Saturday 16th July
Today, Siena.
I caught the bus from Roccamare at just after 7am, and after a change in Grosseto, arrived in Siena at 930am.
I had booked in for an 11am walking tour – optimistic as I wasn’t sure transport links would work out, and also because it was forecast to be 36 degrees and that would then put me walking up and down the city hills in the hottest part of the day.
After dropping my bags at my very hospitable B&B, I went to find Piazza del Duomo, and lingered in a shady corner with a cool beverage, taking in the breathtaking piazza (square), and being serenaded by a very talented busker until my tour began.
The tour guide had the group hiding in the shade of the hospital museum exit, and once everyone was introduced, we set off for a guided tour starting inside the cathedral.
I don’t think I need to see any other cathedral now.
The inside of the Siena cathedral is absolutely stunning, particularly when you understand how many different types of marble it took to create it, and how long – over 600 years to come to fruition.
As I wandered around the mind-blowingly-beautiful corners of this church I marvelled at the Catholic church’s PR powers and ability to retain its place in history. Despite flagging numbers attending services now, it was so influential that in almost every city in the Western world, one of the main tourist attractions is still the Cathedral.
The cathedrals are not so much merely a place of worship, but an excuse to show off that area’s wealth, power, prestige, and craftsmanship.
It’s similar to how in Ireland, tourism basically celebrates the colonial history. Most things to see and do are castles, or relics of a colonial past. We give our money in the present day to these things, and see them eagerly, frantically photographing every part, looking for the best angles, when perhaps the best angle is finding something else to do?
If voting with our money is really a thing, why are we still enriching the coffers of the wealthy landed elite and celebrating their power over the poor masses? Surely that’s just validating everything they did and their version of history?
When I go to Rome can I simply skip the Vatican city or the Sistine chapel, and still call myself well-travelled?
As I edge towards atheism, (but having also been raised to believe the Pope was the Antichrist) and am a full blown anti-capitalist, it feels disingenuous to participate in those activities, and willingly part with my money with full blown enthusiasm, knowing their history. And yet, I’m curious. This time, it paid off. Siena Cathedral was stunningly beautiful.
I digress.
Tour was great. The local level of English here is good enough that you usually get an Italian with passable English giving a tour rather than an expat, so it’s a different kind of tour than I’ve had in Paris or Amsterdam, but still great. (Link to tour)
I didn’t realise that the tour would be in Italian and also in English, but she managed that quite well, alternating groups and sending us to different parts of the cathedral in turns.
There were 3 Greeks also on the tour, and they explained quite a bit of the symbolism in the art, and how it related to biblical stories (which I knew) and Greek myths (which I knew less of).
The tour finished in Piazza del Campo (square of the fields) where the famous Palio race is held twice annually. They were also setting up for a free opera concert later that evening.
I decided to embrace the Italian tradition of an afternoon rest, and went back to my hotel for a while, before my booking at the Palazzo Pubblico – the city hall which has a marvellous collection of art work upstairs and also a cool collection of modern art downstairs.
I had also booked in to climb the Torre del Mangia at 6pm, and while I was waiting, I went for a wander, and discovered an amazing local artist whose use of colour is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
Then I stumbled upon a Salvador Dali museum, and made a mental note to visit that the next day.
After a quick aperitivo (and surprise free snack!) I climbed the 400+ steps to the top of the tower, being gently hugged on all angles by the ancient building.
The view at the top? Well… it was worth every harrowing step. This was the moment I truly fell in love with Siena.
The concert in Piazza del Campo was scheduled to start at 930pm, so I relaxed over a dinner of Oreos, tiramisu and prosecco in my B&B, because… why not? I was surprised no one came to check on me because opening the mini-prosecco bottles sounded like a gunshot!
I got myself together and went to join the concert, along with half of the town. It was really lovely. There were some amazing opera singers and the Tuscany Harmonic Orchestra playing. I was pleasantly surprised to recognise some of the tunes and enjoyed the concert.
I have a very limited attention span for opera at the best of times, and I’d been up since 6, so I headed back after half an hour.
There seems to be a whole series of them, (though very difficult to find online) and some other ideas that are available throughout the year.
Sunday morning, after going for a deep dive into science-driven positive parenting, I set out for the Salvador Dali museum. I was not disappointed.
This whole art thing is reasonably new on me, but I really enjoyed this. Maybe even more so than the modern art museum in Amsterdam (which was brilliant). The composition was flawless and the subjects challenging.
The collection was put together by someone who used to work with Dali in the 60s and 70s. There was a brief explanation of some of the common motifs throughout Dali’s work, but past that, there was a lot of room left for the viewer to determine the meaning – I guess that’s the beauty of surrealism.
I considered the torture museum, but thought we’d seen reasonable similar things in Brno, and Dublin, and so decided to spend my last remaining time on climbing yet more stairs to a slightly different vantage point. It was largely a waste of time, and I wished I’d known on the first day that there was a ‘complex pass’ that got you into the walls, the cathedral, museum, crypt and baptistry. (€5 more and climb even more steps to the cathedral duomo (dome)) and get basically the same view outside, but see the floor mosaics inside more clearly.
Unfortunately to climb the walls wasn’t as simple as I thought, and involved a long wait to see the ‘panorama’ (and obviously many more steps, and exposure to 37 degree direct sun) and took ages to get up and back down which meant I missed the 215pm bus I was aiming for.
Word to the wise – climb the Torre del Mangia instead – less waiting and better views.
With an extra 2 hours at my disposal, I decided to head to the university botanical gardens – 2 hectares of it – I did a cursory 15 minutes then realised I actually had to leave again to get the next bus!
Maps took me to… somewhere way down in the valley to catch the bus, and I did eventually catch it, after a leisurely break at an air conditioned gelaterie, and realising in the knick of time that I was on the wrong side of the road.
I’m currently enjoying the delightful calm of the waning evening at Encanto White in Castiglione della Pescaia, procrastinating from going back to where I’m staying.
It’s so nice to be out and around happy people. That’s all I’ll say for now.
Siena Links:
Palio Race details, generally on early July and mid August, massive festival, and huge crowds, generally good party vibe. Horse race around the main square.
Gorgeous B&B I stayed in, cheap, cheerful, central.
Link to buy OPA complex pass for cathedral, dome, museum, panorama, valid for 72 hours. (If you pay more than 22 euro, you’ve probably seen ripped off by a third party.) The downside to this ticket is it doesn’t seem to include a skip-the-line option, but even in the height of summer, the lines weren’t too bad. Cheapest option I can find is 15, but has weird date exclusions. Keep in mind, the floor is only uncovered during the summer months, so much harder to full appreciate at other times of the year. A way more insightful description of the art is here.
Palazzo Publicco reservations for Torre del Mangia and Museo Civico (separate things in the same building) you can get combo tickets from the Torre del Mangia office for 20 euro. This is one of those things you don’t seem to be able to easily book online, so rocking up to their ticket office in person is the best way to get the combo deal, or just book the Museo Civico online (there was no one there when I was there at 4pm on a Saturday in July) but you don’t neeeed to is my point.
The Torre del Mangia can only be booked in person, and they have one timed entry every hour or so, where everyone goes up together, you get 15 minutes, they yell at you over PA if you lean too far over the edge or touch the edge, and then you come back down. Totally worth it though! I recommend going at ‘golden hour’, that bit just before sunset.
The Salvador Dali Museum doesn’t require timed entry and there’s unlikely to be any lines. I went first thing on a Sunday, and got through the whole thing in about 1.5 hours, and there was hardly anyone else around.
The Orta Botanica or the University Botanical Gardens are expansive, covering almost 2 hectares. They are situated on a hill at the back of the University at the far end of Siena. There’s a €5 entry fee. A great place to while away a hot summer afternoon or have a picnic. There are benches to sit on, and I think water fountains, but I might be lying on that front.
My eclectic mix of places to go in Italy.