Tag Archives: Siena

Wednesday was Siena day

Posted on by

Every time we visit Tuscany we make a pilgrimage to Siena. It was our local town for 6 months in 2011 and we take the chance to revisit some old haunts whenever we return.

Siena is famous for the Palio – a bare-back horse race that occurs twice a year (July and August) when local communities or contrada can enter a horse in the race with the victor having the honour that comes with winning. We have mixed views of the event – the drama, excitement and passion around the race is infectious but horses can often get injured or even killed during the event.

To prepare for the race, the central piazza in Siena – the Campo – is turned into a race track with a layer of clay laid down over the tiles and cobbles and gradually compacted over the weeks prior to the event.

Temporary wooden grandstands ring the Campo so the large crowd that attend the event has somewhere to get the best view.

When we arrived on Wednesday the track was down and all the bars and restaurants that ring the Campo had their tables and chairs set up on the track. Because of the temporary grandstands, they also have to squeeze their tables into a smaller area to allow people to walk past.

And once a day, at 3pm, the bars and restaurants have to remove all their hardware as the track is watered to help the clay compact. No one is allowed on the track so the Campo comes to a standstill.

Once the clay has dried enough – after about 2 hours – the tables and chairs, and people are allowed back on the track and Siena’s Campo returns to normal.

The Campo at 2:55pm
The Campo at 3:05pm
The “home straight” watered
Siena as the sun sets

Siena for a day

Posted on by

Thursday last week we visited Siena. It was a week before the Palio and the clay track had been laid over the cobbles in the Campo and the tiered seating was in place around the edge of the Campo.

At 3pm, when we arrived, the businesses around the Campo were shut as the Palio track was being watered – a daily ritual in the week leading up to the Palio. This threw our plans of a quiet drink in the Campo into disarray.

So instead we visited Jean’s favourite clothes shop and helped boost the Siena economy – just as we had done in Rome a week before.

Shopping done, we returned to the Campo.  The track watering was complete and the bars and restaurants in the Campo had the “all clear” to lay out tables and chairs on the clay track. Normal transmission had resumed.

We wiled away the evening with drinks and a very good pasta dinner at Al Mangia bar before heading back to Diaccino.

 

 

Wait for it – a sunset shot

Posted on by

Painters love the light in Tuscany. It’s almost like looking at a watercolour painting in real life – with soft hues, pastel colours and gradients resembling a fine watercolour wash.

Last night as we ate dinner on the terrazzo at Il Diaccino, I grabbed a few shots after the sun went down and before the light faded. These shots have not been retouched – what you see is what we saw.

Enjoy.

Our place in Chianti

Posted on by

After a long day travelling from Rome north to Tuscany we arrived at Il Diaccino, our place in Chianti for the next week. The villa is beautiful, set among olive trees and vineyards and overlooking the valley. The towers of Siena can be seen on the horizon – just a reminder of where we are.

The terrace is an ideal place to sit and watch the changing view – from the blue haze of morning to the pink sunset of the evening. It is kept cool in the unseasonably warm weather we have experienced by the breeze coming up the valley.

The villa is so comfortable – like moving into someone’s home – and it’s a chance to unpack and settle for a week. Within 24 hours we had managed to catch too much sun by the pool so we will be sitting in the shade for the next day or so.

 

A terrace with a view

Posted on by

view-of-sienaAs our thoughts turn to Italy, a look through the photo album reminds us of time spent around Siena. This photo is taken from the front terrace of the cottage we called home for 6 months at Casavacanza Vesta and is looking towards Siena on a warm October evening.

When we arrived the view was almost completely obscured by trees but while we were away one weekend the kind owners thinned the trees – providing us with this fantastic sunset show each evening.

A view of Siena

Posted on by

siena-and-duomo-from-torre-wideI’m not sure if there is a best way to see Siena. Walking the narrow streets it looks great. Standing in the the middle of the Campo it looks great. But from the top of the Torre del Mangia it looks breathtaking – quite literally breathtaking – because of the 400 steps (exactly 400 steps) that need to be climbed to reach the top.

Here are some shots taken once I had caught my breath.

Haircut day in Siena

Posted on by

Jean and girls in the campoGroom day in Siena was a major family outing. We had found a groomer just a few metres from the Campo and they would take one girl at a time. So we spent the afternoon sitting in our favourite bar firstly with one girl and then with the other.

This was no hardship and gave us ample opportunity to check some emails, watch some people and do some shopping – as you do in Italy.

Echos of summer in Toscana

Posted on by

After the PoolFor the northern summer of 2011 our life consisted of doing very little – but doing it very well. On the fine sunny days – pretty much every day between May and October – we spent time at our villa pool.

And after a hard afternoons sunning and swimming it was a short walk back to the cottage for a G &T, a beer and some time to recover from the stress of the day.

 

A view across Siena

Posted on by

For no particular reason, a panorama of Siena taken last August. I had never got around to stitching the 6 shots together until a few days ago. Once a few errant street lights and poles were removed, the result is quite good.

The shots were taken from the university looking across the old city. The Torre del Mangia is on the left and the Basilica of Saint Maria Dei Servi is on the right.

Siena Panorama

Under a Tuscan sun – surprisingly

Gallery

Posted on by

This gallery contains 14 photos.

According to the locals this summer in Tuscany was not good – lots of rain and wind, and not the usual warm temperatures. But we didn’t notice – for our two day stay the weather was glorious. It was a short stay but we … Continue reading →

By train to Florence

Posted on by

Jean travelling at 246 km/h north of Napoli

Jean travelling at 246 km/h north of Napoli

Yesterday we left Positano and travelled north by high speed train to Firenze and then drove south to our base for the next two days – Radda in Chianti.

After the fun and games of air travel, train travel is so easy and relaxing it’s ridiculous. The most stressful part of the trip was keeping an eye on our bags at Napoli Station – a place renown for pick pockets and thieves.

In all it took 2 hours and 50 minutes to complete the train trip that would have required between 5 and 6 hours to drive.

We collected a rental car at Firenze, negotiated the city’s one way system, and 50 minutes later checked in at Relais Vignale in Radda which is in the heart of Chianti.

We have dinner planned with friends who live in Chianti and a trip to Siena for a spot of shopping before heading on to Roma – because, as they say, that’s where all roads lead.

 

 

The view across Siena

Posted on by

Siena from the Torre del Mangia

Siena from the Torre del Mangia

For no reason, a photograph taken from the top of the Torre del Mangia in Siena looking towards the Duomo and the countryside beyond. The view, after climbing the tower’s 400 steps is absolutely wonderful.

This shot was taken 12 years ago and has survived a transfer from film to print to scanned image. The scan was state-of-the-art for 2002 (for that read low res, and full of noise) but, with a little Photoshopping, it can be brought back to life.

A year ago today – triumph and tragedy

Posted on by

It began as a day like all others as the sun climbed over the Crete hills to the east – except that we were up early enough to enjoy the sunrise and completely confuse our girls when we gave them each a pat on the head and departed for Siena. We were cutting it fine and the mood in the car was sombre. There was none of the usual banter as we headed along the SR2 into Siena.

Thankfully we didn’t get stuck behind any of the local autobuses on the way and as we drove through the Porta Tufi and into the old city to park we had 10 minutes left for the walk to the Campo.

It was Rugby World Cup final day. Half a world away two teams were about to go head to head to determine who were world champions – our might All Blacks or the unpredictable and dynamic French.

We arrived at the bar in time to find a seat amongst the small but growing number of New Zealand fans and the far more numerous French fans. We ordered our usual RWC colazione (breakfast) – cappuccino and tea, followed by white wine and birra. The discipline required to start drinking at 8am was something we had mastered over the preceding 6 weeks as we had watched the pool games, the quarter finals and the semi finals. In fact we were well known in the bar and our order arrived at the table the same time we did.

The game was engrossing. What everyone expected to be an easy All Black victory became an arm wrestle with the French doing what they do best – being unpredictable and playing ten times better than they did in the early rounds of the tournament – and with 15 minutes to go the score was 8-7 to the All Blacks. The remained of the match was agonising with neither team able to get in the killing blow.

The tension in that little bar in Siena was palpable. The Kiwis had gone quiet while the French supporters were vocal as the underdogs refused to roll over.

Victory for the All Blacks, when it came, was more relief than triumph.

After congratulations all round we left the bar and stepped out into the sunlight of the Campo. We headed to our usual bar – Al Mangia – to celebrate with a glass or two of Prosecco.

At Al Mangia the talk was not of rugby but of motorcycling. Motorcycle ace and local hero Marco Simoncelli had died after falling off his bike in the Malaysian MotoGP earlier that morning and the bar patrons were noticeably affected. Simoncelli was just 24 years old.

It was, it turned out, a day of triumph overshadowed by tragedy.

Family advice

Gallery

Posted on by

This gallery contains 27 photos.

My nephew’s girlfriend and her sister are planning a trip to Tuscany in September. We have been asked for some advice on where to stay and what to do in and around Tuscany. It sounds as if the girls are … Continue reading →