ITALY, Day 7, July 14, 2011

ITALY, Day 7, July 14, 2011

Siena and San Gimignano today. Again, a warm, sticky night before, and more promise of hot weather. However, what to do but go and enjoy the slightly cooler temperatures of the Tuscan hill towns. Based in Florence still, we were off to Siena and San Gimignano.

In Siena, a local guide showed us the city’s marble cathedral and baptistery as well as the famous Campo, where the annual Palio horse race takes place. Myth attributes Siena’s origins to Senius and Acius, sons of Remus. That is why the she-wolf is the emblem of the city. In fact, Siena was founded by the Etruscans and re-founded as a Roman colony by Augustus. Over the course of the next millennium, it became an independent city, and during the 13^th and 14^th c., Gothic Siena was the richest city in Italy and one of the major cities of Europe. It was about the size of Paris, controlled most of southern Tuscany and its flourishing wool industry, dominated the trade routes from France to Rome, and maintained Italy’s richest banks. The city also developed a highly sophisticated civic life. The golden era reached its height with the defeat of a much superior Florentine army in 1260. The result was reversed 9 years later, and power was shifted to Florence. However, due to Siena’s merchants and middle class, the city had an unrivaled urban development. However, all this came to a screeching halt with the arrival of the Black Death, which reached Siena in 1348 and reduced the population from 100,000 to 30,000. Siege and another attack of the Black Death ensued in the next few centuries, and eventually Siena was given to the Florentines and Siena declined from a republican capital to little more than a market center. Little was built, and less was demolished.

Our first stop was the Duomo, a black/white marble structure. Dominating the hill on which it stands, and visible from many parts of the city, Siena’s Duomo is the focus of an ensemble of art and architecture. It was completed around 1215. Of particular interest to me was a whole room of Pinturrichios as well as some brilliantly illuminated music manuscripts.

After the Duomo, we were off to the stage-like Campo, as ever a focus of city life. As wee as its role as a marketplace for livestock and produce, it was the scene of executions, bullfights, communal boxing matches, and the Palio. The center of the square holds about 30,000 people, and the Palio takes place July 2 and August 16, so unfortunately we missed it. It is a 90-second race along the perimeter of the palio, between different “contrade” or sections of town, and competition is fierce. It does not matter whether or not the jockey makes it to the finish line—only the presence of the horse counts.

On Gloria’s advice, we stopped at a bakery on the Palio to pick up “ricciarelli,” a wonderful cookie native to the area, with a soft almond filling to die for. We also picked up salmon and cream cheese on a fresh-baked bun, and ate it on the bus, along with a Fanta (the drink of choice these days—I have several people hooked on it), and a peach.

We were off to San Gimignano for the second half of the day. It is another Tuscan hill town, and is well known for its dramatic skyline of huge medieval towers. Fourteen of the original 70 towers remain, a testament to rival families of the Middle Ages. It is probably the best known village in Italy and 27 km NW of Siena. Its towers were built by feuding nobles of the 12^th and 13^th c., and that sight evokes the appearance of medieval Tuscany more than any other sight. The town is well preserved, rural, and with a fine collection of religious and secular frescoes.

Again, like Siena, its wealth during the Middle Ages was great, as it was close to the Via Francigena, an ancient trading and pilgrimage route between Rome and N Europe. But family rivalries erupted, with their attendant vendettas. Eventually, the Black Death stopped all this madness, and San Gimignano also came under the sway of Florence. The town was hit by the Black Death in 1348, 1464, and 1631 and eventually became a kind of rural backwater. At the turn of the 19^th c., travelers spoke of San Gimignano as “miserably poor.” However, it has certainly been revived these days by the tourist trade. Flocks of tourists were traipsing everywhere, and it is undeniably atmospheric, with lots of little alleyways and hidden pockets of private gardens which gave the town an undeniably picturesque character. Nancy bought an Italian calendar, and I bought soap and a wonderful sandalwood cologne, both manufactured by an herbal pharmacy in the area.

After our excursion to both hill towns, we went to experience a wine tasting at the vineyard of Ternuta Torciano, which sports a sunflower field in front of the establishment, vineyards, olive trees, a swimming pool, resident geese and cats, and a wonderful and colorful vintner who had set several tables up to accommodate us all. On the table were two types of wine glasses, as well as plates of bread dipped in oil, salami, pecorino cheese, and potato chips. We tried one white as well as a dessert wine, three or four red wines. The bread came with virgin oil, and we tried truffle oil and balsamic vinegar as well. Several people ordered a stash, and by the end of the tasting, everyone got on the bus laughing and singing. On the way back to our hotel, people were telling jokes and continuing to laugh and sing, feeling no pain in the process.

What to do after such a high? We washed clothes, cramming everything into one washer, and feeling very punchy by the time we had to pack. Of course we couldn’t find anything and ran around searching for such odd things as glasses and keys, sweltering under the cruel and heartless humidity of a Florentine evening. I was ready to cry—I was that tired, but I collected myself long enough to pack. Fell into bed and into a dreamless (or so it seemed) sleep.