Today was supposed to be rainy almost all day, but we lucked out with mostly blue skies and spent the day exploring more of Siena. We hoped to get up early so we could get some pictures of the duomo and the Il Campo piazza without a lot of tourists in sight, but this plan didn't exactly work out since we were up late trying to get all the Cinque Terre blog posts up. This didn't seem to be a a problem though - even though we didn't make it out of the hotel until after 9 AM, both areas were still void of tourists and we got some good pictures in.
Then we got on line to climb the tower at the City Hall, located at the Piazza Il Campo. Only 25 people are allowed in the tower at a time and its closed if there is a chance of rain. We hedged our bets and lucked out - we were the first ones to get to the top of the 400-step tower (all the hiking we've been doing has really paid off). We got some amazing views from the top - all the red roofs and picturesque valleys in the distance. We walked around the back of Piazza Il Campo and took a tour of the Siena Synangogue. Luckily it was Sunday - the only day its open to the public. The woman there gave us some great information about the Jewish ghettos in Italy and in Tuscany. We got to see the main sanctuary, which is hidden from sight: its on the second floor of a nondescript building - up a flight of stairs, around a corner, behind curtains and a set of doors. It wasn't until the French and Napoleon ruled this place that the Jews were given freedom to practice their religion even though the sanctuary has probably existed since 1600.
From the synagogue, we made our way across town to see the Church of San Francesco - a deceivingly large church for what it looks like on the outside. Unfortunately it was Sunday (this day is a mixed bag) and mass was taking place, so we had to come back later to get a picture. We walked across town in another direction next to check out the fort on the northwest corner of the city. Its just a public park now, but there were some good views of the duomo from afar. Near the fort we saw the Church of San Domenica.
Back in town, we grabbed some pizza for lunch and then hit up the Duomo Museum. (side note: it turns out that the Sienese actually wanted a much bigger cathedral than they have now to one-up their rivals from Florence. What is now the nave they wanted just to be one of the short sides, and they started to build what would eventually be the much longer nave off to one side. When the city was hit with the plague they saw it as a sign that they were getting too greedy so they canceled the project. You can still see the foundations for the new columns, and what would have become the new facade/entry wall still stands. The rest of the building that the Sienese started now houses the Duomo museum). The museum holds most of the original statues that we saw in the duomo yesterday. Most importantly we were able to climb up onto the top of the wall that was built but never finished to get some more great views of the city. Afterwards, we crossed through the piazza and went to visit Santa Maria della Scala. This building across from the duomo was the first hospital in Italy (or maybe Europe, we can't remember). Now its a multi-purpose museum. At ground level, it holds a modern art museum, a church (that claims to have on of the holy nails from Jesus' cross), and several rooms full of frescos. In the first basement, there are several oratories used by some of the Sienese fraternal organizations. Then, in the second basement (we're on a hill, remember), there were what felt like miles of underground passageways that house the archeological museum.
We had some gelato for our walk back to the Church of San Francesco, visited another oratory, and then walked back through town to our hotel to relax before dinner - making it just in time before the rain started. A while later we made our way to a small family-run restaurant where we had another great meal - some of the local pasta, called pici, with a pesto/meat sauce, penne with spicy tomato sauce, and Chicken Cacciatore. Dinner here can be a great experience - now that its cooler out, the heartier dishes are really delicious, and up north where the wine is cheaper, always helps dinner taste better. Both restaurants in Siena have been serving sweet wine/alcohol after dinner which is a tradition we wouldn't mind bringing home with us. A small drink of Ameretto makes any meal a success!
Gelato Gusti per il giorno:
Mike - Cooky e Stracciatella and Stracciatella e Pistacchio
Aviva - Menta e Fondente (dark chocolate)
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