Too Much to See

Having arrived in Tuscany, each morning we looked at our options for day tripping. Our location near Serravalle Pistoiese was in the north-central part of the region, so our travels would take us in other directions from there. On our first day, we chose to head due south, stopping in San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, and finally, Siena, 112 kilometres away.

Siena's Palazzo Salimbeni with statue of Salustio Bandini

Modern statue in a quiet corner of San Gimignano

I knew nothing about San Gimignano before that day, but I soon discovered its historical importance. A thriving community in medieval times, it lost its appeal to pilgrims on their way to Rome after the plague of 1348. From that time until the 19th century, it fell off travellers' radar, all the while remaining frozen as an exemplar of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.

In front of Sant'Agostino

A fresco in the Sant'Agostino

The ceiling

To preserve its character, tourists must park outside the walls of San Gimignano, and enter the town on foot. This is a relatively small place, with fewer inhabitants today than there were in its heyday. Upon entering through its walls, it did not take us long to find a quiet piazza where stands the chiesa di Sant'Agostino, beautifully preserved from the 13th century. Its exterior was nothing special, but inside, it was quite lovely. The frescoes were particularly remarkable, many telling the life story of Saint Augustine.

The cloister of Sant'Agostino

A quiet street

The cloister was a haven of peace. It was lovely to take photos there. This was the same feeling we got from the side streets of the town, devoid of tourists and retaining their medieval character.

Some of the main street shops 

The crowds on Via San Matteo

This all changed when we found ourselves on the Via San Matteo, San Gimignano's shopping street, full of charming boutiques and restaurants. Here we were among many other tourists, all heading to the town's main square.

Piazza del Duomo

Towers dominate the skyline

The piazza del Duomo was everyone's destination, and for good reason. The church and the nearby buildings are very special indeed. San Gimignano has fifteen medieval towers today, two of which dominate this central square. (In its glory days, the town boasted seventy-two towers–symbols of status for the merchant families who lived in the area.)

Small frescoes in a building in the Piazza Pecori

Frescoes everywhere

Here are the town's museums too, housed in former palazzos (palaces). We wandered in a piazza beside the church where we saw more frescoes, these on the outside walls of the buildings there. They paled in comparison to those inside the Duomo, however. What a magnificent building it is!

The Creation of the World fresco 

What a place!

Also known as the Basilica Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta, this church is truly magnificent. Its black and white striped arches stand in stark contrast to the colourful frescoes which adorn its walls and chapels. There was a lot to look at in this stunning building. Photography was forbidden here, so I have found some images on the web to capture its beauty.

Bob poses at the well

Our final stop in San Gimignano was the nearby Piazza della Cisterna, a larger and prettier square than the Piazza del Duomo, with its 13th century well in the centre. Shops and restaurants line this spot too. This is a town to linger in, but we had more to see, so we grabbed takeout sandwiches rather than sit down for a leisurely lunch break and headed towards Siena.

The view of Monteriggioni from the road.

Friendlier walls than in the past

We did not intend to stop in Monteriggioni at all but when we saw it from the roadway, we had to take a look. Clearly this place had been an important fortress at one time, and it is still an impressive walled town. It is quite tiny, so we only spent a short time there.

Inside the walls. 

Another view of the piazza and the church

Very rustic shop in the town

The circular wall was built in the 13th century. It encloses a couple of piazzas, the largest of which also houses a small church. Apparently, Monteriggioni was mentioned in Dante's Inferno, a major claim to fame.

Fountain near Siena's wall. Bob is enjoying the spray on this hot day.

A view of Siena from a distance

We arrived in Siena at around 14:00. This was the largest and most famous of our day's destinations. Like the other two places we stopped at, the old part of Siena has a wall that would have been designed to keep invaders away. We parked near it, and then made our way into the city.

The ornate façade of the duomo.

In front of the cathedral

We were most impressed by two sites in the city: the Duomo (the Siena Cathedral) and the large Piazza del Campo. We first visited the Duomo, and it is spectacular!!

Looking up into the dome.

The interior

When visiting Italian churches, I am usually struck by the religious art on the walls and the gothic or romanesque architecture, and Siena was no different in this respect. The black and white marble columns (the colours of the Siena Coat of Arms) are reminiscent of the red and white ones in the magnificent mosque in Cordoba, Spain, which we visited in 2011. They are mesmerizing to look at.

The library 

Detail of the frescoes of Piccolomini

The frescoes in the interior are equally stunning. In the Piccolomini Library in the left transept, the frescoes on the walls and ceiling tell the life story of Siena's favourite son, Enea Silvio Piccolomini. The style of the work is reminiscent of Raphael. The details and the colours took my breath away.

Duomo floor: The Slaughter of the Innocents.

Duomo floor: The She-Wolf of Siena

Even so, the floors are the most amazing part of the duomo. Large parts of them are roped off, so that no one can walk on them. In fact, for much of the year, these polished marble floors are covered to preserve them. Because we visited in high season, we were lucky enough to see them. In fact, we felt fortunate to see this magnificent cathedral in all its glory. No scaffolding in sight.

A portion of the oval.

Looking up at the Palazzo Pubblico to the Capitoline Wolf

Siena's other main attraction, its Piazza del Campo, was set up for a major event that takes place every summer, the Palio of Provenzano, a horse race involving various "contradas" (districts) of the city. It takes place over four days, and was set to begin the day after we visited. A clay oval track had been constructed for the horses.

The Palazzo Pubblico with its Torre del Mangia

A rare photo of the two of us.

The flags

From the middle of the piazza, we took lots of photos of the Torre del Mangia, clearly a symbol of the wealth of a Sienese nobleman. Flags representing the various contrade were on sale, as the city prepared for its big festival.

The old church at Serravalle Pistoiese

A toast to Tuscan life.

This was a tiring day; it was over 30 Celsius and we walked a lot, but it was well worth it. When we arrived back in Serravalle Pistoiese, we enjoyed a pizza dinner at a local taverna. Tuscany is so beautiful! Even the smallest places charmed us.

The view from Piazzale Michelangelo

Bronze copy of David at Piazzale Michelangelo

It was a mere 40 minute drive east to Florence the next day, (although due to a slowdown at a toll booth, it took us twice as long.) Bob headed first to the Piazzale Michelangelo, where we had been photographed almost 40 years ago when he last visited the city as part of a bus tour. What a great view we had that day! And what a beautiful city Florence is!

Another view of Florence

The façade of Santa Maria Novella

On school trips, I had traveled to the city twice in the past two years, so we decided on this visit to focus on sites that I had not seen. My top priority was to see Santa Maria Novella, a beautiful church I had twice passed, but not entered during both my visits. It is the third most visited church in the city, but anywhere else, it would be number one. It was well worth the price of admission.

My sign on the floor 

The interior of Santa Maria Novella

This church is called "novella" because it is the "new" church built in the 13th and 14th century where an older building once existed. It is full of treasures. One of the first things we noticed were the signs of the zodiac embedded into the floor, a reminder of the connection between religion and astrology in medieval times.

Circular window at Santa Maria Novella

A view to the ceiling of Santa Maria Novella

The Filippo Strozzi Chapel

More spectacular were the windows and the frescoes in the nave of the church. We saw many beautiful art pieces created by Florentine artisans; one chapel in particular stood out–the Filippo Strozzi. The frescoes there inspired the framing story of Boccaccio's Decameron.

Part of the cloister

The Spanish Chapel

The former chapter house of the church, better known as the Spanish Chapel, lies next to the Green cloister. Designed as a funerary chapel, it is decorated from top to bottom with beautiful frescoes of intense colours. Very impressive!

Great clothes

Colourful Florentines in front of the Palazzo Vecchio

From Santa Maria Novella, we strolled towards the centre of the city. At the Piazza della Signoria, we stopped to watch a parade; men and women in colourful Renaissance attire, some on horseback, marched right in front of us. Later that day, we saw some of these same people jousting in a ring in front of Santa Croce.

The Duomo

The campanile in front of the Duomo

Of course we stopped for a few minutes at the Duomo before heading towards unexplored territory. It is much more beautiful in the sunlight than it is in the rain, as I last saw it in February.

San Marco's statue stands in front of the church with the same name.

The interior of Santissima Annunziata

We visited two more churches in the north part of the city, San Marco and Santissima Annunziata; while not as spectacular as the more famous ones of the city, they are nonetheless quite lovely in their own way. The former has a façade from the 18th century, making it much more modern than the other churches we visited. The latter's claim to fame is that pilgrims go there to visit a miraculous painting, often leaving votive candles.

Piazza Santissima Annunziata with the Ospedale degli Innocenti in the background 

The jousting arena in front of Santa Croce.

On another side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata is the Ospedale degli Innocenti, where abandoned children were often left on the doorstep in the 15th century. It is a beautifully proportioned building, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. From there, we headed to Santa Croce, where we witnessed the joust I mentioned earlier.

The Yellow bar; a reliable spot to eat.

A toast to Florence.

By then, it was past 18:00 so we decided to have an early dinner before returning to our home away from home. It took us a while to find the Yellow Bar, a spot we always frequent on school trips where my favourite Florentine guide is the maitre d', but eventually we found it.  As expected, Elvio was there and took good care of us– and our meal was delicious.

Hercules and Cacus statue in front of the Palazzo Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio

Sated and rested, we made our way back to our car, stopping to take photos along the way in the golden light of evening. Florence's statues, buildings and bridges never looked better than they did at this moment!

Relief on a column.

Ciao Florence. You are lovely.