Siena

Siena

Siena is beautiful, hilly, Italian city. It also has a very unique history. The main piazza (Piazza del Campo) was made on a hill. It originally stayed as a field but there were many problems with flooding. It was decided that the piazza would be paved. A drain sits at the bottom apex of the piazza. It is quite a sight to see.

  For centuries Siena has held annual horse races. The city is divided in to  17 disticts that compete twice every summer, July 2nd and August 16th. The Campo is transformed into a racetrack and spectators crowed in the center to enjoy the race. Apparently these are highly competitive. The district that wins gets bragging rights for the rest of the year and they win a banner that is designed differently for each race. People will crowed the street and celebrate well into the night. We visited the Forest district., whose symbol is the rhino. Each district has its own church. This had the collection of all the banners the district has won and relics from the races. This video is italian, that race begins around 7:20.

Siena also had one of the most beautiful cathedrals we visited, the Duomo of Siena. This cathedral was built in the early 1200s and contains work from Donatello and many other artists. Words cannot describe awe of the black and white semi-gothic style structure.