Siena

On our third day we took a tour of some medieval hilltop towns in the countryside of Tuscany. Siena was the first and then San Gimignano. I think Siena may have been my favorite place on the whole trip. I'm not sure why. I guess because it was just charming, and full of medieval history.

In Siena, we got to see the artwork of a famous medieval painter named Duccio. His masterpiece, the Maesta, is an incredible 13' high alterpiece painted with gold, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, and other fine pigments mixed with egg yoke. It's still in quite good condition. Seeing the things I've studied up close was just unreal.

Maesta was in the museum next to this very interesting cathedral. The dark green and white stripes reminded us of Beetlejuice a little.

These are some frescoes for the private chapel of a wealthy Sienese family. They've never been restored but look like they could have been painted yesterday. Phenominal!

Siena has a tradition of rivaling neighborhood clans called 'contrarios'. There's about 9, I think. For example, the Eagles, the She-wolves, the Turtles, etc. Every year they hold a famous horse race dating back to medieval times called 'Il Palio'. There are no rules...you can try to knock others off their horse if you want. Whoever makes it around the shell-shaped plaza three times before anyone else is the winner. Shopkeepers put king-size mattresses in front of their windows for protection...it's crazy!

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The writer of the children's tale Pinocchio was from Siena, so the town is full of little "Pinocchio" dolls.