A Taste of Tuscany

Siena, Florence and San Gimignano

It was another early start today (leaving at 7.30 am) as we travelled north by bus to the picturesque medieval town of Siena. Only local traffic is permitted in the little villages in Tuscany so we always park the bus outside the city, pay the city entrance toll and walk the rest of the way. We strolled up through the cobbled streets to the white striped cathedral. It is a great example of Romanesque architecture. The town originally intended to make it the largest cathedral in existence but after building the east wall the money ran out and the building was never finished!

Siena is probably more famous for its famous Palio horse race which takes place twice a year (in July and August) in the town square. Each area of the town has its own animal symbol and the race is quite a wild and dangerous one. Followed by great festivities. Later on the winning horse is even allowed to enter the church!

This is the “Fountain of Joy” in the Piazza del Campo (there are lots of pigeons to look out for in Italy).

It has been quite warm (30 degrees) so our theme has changed from a daily coffee and cake to a daily gelato – every day we try a different flavour!

We then continued through the cypress clad hills, olive groves and vineyards of Tuscany to Florence. It looks a bit like home really.

Florence (or Firenze in Italian) was once the capital of the Kingdom of Italy but now is the capital city of Tuscany. It is famous for the birthplace of Italian Renaissance and so is famous for its art and architecture. Here we met our tour guide Anna, who spoke passionately about her city. It is difficult to know what to photograph as there are so many beautiful churches and sculptures around.

We went into the Accademia where our guide showed us the unfinished Slaves that Michelangelo had sculpted. You could see how brilliant he was by imagining a person inside the marble and then chipping away to let that person out. Then we saw the beautiful statue of David! First we had to look at his eyes; he had that look of triumph as he had just conquered Goliath. We noticed that his hands, feet and head were out of proportion (much larger) and the guide explained that this work was originally commissioned to be placed on top of a building and so the artist made these body parts larger so that they could be more easily seen. However the work was so beautiful it was placed in the town square so everyone could see it. Now it is protected in the museum and a copy is in the square. Michelangelo studied human anatomy so he correctly sculpted the muscles, veins and other details of a young man.

The town square is decorated with many other sculptures. In the church we saw the crypt of Michelangelo and Galileo which again were beautifully decorated. Not sure how we feel about bodies being buried in the church but it was a custom in those days for famous people!

After that we had a bit of free time to browse through the stores. Most of us headed down to get a gelato and sit down and relax.

We then headed to our hotel (Sheraton) nice and roomy (most Italian hotels have very small rooms and small twin beds)!

The next day was not quite so early start (9am) to visit San Gimignano which is a small walled medieval hilltop town. It is mainly famous for its medieval architecture especially its towers , which may be seen from several miles outside the town.

In Italian medieval walled towns, rich families competed in the erection of high towers , which served as lodgings, fortresses, and prestige symbols. San Gimignano has managed to conserve thirteen towers of varying height which have become its international symbol (sometimes called the Manhattan of Tuscany).

It was a very pretty town with lots of magnificent views of the rolling patchwork hills and many speciality shops. This is where they filmed “Tea with Mussolini”, and “Under the Tuscan Sun”. Our guide (Cyndy) took us into one store where we sampled wild boar salami (YUMMY!) and the local white wine, Vernaccia (OK).

We were pretty pooped so we went back to the hotel for lunch and then relaxed by the pool in the afternoon.

Later we had a special night out to a farm in Tuscany. It was truly a magnificent evening, starting with a appertivo before tasting the local wines (Chianti)

and much food – antipasto, bean soup, HUGE T-bone steaks and veges and dessert. We had beautiful musical accompaniment by a classical guitarist and an Italian opera singer who had just returned from a stint in Melbourne, Andrea Rolo.

Click play button to hear Andrea sing

Our Group getting ready to enjoy the Tuscan feast.