Last weekend, our program headed to Siena, Italy on a day trip. Despite the rain, it was still a beautiful day (I mean, it is Italy!) and I really enjoyed the rich culture that is in Siena. First, we toured the Siena Duomo and the attached museum. When the church was being added on to, the Black Plague swept through Siena, causing so much death to the towns people that the construction of the addition came to a screeching hault. Today, the addition serves as a museum, housing many art and artifacts that were planned to be in the new bigger church. We didn't see everything in the museum with our tour, but we did see many frescos that I have learned about in my art history classes, so it was so awesome to see those in person!
We then made our way into the Duomo itself, and while I haven't been into the Duomo here in Florence I have heard that the Duomo in Siena is far for decorated and adorned on the interior. Siena and Florence have a rich competitive history, so it doesn't surprise me that Siena felt the need to take it up a notch. I have been to many churches in Europe, we went to so many last summer, but this one was by far the most beautiful church I have ever seen. Every inch of it was adorned and decorated, and it's sheer mass just left me in a state of awe.
We had a wonderful lunch treated to us by the head of the FSU Florence program (she has an exquisite taste in food!) and then we made our way to the city center area to tour the Pallazo Pubblico, a beautiful town hall. The interior frescos were just breathtaking, and the rich story they tell was so cool. One room housed frescos showing examples of good government and bad government, The Allegory of Good and Bad Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Its a beautiful piece of work, and what I love about art like this is how much of a story it tells-- just from one piece we know what the people of the time wore, what they lived like, what their values were, and their hopes and dreams. And of course, what they feared. In that same room, I finally noticed why the ceilings looked so familiar-- the whole tour I noticed they were different than the other ceilings I'd seen in Italy thus far, but I couldn't quite place my finger on why they looked familiar to me. Turns out the architects and designers were influenced by their neighbors in the north, and I had seen almost the same ceiling in Germany last summer! Small world, even back in medieval times.
The exterior of the Pallazo Pubblico is nothing special, but is very traditional medieval architecture. The fan-shaped square it sits in, the Piazza del Campo, is home to a very unique tradition. Twice a year, the districts, 17 "Contrade" of Siena get together for an incredible horse race, The Palio. Each Contrade has its unique emblem, colors, and mascot, and flags of each are seen while walking around the city. Just like many of us in the U.S. are born loving a sport team, the people of Siena live and breathe for their Contrade. The event takes place over 4 days, where horses are drawn out of a hat, jockeys are picked, trial runs are made, and the Piazza del Campo is prepared for the race. The winner of the race receives a large canvas to display victoriously in their part of town. Seems like a simple prize, but when the tradition dates back to the 6th century you don't really change a thing. On race day, everyone comes to the Piazza del Campo, and a parade occurs with traditional historical costume. After the sound of a firecracker, the jockeys are off, and after three laps around the Campo the winner is determined. A very narrow curve of San Martino proves to be a treacherous spot, where many horses and riders come plummeting to the ground. There is a great ESPN video about it, that shows just how deep the rivalry is between some of the Contrade.
Overall, touring Siena and hearing about its rich and unique history was quite fun, even if the weather wasn't great! I keep saying this, but if you ever get the chance to go, then definitely check out what Siena has to offer.
Ciao for now!
--Caroline
