Two Tuscan Hilltop Towns



Siena


Early on Saturday morning, we left Firenze for the beautiful hilltop town of Siena with a group of students from Northern California, Washington State and Maryland.  Upon arrival in this medieval town, we met up with our local guides who gave us a brief introduction to the town before taking us into the Basilica of San Domenico, home to some important relics of St Catherine of Siena including her head and thumb! 


The Sienese are very proud of St Catherine especially as she is not only the Patron Saint of their town but also of the whole country - a honor she shares with St Francis of Assisi.  Catherine remains a powerful force in local culture and customs and her presence can be felt throughout the town.  In fact, after we left the Basilica, the guides took us to see the house where she was born. 

After that, it was time for a work-out as we headed up the steep cobbled streets of the old town and made our way to the Piazza del Duomo.  Once we got there, any breath we had left after such a climb was taken away by the beauty of the intricate marble façade of Siena’s Cathedral.  Since many artists and architects contributed to the realization of this Cathedral over a period of many years, it reflects a range of different styles.  In fact, the Cathedral was never actually finished since the Sienese, in their ongoing bid to outdo the Florentines, had hoped to expand the Cathedral so that it would be bigger than the one in Florence.  However, fate was not on Siena’s side and various factors, including the “Black Death” conspired to put paid to their plans.

.... in Piazza del Campo

We finished our tour in the Piazza del Campo where, twice every summer, the different districts of the town compete in a fast-paced, bare-backed horserace known as the “Palio”.  With a little imagination and the help of some photos, we could imagine the half-moon shaped square packed to bursting with tourists and locals alike as the horses raced in a circle around them.  Those with money, of course, would be enjoying the show from one of the balconies looking over the square!

After such an informative tour, it was time for some lunch before getting back on the bus and heading to the hilltop town of San Gimignano for relaxing afternoon wandering its medieval streets.

San Gimignano is famous for its towers, it ceramics and its wine.  However, the first stop on arrival there was the prize-winning gelateria!  After trying a variety of different flavors, we concluded that, although the ice-cream was delicious, we would have to taste more gelato from more gelaterias before we could make any rash decisions about whether this one was any better than the ones in Florence!

Mount Saint Mary's students enjoying some gelato in San Gimignano

Before heading back home, we had time to burn off some of that gelato as we headed up the hill to take in the picture-postcard views of the rolling hills of Tuscany.



Rosalie Turner from our Northern California group in San Gimignano