hilltowns of tuscany- siena

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DAY 18 TUESDAY, JULY 12

Siena is one of the larger hilltowns. Here is the city square.

sienasquare.jpg

Daniel decides to grab the camera and do some filming of the buildings in the square. These buildings are indeed the color "siena" of which the paint color gets its name.

sienadaniel.jpg

Here is Bryan looking into one of the charming markets. He was on the hunt for a dessert called panforte.

siena.jpg

siena2.jpg

Taking pizza to a whole new level.

siena3.jpg


No, it isn't just a tacky street light.

Each alley spoke from the center square had a different funky street light. Upon further reading in our trusty Green Guide we found that each design represented the 17 virtues of siena and are the contrades (groups, teams, i dunno) that compete in the famous horse race held in the square. This race is a big deal. So much so that on the morning of the race a mass is said to bless the rider and horse in his contrade's church. You find the contrade flags for sale everywhere as souvenirs.

This light is the contrade "wave" which represents the virtue of joy.
sienalights.jpg


Inside siena's amazing cathedral with its striped marble.

sienaduomo.jpg

Motor bikes are the preferred mode of transport due to the narrow and very steep streets.

sienastreet.jpg

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This page contains a single entry by Blair published on July 12, 2005 10:42 AM.

hilltowns of tuscany- montepulciano was the previous entry in this blog.

hilltowns of tuscany- backroads is the next entry in this blog.

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