Welcome back for “Day 4” of a recap of my recent “bucket list” vacation to the Tuscan region of Italy.  I hope you’re enjoying the sights and sounds of Italy as I relay them to you each week.  We’re halfway through the trip, and I hope you’ll stay until the end.  Let’s get back to our Tuscan adventure!

Day 4:  A Tour of Siena and a Glimpse of Italian TV

We awoke to another picture-perfect Italian morning.  Not a cloud in the sky.  Leigh had been up most of the night and wasn’t feeling 100%, but I fired up the moka, we drank our Italian coffee, and then hopped into the car for the day’s journey.

Today we were headed about one hour north of Castelmuzio to the largest city-stop on our tour this week, Siena.  The drive proved to be interesting, as I don’t think I would have managed to find the visitor parking lot on the outskirts of the medieval walled city without the assistance of the GPS.  There were lots of turns, residential streets, and even a few planned U-turns in the route.  I hung on every word of the proper English accent coming from our navigation system, and we finally managed to successfully find our way to the parking area on the southern edge of the old city.  Siena sits atop three hills, and is the epitome of the Renaissance, with narrow, cobblestone streets, tall buildings, and a truly historic feel.  It is also still home to over 18,000 permanent residents, so it is a living city, bustling with storefronts, businessmen, and locals.

We trudged our way up the hill towards the central Duomo (church), and the serpentine streets and alleyways were just beginning to come to life.  Shopkeepers were opening their stores, workers filled the local bars and cafes for their morning coffee, and young children were being kissed goodbye and dropped off at school.

After a few blocks we emerged into the square that housed the cathedral.  It was a breathtaking 13^th century Gothic church with a large, striped bell tower flanking its right side.  This huge masterpiece was not built by the pope, but by the Republic (and therefore the citizens) of Siena.  Part of a much grander vision, the church as it stands today would have been just a portion of a grand cathedral that would have been the largest in all of Christendom, but the plague of 1348 killed off almost half of the city, so only the current portion of the Duomo was ever completed (and even that took over 400 years).

Other guests from Cretaiole began filing into the square, and we were soon met by Elena, our guide for the morning.  Impeccably dressed in that Italian sense of style and speaking her English with a slight British accent, Elena took care of all of our ticket needs, entrance calls, and by-passing of lines.

We were some of the first visitors to the church that morning – and also had a special treat in store for us.  The church itself houses an intricately detailed floor, with biblical stories, historical scenes, and other designs painstakingly handcrafted into the marble and tiles.  Most of the year, this floor is covered by carpeting (to protect the tiles due to the high tourist traffic); however, for six weeks every year, the carpet is removed, uncovering the floor in all of its glory.  Elena told us we were here just in time for that six-week reveal!

The floors were stunning, as was the cathedral itself.  The craftsmanship has to be seen to be believed.  Statues by Bellini and Michelangelo dot the walls.  Frescoes abound.  Intricately carved choir seats and extremely large-print, hand transcribed hymnals (so the choir could read the Latin lyrics from a distance) are on display – and everywhere there is Mary – the Virgin Mary, whom is depicted with holiness, reverence, and love around every corner.

After leaving the cathedral, we ventured down a side street to a private tour of Siena’s archive building.  Steeped in tradition, all of Siena’s historical records are housed here, and none of it is digitized.  Room after room of parchments, contracts, ledgers, and historical documents are here – all on bookshelves, out in the open – with no climate control or preservation techniques employed.  Dates on the spines of the ledgers could be easily read – 1782, 1643, 1511 – and so on.  Historians just recently stumbled upon the earliest contract ever found in the archives – a rental agreement from 739 A.D.  There it was, in a glass case, legible even today.  It was fascinating.  If there was ever a fire at the archives, the history of an entire people would be irrevocably lost forever.

We were then taken off of a side room to a door that opened to one of the highlights of the tour – a private balcony view of probably the finest square in all of Italy.

Il Campo.

 

Fanning out from City Hall and forming the shape of a giant, sloping, amphitheater, this massive public space is bordered by cafes and restaurants, all of which face the City Hall and its massive clock tower.  Thousands of locals and tourists gather here every day.  It is the geographic, social, and cultural center of the city.

Many festivals are held here every year, but none is bigger than the Palio, when seventeen historic neighborhoods (or contrade) gather to determine which clan is the best by holding a twice-a-year horse race around the perimeter of the city square.  15,000 people jam the amphitheater, cheering on the horse representing their contrade and to show their neighborhood pride.  It is a festival of drums, cheering, contrade colors, and intense neighborhood rivalry (the “Wave” contrade won the most recent race, its blue and white flag adorns the “winner’s alley” next to City Hall).

Our tour at an end, we were off for lunch in Siena.  We had reservations at “Osteria de Rossi”, a small café located off one of the side streets.  Sadly, so did three of the other couples, so we all ended up going together as a party of eight.

Don’t get me wrong, the food was good.  Leigh and I shared a starter of cured meats, which was followed by ribollita, a white bean, bread, and kale soup for Leigh while I had some tagliatelli tossed with oil and loaded with white truffles.

No, the problem was the size of the party.  To Leigh and I’s dismay, no one else tried to speak any Italian to the wait staff.  They were a little demanding and did that “oh so American” thing of speaking slowly and loudly, as if the servers were stupid and deaf.  Naturally, our waiter’s demeanor instantly changed (you could physically see it happen).  This was the table of Americans.  Get ‘em in – get ‘em out.  When the bill came, our companions complained that the check was not split four ways, but our waiter was disinterested, stating that he wouldn’t/couldn’t do it.

Let that be a lesson to all travelers.  Treat people as you would like to be treated.  I was more than a bit embarrassed for the table.  Their experience was not the experience a “real” traveler wants.  Leigh and I vowed to dine only as a couple for the rest of the journey, if possible.

After our visit to Siena was completed, we returned home to Castelmuzio, where Leigh braved the washing machine and drying racks on the apartment building’s third floor to clean some of our travel laundry while I walked the road outside of town to get some scenic pictures of the town as it perches on top of the hillside.

We then took a pre-dinner stroll around town, exploring all of the nooks and crannies that are the streets of Castelmuzio.  We found an overlook with a bench on the far side of the village with a wide, unobstructed view of the valley, and we sat together to watch the sun set on another Italian day.  Upon returning to the apartment, I whipped up an omelet using eggs, fresh tomatoes, onion, pecorino cheese, and dried sausage for dinner using still more ingredients from our apartment supply.

For fun, we turned on the TV and caught the weirdest Italian game show called “Take Me Out” (upon returning, we found out that there is also an American version, but it’s not nearly as weird or kitschy as its Italian counterpart).  About forty girls were on a stage, and a single man is introduced, looking for a date.  Instantly, the girls can consider themselves “out”, but turning their console lights from white to red, based solely upon the bachelor’s looks.  Then, a video is run, telling the girls more about the bachelor’s likes and dislikes.  Still more ladies drop out.  The next video is the guy’s best friend, telling some secret about him.  More potential dates drop like flies.  If there are more than two girls left, then the guy gets to choose, instantly eliminating “extras” by turning their consoles from white to red right in front of them (wow – harsh!).  When it comes down to two ladies left, they state their case and the bachelor then chooses one for a date.  It was petty, it was cut-throat, and it was fascinating to watch, even in Italian.

A night-cap glass of vinsanto with some biscotti cookies and it was off to bed.

 

 

NEXT WEEK:  Day 5 – Sights of Pienza, an Olive Oil Tasting, and Roof-top Cocktails in Castelmuzio