Today was the first day I really got to wander Siena like a normal tourist instead of a frightened student with somewhere to be and lots of heavy bags. After we got out early from class, Amber and I went to the apartment, dropped off most of our things and headed out to see what Siena had to offer.
Somehow we completely missed the Duomo di Siena until today. It's so close to our school, but because we get lost so often, we tend to stick to a rigid path home. This meant we never realized the beautiful cathedral is just down the road from the DA. It was beautiful, breathtaking and awe-inspiring and these pictures don't even do it justice.
We also truly explored the Piazzo del Campo in Siena for the first time today. I had seen the campo as I hurried by in the morning, but it wasn't until today Amber and I went just to see it. It was awesome. Inside the streets of Siena the buildings shield the sun and the narrow roads can feel suffocating when there are lots of people. When you step into the campo on a day like today is is startling to be welcomed by so much warmth and vast space. I have to admit it made me gasp. This is where the famous Palio di Siena is held. It's been so fun to hear the Senese talk about their individual contrade. The love and allegiance they have for their community and these contrade gives the people of the city a unique cultural identity.
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| The Torre del Mangia in the campo. |
The rest of these pictures just snapshots I took while walking around the city. Siena seems to be quintessential Italy. It is all the things you think of when you imagine a day in Italy; all the things Italian restaurants in America use to try to create an appropriate atmosphere. Things like bright buildings with colored shutters, tall walls with cragged rocks and laundry hanging out to dry on a line. Oh, and yesterday when I got out of class I heard opera playing out from the apartments overhead. Bellisima.
