October 12, 2003 - Siena
We woke at 7A. Breakfast was good - this hotel's buffet includes eggs and Italian bacon, which is saltier and seasoned with pepper.
I finished A History of Sparta this morning while Aviva showered; I've started Angels & Demons by Dan Brown.
Along the walk from the hotel we found a sculpture of the mascot of Siena, a she-wolf.
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The
she-wolf suckling two children, the mascot for Siena |
We tried to get into the synagogue in Siena - unfortunately is Sukot so they aren't allowing visitors. We then went over to the Palazzo Publico, which used to be the public building of Siena and now houses, in the attached Museo Civico, an art collection and has wonderful frescoes decorating the walls.
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The
Palazzo Publico from inside the courtyard |
One
of the doors at the Palazzo Publico |
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The
ticket for the Museo Civico |
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The Palazzo Publico is right on the Campo, the large amphitheater-like area in the middle of town. There are lots of pizzarias and gellato stands around the Campo.
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Detail
of a snake attached to pillars around the Campo |
We ate lunch at La Torre, a small restaurant across from the Palazzo Publico. It was quite good - we asked the waiter for a menu and he pointed to himself!
We spent the rest of the day in the environs around the Duomo. The facade is perhaps nicer than the facade of the Duomo in Florence. We couldn't go inside because they had services and a performance; we'll try tomorrow. We did visit the Bapistry, which has a cool ceiling fresco, and the two museums, Santa Maria della Scala and Museo dell 'Opera, one with a show of work by Duccio and the other with stonework from the Duomo (reproductions are installed now on the outside so the original sculptures don't deteriorate further). The Duccio show was nice, as it included works by people that influenced Duccio and those that he influenced. Duccio was a important artist in the growth of the gothic style in Siena.
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The
dead re-arising from the Bapistry at the Duomo |
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The
ticket for the Duccio show |
Of course we saw various small shrines on walls along the way. We ate dinner at a small place near the hotel, which was superb; the cheese-filled gnocchi in an herb-cream sauce was to die for (I wish I had the card for them - the food was wonderful).
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Yet
another small wall shrine along one of the streets |
We went back to our room and slept for the night.