Contrada
by Helga67
Siena has 17 "contrade" (districts). Each contrada has its own animal sign that you will find in the streets on signs, flags ...
The little sign here on the wall next to that lovely lamp is this of the contrada of the Anguila. It consists of a two headed eagle, an imperial crown and a golden sun.
Twice a year there is a competition between the different contrade called the Palio. This feast is being held on 2 July and 16 August. There is a horse race on the Piazza del Campo that only takes 90 seconds. The winning contrada gets a silk palio (drape). The race is preceded by a parade, animated by splendid costumes, drums and the flag waving.
Beautiful carving..........
by leics
Whilst in the church of S. Domenico, do look at the beautiful wooden carving of Christ which is displayed on the wall of the chapel to the extreme left. I could find out nothing about it whatsoever. It is clearly very old, with evidence of woodworm, and is most beautifully and accurately carved.
Perhaps it wasn't carved by anyone very important, and that's why there's no information about it. But I thought it was lovely, and worth seeing.
Pick any Campo restaurant
by Callavetta about Meal with a view of the world
Anxious to find a place relax and have lunch and enjoy a cool drink, we finally secured a table at one of the restaurants. It wasn’t particularly relaxing as our table abutted two others; both with German tourists. The harried wait staff didn’t clear the previous diners leftovers for at least 15 minutes. Pigeons waddled beneath the tables looking for leftovers. One whacked me on the head when it quickly took off. Our pizzas were good when we finally got them. (At last! Jill got her first pizza in Italy) We didn’t mind the 15% service charge assessed automatically, because after all, we were in Siena’s prime location. I got a pizza but kind of wished I had gotten a salad when I saw my neighbor's. The restaurant had a decent selection of salads.
My glass of "vino rosso" was 10 euro!
Il Duomo
by kenmerk
Well, if you are in any Italian city, you gotz to go see the local "Il Duomo", and Siena is no exception.
Dating back to the 12th century, this church has a unique external appearance with its striped bands of colored marble. The interior is equally striking, and although my pony tailed friend from Venezuela did not care for the appearance of this church.. I thought it was remarkably well preserved compared to others in Italy...
The church is said to contain the holy relic of John the Baptist's right arm, which he presumably used to baptist Jesus with...
I was curious to see this holy Christian relic, as I have seen quite a few hairs and teeth of the Buddha in my travels, but none from my own faith.. Unfortunately the arm was being "restorado-ed" at that time and was not on display...
Palazzo Pubblico
by micajo
The Palazzo Pubblico (town hal) is a palace in the city of Siena, located in Tuscany. Constrcution began in 1297 and its original purpose was to house the republican government, consisiting of the Podesta and Council of Nine.
The outside of the structure is an example of Italian medieval architecture with Gothic influences. The lower storey is stone; the upper crenalatted storeys are made of brick. The facade of the palace is curved slightly inwards to reflect the outwards curve of the Piazza del Campo. The campanile or bell tower, Torre del Mangia, was built between 1325 and 1344 with its crown designed by the painter, Lippo Memmi. The tower was deisgned to be taller than the tower neighbouring rival Florence.
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Enoteca Italiana at the Fortezza Medicea
Allegory of Good Government
Piazza del Campo
Paintings are done using pintura a secco technique
