One of the towns I visited while in Tuscany was Siena. A beautiful town with a rich history, first settled in the time of the Etruscans (c. 900–400 BC) when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina. They still hold The Palio, which is a traditional medieval horse race run around the Piazza del Campo twice each year. The documentary about this race is a fascinating watch, it goes into the history of the race, the training, its superstars and the corruption involved. It is the only race where a horse can win without a rider! I do recommend watching it, should you decide to please note it can be tough in spots - people and horses do get injured.
My first photograph from Siena is the Torre del Mangia (below) dating back to 1338. A fun fact: The tower was built to be exactly the same height as Siena Cathedral as a sign that the church and the state had equal power. It was a bit of a hike to get up to the spot where this was taken but was worth it. Seeing the tower, well towering above the city and framed by the trees creates a window like view into this gorgeous city.
One of the other things I enjoyed about the city was that depending on what part of it you are in you will see these decorative lights on the buildings. As I understand it they represent the 17 contrade (wards) and each ward has a mascot. I couldn’t resist taking a snap of this one, the blues and the oranges with the blue of the sky is striking. I would love to go back in the evening to see these lit up. It is interesting that you can use these mascots to tell what part of the city you are in.
Before I went Siena, I went into the small town of San Gimignano, a walled medieval hill town. Walls and walls, and so many different levels. This particular wall caught my eye with it being topped with flowers.
What more could you want on a hot day but to find an artisan gelato shop in the middle of town. To be fair, its not too hard to find a gelato shop in Italy!
Mostly, I spent my time in and around the area I was staying. Taking multiple hikes around the country side with my camera, the below gallery is a few shots from those hikes.
There is one more set of photos to come from this trip, it is all about doors and discovering my fascination with them, a fascination I never knew I had.
this edition makes me want to travel!
I love the wall with flower pots!