Siena (50 km)

Siena is situated 322 mt above the sea level, in the heart of Tuscany. It has kept its typical medieval appearance untouched, with narrow alleys and noble palaces, surrounded by a beautiful hill landscape.
Siena is an ancient medieval town, that was born on three hills and was enclosed by walls. Still today, it welcomes its visitors with this motto, written on the Camollia Door: “Cor Magi tibi Seni pandit� (Siena opens its heart to you, even more than its door).
The undisputed symbol of the town is the tower Torre del Mangia, in the renowed Piazza del Campo, that has been the theatre of the Palio for many centuries.

http://www.comune.siena.it/

The identity of the Sienese province is composed of no less than thirtysix villages and eight areas of touristic interest. The chief town is Siena, a casket of rare and untouched art, which has succeded in maintaining a perfect harmony between its reality as a city and the surrounding countryside.

It is possible to reach Siena by different means of transport : by car, arriving in Siena from Florence, you can take either the main road Chiantigiana (SS 222 – 72 km), that crosses the Chianti hills, or the clearway (SS 2 clearway Siena/Firenze – 68 Km).
If you arrive from the South, you can take the motorway leaving from Rome (A1 Roma – Firenze, exit sign Valdichiana) and then road n.326 (Bettolle-Siena-240 km).
For those who prefer flying, the Ampugnano airport is situated 9 km away from Siena and, at the moment, connections even with Olbia, Vienna and Munich are possible.
Otherwise,if you want to plunge into the Sienese nature and enjoy a peaceful atmosphere, you can choose the Treno Natura, a picturesque steam engine train, which offers a seasonal service by running through the Sienese countryside, following a special route (Siena-Asciano-Monte Antico-Siena).

According to a legend, Siena was founded by Senio, Remo’s son, one of the founders of Rome. The origin of Siena’s name is still today an object of research: some historians attribute it to the Etruscan Saina family, some others to the Roman Saenii family. Certainly, the development of this town increased only in the Middle Ages, when the town expanded in various directions.
Siena was pre-eminently a Ghibelline town and it often “crossed its swords� with the Florentine Guelphs in epic and bloody fights, that marked the history of the Italian Middle Ages. One of the most famous battles took place in Montaperti, on 4th September 1260, when the Sienese defeated the Florentine.
Siena reached its full splendour in 1300, when the most part of the civil monuments was built and it was made an attempt to build the new Duomo.
With the tragic coming of the pleague in 1348, Siena had a very difficult period, that led to its annexation to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and to the loss of its independence.

Siena is a touristic destination of great historical and cultural value. It is a town that does not like the half-measures, since it is passionate and, at the same time, contemplative. Its roads go uphill and downhill, some of them are steep and some are narrow, but they all lead you to the magnificent Piazza del Campo.
While walking through the town, you are filled by a sense of calmness, that goes well with the verdant hills, typical of the Tuscan territory. You can go through some streets, where you can discover a lot of interesting details, that disclose you many surprises and unexpectd corners. So you can move from Piazza del Campo towards the Cathedral (Duomo), passing through the steep Baptistery stairs and then you can set out for the Santa Maria della Scala Hospital, that is now given over as a museum.
While walking, you can probably perceive the typical smell of the spiced sweets from Siena, or you can come in touch with the sounds of the town, with the magic and the architectural fascination of one of the most delightful towns in Tuscany.

The Sienese land offers you a varied and beautiful landscape, especially to the visitors who love the vivid autumn’s colours, including the green rows of the Chianti vines that, in every season, are enriched by new shades that mark the passing of time.
This landscape gives a kind of magic and serenity to all its visitors, depending on their interests. You can see the natural beauties of the Elba Valley, but also many medieval villages (if you are a fan of them). Then you can either plunge into the tranquillity of the Merse Valley or you can make excursions by bike or horse riding or even you can reach the thermal baths’ magic waters in the Chiana Valley (that are closely united to the nature reserves and the parks).
We advise you to see and enjoy everything, maybe in successive stages, accompanied by a good Italian course. In fact, through the language, you can appreciate even more the wonders of this place and of the people who live here.

Undoubtedly we can assert that the Sienese Palio delle Contrade is one of the most famous, beautiful and deeply loved Italian popular celebrations, which has summerized and developed, to the highest point, the characteristics both of a religious and of a civil festivity. If you want to take part in the Palio, obviously as audience, you will surely attend a charming show. It is a historical and cultural revival, that reaches its climax in a wild horse race, in which the proud and the passionate competitiveness of the Contrade (town districts) achieve their realization and exaltation.
These singular institutions, born in the 15th century, are today represented by the 17 neighbourhoods of Siena, according to the territorial boundaries fixed by a proclamation ban issued on 7th January 1730.
Every Institution has got its own seat , its own church (separate and independent from the parish one) a Museum with the won Palios and it is governed by a Seggio (Council), elected by the people and controlled by a Prior, in turn partnered with a Captain, who has full powers during the race.
The Contrade, situated in the three town’s terzieri (districts), differ from one another in their colours.

Facing the Tuscan gastronomy is both hard and pleasant, because there is an unlimited variety of courses, among which you can discover an incredible range of tastes, foods and drinks, as it usually happens in every Italian regional cookery.
The Sienese cooking reintroduces all the regional dishes, but with a larger use of garlic and aromatic herbs, as dragoncello and menta (tarragon and mint).
Also the handcrafted productions of soppressate, salami, finocchiona, capocolli, locally called “pilze�, of fresh and dried pork sausages and of wild boar salami are very important. Besides, among the kinds of cheese, the pecorino delle crete and the marzolino are very renowed.
The game is frequently used in the meat dishes, served with the best olive oil produced here. The most typical courses are: zuppa di lenticchie col fagiano (lentil soup with pheasant), zuppa di rane (frog soup), crostini (canapé) di rigaglie di pollo (giblets), di milza (spleen), di cacciagione (game), zuppa di fagioli alla Senese (bean soup), the ribollita, pasta e ceci (pasta with chickpeas), lepre and cinghiale in agrodolce (sweet-and-sour hare and wild boar), fagioli all’uccelletto, pollo con le olive (chicken with olives), fricassea di carne o di funghi (meat or mushrooms fricassee), tortino di carciofi (artichoke pie).
Finally, we cannot forget the wine production, that offers a striking variety of choice wines. In the Sienese area you can taste, besides the famous Chianti dei Colli Senesi, also the Rosso di Montepulciano, the Brunello di Montalcino and the Vernaccia di San Gimignano.