are ending with a few days in Florence. We won't be returning until March 21, so look for another blog post later that week. Ciao!