Siena and San Gimignano - Sept 9

This morning we woke up early and had an early breakfast and packed a bag lunch for our group trip to Siena. I felt much better than I had the previous day so I was definitely up to some site seeing. We all boarded the bus and left by 8. By the time we arrived at the base of the city it was 9:30. We got off the bus at the base of a cool fortress-y wall and began a 10-minute or so walk up into the town. I say up of course, because the city is built on a hill and we were heading towards the peak to see the cathedral.

We arrived at the cathedral and gazed at the intricate carvings of the façade and the distinct stripes of dark and white marble running up the bell tower. My art history professor lectured to us through headphones about the history of Siena and it’s rivalry with Florence and how all this led to the wonderfully ornate cathedral we were seeing. He also talked about the way that in many ways Siena became frozen in time during the early Renaissance due to Florence’s domination and its own preference for isolation.  The cathedral is distinct not only because of its bold stripe pattern, but also because for a church built in Italy, where Renaissance attitudes led to classical Roman-inspired architecture, it remains uniquely gothic. According to our professor it is perhaps one of two Italian gothic churches, and indeed the similarities to French cathedrals I’ve seen were apparent from the flares lining the roof to the stain glass windows. Afterwards we headed inside. It really is a beautiful church. The inside is very ornate and unique.

After the tour of the cathedral we headed nearby to see il Museo d’Opera the organization in charge of funds for the cathedral back in the day. Our professor showed us a painting of the Madonna and child surrounded by saints on a field of gold that is apparently very important to western art history. We looked briefly around other parts of the museum then dispersed throughout the city for an hour of lunch and free time. In my group Morgan and I successfully attempted to piece together knowledge from our previous visits to Siena and found our way to the Piazza del Campo. I looked around and shops and we all ate our packed lunches in the shadow of the massive tower of Palazzo Publicco that looms over the square.

After lunch and gelato we took a tour of the Palazzo, which was (and still is) the city hall of Siena. There are some important frescoes inside that depicted proper and improper ways to govern as well as another Madonna with child and one of a Sienese warrior. After this tour we walked back through Siena to our bus where we all happily sat as we proceeded to a nearby hill town, San Gimignano.

San Gimignano is a Tuscan hill town that I’m sure everyone has seen on a postcard before. It is built on a tall hill with lookout towers and a wall to watch the surrounding agricultural landscape for bandits or invading cities. We were given a couple hours here to explore and relax before meeting back up to return to Sesto. I left with a group of three others and we walked along the main street stopping to look in shops and take pictures. Eventually we stopped to get something to drink and sat while we cooled off. Afterward we returned to the bus and headed home.