Italian Vacation: Siena

This is just one of the many chalk drawings artists found throughout the city. 

Day two began with a mad dash to Siena to meet up with Miriam, our guide for the day. The first adventure was to find parking because most of the cities in Tuscany do not allow cars (other than residents) into the city proper. Special thanks go to my brother and Mr. G for taking on the driving because the roads are steep, incredibly narrow and not speaking the language means you may be driving somewhere you’re not supposed to. Which quickly translates into a $300€ fine. Thankfully, we found a parking garage and made it to our meeting place on time. One of the first sights, once we’d stopped running was this:

Because there is so much to see in Siena, I’m going to divide our visit to the city into two posts—one the various sights from the city and the other (because it is so magnificent), the Duomo.

Siena is a medieval city and that’s reflected in its architecture.

The arched windows and square shape of the building with a flat rooftop are typical of Roman style.

This wishing well is in the courtyard of a Roman home and provides a nice bit of quiet.

I don't remember the name of this building but do know that these statues were considered to be guarding the city. They each represent a different aspect of protection.

Siena is known for the fact that it is divided into seventeen districts, each with it's own flag and every year each district is represented in an all out horse race around the main plaza known as the Piazza del Campo. 

The Palazzo Publico, built in the 1200s, was the center of the Sienese government. The tower (which I couldn't even fit into the shot!) is the Torre del Mangia and was built in the 1300s to be the tallest structure in Italy (to beat out Florence).

If you can ignore the big cypress tree that refused to get out of my way, you're looking at the Duomo of Siena, which is our next stop.

Next stop: the Siena Duomo