Sunday 23rd October - Siena, Italy

It was such a grey day from the outset, which does not show any city at its best.  Initially Roland didn’t think much of Siena but he admits that he may have been influenced by a Dutch camper that he met who didn’t like Siena.  After a while, walking around and seeing the beautiful buildings, his opinion changed and,by the end of our visit, he rather liked Siena.  The sun had also made an appearance which helped.  The Cathedral was certainly every bit as spectacular as any that we have seen on our travels.

There are obviously lots of references to the Palio ,which is to be expected.  Some of the photographs we saw suggest that it would be a very exciting race although we are not sure about the safety of the horses during the event; apparently 50 horses have died in the last 36 years.  The race is run twice a year.

 

       

References to Il Palio (Siena’s famous horse race) abound

 

 

         

                                                                                          Banca Fideuram Spa

 

        

                                    Piazza del Campo                                               Fonte Gaia (Happy Fountain) in the Piazza del Campo

 

                                                   Palazzo Comunale

 

         

                                                                                    Accademia Musicale Chigiana

 

         

                                                                  Siena Duomo (one of Italy’s greatest gothic churches)

 

All in all, we thought that Siena was a interesting place and well worth a visit.

 

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