June 9, 2007
Rick Steves says that "Siena seems to be every Italy connoisseur's favorite pet town."
For those of you who don't know (me included until I read Rick Steves), Siena was Florence's archrival during the Middle Ages. Its population of 60,000 people put it larger than Paris during the fourteenth century. However, the Black Death of 1348 ravaged the town and killed more than a third of the population. Florence conquered the city in the 1550s, and "its political and economic irrelevance pickled the city in a purely medieval brine." In other words, the city is perfect--as beautiful as Florence, it has only 60,000 people compared to Florence's 420,000. It IS Florence, just without the crowds.
We hopped on a bus at eight and headed the two hours to Siena, where we took in the Piazza Il Campo, the Duomo, the Museo dell'Opera, the crypt, the Baptistry, and the Chiesa di San Domenico. The Piazza is where the crayon gets the name "Burnt Siena"--the bricks are the same color of the city's soil. Within the piazza (the most beautiful square in Europe, according to Rick) is the Fonte Gaia, the Fountain of Joy (you know it!). It supposedly inspired Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, especially where God reaches out to Adam.
The Duomo is the most beautiful church I have ever seen in my life. Made of marbles in whites and deep greens, the walls reach high above your head and the beautiful floor has reliefs depicting New Testament scenes, allegories, and other stories. Along the nave's upper part are the heads of 172 popes peering down at the crowds (however, the same four faces are repeated over and over again--somebody got lazy!). Florence may be the home of Renaissance art, but Siena also houses works by Michelangelo, Bernini, Donatello, and Duccio. Pretty awesome!
The Museo wasn't anything spectacular, except for the understated doorway at the end of the Byzantine statues room--it leads up a teeny tiny staircase onto a spectacular walkway with a view of the entire city. Don't ignore the staircase, because it is definitely one of the most rewarding things in Siena. The crypt was worthless and the Baptistry had incense in it that would give a man with a cold a migraine, so we left those pretty quick.
Becca Lewis, an English major at Meredith, met us in Siena for the afternoon. She had spent a semester in Ferrara, and her host family hooked her up with a family about 2 hours from Siena. She now lives in a castle and teaches the family English. Um, can I have that job? Please? She had coffee and gelato with us, and she took us to the Chiesa di San Domenico, which houses the head of St. Catherine. St. Catherine is the patron saint of Europe because she brought Pope Gregory XI back from Avignon to Rome and healed the Great Schism. Born to a Sienese cloth dyer, she was the youngest of twenty-five children (ouch!), and she became a nun at the age of sixteen after having spiritual visions. She received stigmata during Lent in 1375. The Chiesa now houses her thumb, the chain she used to flagellate herself, and her head. The head sits in the back of a small side chapel, a light underneath illuminating how small and odd the thing looks. It just sits there, harmlessly and rather creepily, and tour groups huddle around it in fascination as little boys try to jump over the railing and get smacked on the head. I amused myself for a good few minutes watching them and the head.
If you ever go to Italy, you have to visit Siena. Wear good shoes, though--the place is as hilly as Anghiari and not nearly so small.
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2 commenti:
Do not miss the Crypt if you love and cherish art. We are fortunate it was discovered in our lifetimes. I just returned form Siena Jan. 19, 2008. Lack of crowds made it heavenly, esp. climbing the narrow staircases of the Museo and the La Mangia Tower in the Campo. I think crowds would have made it a nightmare. As for creepy/cool stuff, the Museo of the gorgeous Duomo has loads of reliquaries stuffed with sacred bones and skulls. Who knows whose? If you really want to understand what's going on in the museums, you absolutely MUST get a detailed guidebook and brush up on your Latin. Otherwise, just breeze thru and look at the pretty pictures. There are no detailed notes as in most world class museums. My husband thinks it's because they want to keep the traffic moving. Could be.
Be sure to brush up on your Latin before entering the Duomo! The "pavement," as the floor art is called, is all in Latin---or you can just admire the artistry. The Museo (with the splendid view), also houses many reliquaries holding anonymous (to me, anyway) bones and skulls. Again, fascinating to kids and appalling to non-Catholics. Don't miss the Crypt if you are an art lover. They give you an audiophone to explain how the whole thing got there. It's not a crypt at all! We are fortunate that it was uncovered in our lifetimes. From the cathedral above---the Duomo---, you can see down into the Crypt, but to see the amazing frescoes you must actually go down. Also on the Campo is the La Mangia Tower, another, more difficult climb, with a swell view.
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