Medieval festival at Monteriggioni
by 78Eva
In the province of Siena, there lies the medieval, walled little town of Monteriggioni.
Every July, there is a medieval festival there that you should definitely go to if you're in the area. Last time I was there they had Angelo Branduardi play music!
Many people walk around in medieval costumes. There are stand where people show how medieval things were made, i.e. pottery, masks, food etc.
A fun thing is to eat in a medieval way! When you go to eat and you pay, you get an earthen plate and cup that you may actually keep (I still have mine). Of course you eat without knife and fork. You see people everywhere biting into and gnawing at pieces of meat, dripping juices!
It is a beautiful festival with a wonderful atmosphere.
Recycling buildings.........
by leics
One of the things I love about historical towns is the way buildings have been re-built, re-used and recycled over the centuries. There's evidence of this in some of the older parts of the UK, but I have seen far more when visiting other EU countries.
It's worth keeping your eyes open for odd arches, windows cut into doorways, new facades on older buildings and so on. Ancient towns and cities were organic; they grew and developed slowly, as circumstances dictated; none of the wholesale destruction and re-building which seems to have really begun in the 20th century.
This building is in the streets behind the Duomo. You can see the original arched window now blocked up, the orignal roofline and evidence above that of further changes and additions. Who knows, maybe the original foundations of the building date back to the time before the Duomo was even thought of? History on show, but almost hidden. Fascinating.
Ristorante Grotta Santa Caterina - Local cuisine
by sue_stone about Ristorante Grotta Santa Caterina
Lunch time found us wandering around close to Ristorante Grotta Santa Caterina, and seeing as I had read some good reviews about the place we decided to give it a go.
Ristorante Grotta Santa Caterina is located just of the main drag. It has some tables outside in the narrow street, and more inside. We chose to sit outside as it was a mild autumn day. The outside quickly filled up with tourists - any locals headed inside.
Service was ok....not rude, just a bit indifferent. We were just happy to take a rest for a while and fill up before continuing our explorations. There was a good range of pastas and meat dishes to choose from, along with some special fresh mushroom dishes.
We just decided to stick to the one course that day for lunch - Alex had the Pappardelle al cinghiale and I had the Pici al cinghiale (these are both different types of pasta with Wild Boar sauce). Both were delicious. We also shared a half bottle of the house wine.
The bill came to 24 euro for lunch.
La Torre del Mangia
by Incubus30
Mangio Tower in PIazza del Campo is a must .
The architecture itself is just wonderful and please once there, just go up the tower.
There quite a number of stairs (around 500) but once on top the view is just great.
If it is a windy day, be careful on the top part.
Some stats:- Height - 102 metres .
Built in the 14thcentury
Palazzo Pubblico and Museo Civico
by sue_stone
Located on the lower side of Piazza del Campo is the Palazzo Pubblico (aka Palazzo Comunale or Town Hall). This monumental gothic building was constructed in the late 13th century, as the seat of the Sienese government.
These days it is still home to the cities authorities, and also contains the Museo Civico. The museum consists of a very impressive and colourful series of frescoes depicting medieval life. The painting are spread through a series of rooms and grand halls.
Entry into the ground floor courtyard of the Palazzo Pubblico is free. Entry to the museum is around 6 euro, or you can buy a combined ticket for the museum and the Torre del Mangia for 10 euro (Sep 2006). There are also other combined tickets available including admittance to other nearby attractions (more information available from the museum ticket office or the below website).
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Basilica di San Francesco, Siena
Interior
The ossobucco
Frederick III is bethrothed to Portugal's Eleonora
