Sienna (One of Italy's Great Cities)

There are few places in Italy (Or on earth for that matter) that in our opinion are more magical and charming than Sienna. This was the fifth time we visited the hilltop walled city in the past five years (We rented a villa two summers in row near Sienna and went there often). There is something about the ancientness of the city, the charm of its terracotta walls, the narrow, winding, and hilly cobblestone streets, that make it like visiting a fair tail. Few small towns have such unique history and tradition as well. This plus the fact that Kirk had never been to Sienna (And the fact that Grandma Gina happens to adore the city as well) made it a lay up shot for us to visit.

We decided this time to bring Alex along and although she is not an expert on Sienna, she certainly knows much more about its history than you will find by touring inside its walls on your own.

Sienna and its patrons fought two great battles with Florence in its history, the first in 1260 and the second (Which lasted 15 months) was during the rule of Cosimo the 1st in 1555. This final battle had much to do with the establishment of Florence’s supremacy in the Tuscan region. Today Sienna is the home of one of the greatest sporting spectacles on the planet “Il Palio”. This medieval horse race is run twice annually (July the 2nd and the 16th of August) and attracts people from all over the world to witness sport as it used to be! The race has been run twice a year for more than 800 years and pits ten horses against each other each time. There are many things that make the Palio unique from anything that you have ever seen. Here are some important facts:

Inside the walls of Sienna are 17 “Contrada” or neighborhoods as we would call them. Each neighborhood is comprised of approximately 1500 inhabitants.
Every year, each Contrada raises money to buy a horse with hopes that it will win the Palio.
Three days before the race a lottery is held and ten horses are drawn from ten different neighborhoods.
The race is run following a four and a half hour parade and is held in the famous Piazza called Il Campo. Il Campo is one of the great piazzas of Italy and all of Europe. Its bell tower alone is 88 meters high and towers over the city.
Il Campo is NOT a complete circle, in fact there are a couple of near dead right turns.
The starting line is a rope and the races begins with the firing of a gun. There are many false starts.
The winning horse is the one who circles the track three times and crosses the finish line first, EVEN IF IT DOES NOT HAVE A JOCKEY ON IT!
There is no such thing as second in this race! You either win first of you lose and disgrace your neighborhood

We went to the Palio in 2004 and it was to this day one of the greatest events I have ever witnessed. The raw emotion of the 30,000 people that packed themselves into every nook, cranny, balcony, window sill and alley to catch a glimpse of the race is like nothing we see in the states. The winning contrada is so happy when its over that they carry the jockey from the track and most are weeping in happiness as they march him back to their neighborhood to party all night long. The losers are more down than any fans I have ever seen. In fact Anna saw one fan actually punch the horse that came in second! When I said that Sienna has history, I meant it!

We spent an entire day walking the streets of Sienna, hanging out at Il Campo and visiting its amazing Cathedral. Following our tour the five or us had a great lunch at a local trattoria before heading back to Florence.