Where the heck are we now?: Siena...a hill top Tuscan town

We stayed in Siena for a few days as our base in Tuscany since it is one of the best preserved medieval cities with its' centro designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The center of the town is Il Campo which is the town square though it is really a shell shaped plaza...

On one side there are many restaurants that are great for people watching and on the other side is the Town Hall...

The place is always full and the locals just sit and lie down everywhere...

We would stop here at least once a day or in the evening to watch all the sights along with everyone else...

Il Campo is also the venue for Il Palio which is a famous horse race held very July and August when the people gather in the center of the square and the horses race around the edge.

I took a picture of a picture to show the race.

I was very interested in the origins of the race as it is really a competition among the contrada, or the 17 different neighbourhoods in Assisi and has been run since the 1600s. Each neighbourhood has its own identity, flag, church and fountain. In Siena a baby is baptized first in church and second in the neighbourhood fountain.

Here is the fountain in the Onda Contrada where the symbol is the dolphin. As we walked through the neighbourhood we could see their blue and white flags hanging everywhere.

And pictures of their horses along with the pictures of their saints...

Siena also has a beautiful Dumuo, not as big as the ones in Milan and Florence but more richly decorated...

It is built of white and black marble...

This altar is made of marble and so intricately carved...

The organ has bugles and the library was unbelievable...

Close up of one of the frescos...

The ceiling also as well as the floors were works of art.

Siena also has a famous saint, Catherine of Siena, who was born the 24th of 25 children in 1347 and at the age of six saw her first vision. She devoted her life to service and travelled widely to preach her message. She died young at 33 but left a legacy that promoted her to sainthood as one of Europe's most famous saints.

She is closely connected to St. Dominic Basilica in Siena as her head rests there...

Interior of the Basilica, which was one of my favourites churches as it was sparse but peaceful.

The rest of her body is in Rome but apparently the people of Siena felt she should be home so stole her head and deposited it here.

We also visited her private chapel...

We saw signs around town advertising a photo exhibit by Steve McCurry who had taken the famous National Geographic photo. I didn't know his name but knew the picture.

So we decided to visit the show and it was one of the best exhibits I have ever seen especially of photography. There were probably a 100 or more photos shown by theme and described through audio by McCurry, simply stunning work!