After our two wonderful days in Florence, we wistfully headed south, towards Siena, where we were supposed to stay the next couple of nights.
On the way to Siena, we decided to do a stopover in San Gimignano, a famous Tuscan medieval town. San Gimignano was founded all the way back in Etruscan times, and is these days mostly famous as one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Tuscany (which, considering the amount of medieval towns there are in this corner of the world, is quite a feat), and especially for its numerous towers (14 remain), which adorns its sky-line. We were a bit fearful of being overwhelmed by tourist masses, considering this was august, and Tuscany… The fact that all the car parks next to the town centre itself were full didn’t really alleviate our concerns… Anyway, after a healthy hike up from the out-of-town car park, we finally entered the city, and braved the tourist masses. It’s a real pity, actually, about the mass tourism. For me there is limited pleasure visiting a place like this, when the tourists outnumber the locals about 20:1 (at least Florence is a big city, so the tourists never quite take over). Beautiful though this town is. We pretty quickly left the overcrowded main squares and strolled around the side-streets instead. And did get a great panorama over the tower-dotted skyline from a ruined monastery/manor just above town. I’m sure San Gimignano is a lovely place in the evening (when most of tourists are gone), or off season. But we just didn’t get the most out of it, I’m afraid.
The next stop on the way to Siena was Val d’Elsa, which had been recommended in our guide book. And it was definitely a kind of pleasant experience after San Gimignano and Monteriggioni. It’s not quite as picturesque as either of those places, but picturesque enough, and it has a much more authentic feel to it. Basically, there are no tourists (er, apart from us…). So, a quick panini snack lunch, and a pleasant stroll around the desert streets of Val d’Elsa put us back in good spirits, as we carried on towards Siena.
On the way there, we spotted a rather stunning-seeming village perched on top of a hill, which turned out to be Monteriggioni. It is just the perfect image of a medieval village (with it’s intact city walls, and turrets), in the middle of classic Tuscan landscapes. We obviously had to visit. Compared to the exterior, the interior of the village is a tad disappointing. It’s actually a very small place, the city walls just makes it seem like a more imposing place than it really is. Without the tourists, I’m sure it would be an absolutely lovely place. But alas, the tourists were well present… So, we rather quickly moved on, having checked out the city walls and eaten a slightly disappointing ice cream.
Siena is, after Florence, the other absolutely-must-see place in Tuscany (historically they have always been rivals, with Siena mostly playing second fiddle). I’d not actually heard so much about Siena (as opposed to Florence), so for me the place was a real revelation. After checking in (this time we were located outside the historic centre – turns out there are actually quite few hotels inside the historic centre), we headed out to explore the cobbled streets of Siena. Siena is, for me, almost like the perfect medieval city. Its rather large historic centre is pretty much perfectly preserved (you basically won’t find any moderns building there at all). It has quite a different feel to Florence, actually. Florence to me is quintessentially Italian, colorful and chaotic in that charming, Italian way. Siena seems more restrained, more orderly. The streets are immaculately clean, lined up by the stern townhouses. We naturally headed out to check the most famous square in Siena; the Piazza del Campo. It is rather a stunning square, and rather unusual too, in that it’s half-circular in shape, and slopes down towards the straight edge (where the imposing Palazzo Publico and its Torre di Mangia overlook the square). This is where the famous horse race, Palio di Siena, takes place twice a year (the latter one of them actually took place yesterday!).
We rounded off a pretty much perfect day with a meal at a very nice, rough and tumble kind of restaurant behind the Piazza del Campo. It was quite a big place, and full of tourists (not all of them foreign, though), but we liked the straightforward and friendly service, good and hearty food, and the bill didn’t hurt that badly afterwards.
The next day, we got up bright and early, as we were planning on doing a bit of hiking. The hike we had selected in the book “Walking and Eating in Tuscany” we had acquired (twice, actually, since I had left the one we bought in advance in France, so we had to re-purchase it in Florence) was one around Lamole. Lamole is located in Chianti, the famous wine-making region which I think needs no introduction (it’s handily located between Florence and Siena). The drive up to Lamole was pretty sublime, the views over the rolling hills very much living up to the promise of postcards and pictures we’d seen of Chianti. Lamole itself is a tiny little village, with nothing much of interest apart from a small church and a restaurant, where we planned to lunch later. After booking the table, we headed off… The circular walk took us through some vineyards (once more offering some pretty nice classic Chianti views), but mostly kept us on forested tracks. We walked past Monte San Michele (which is apparently the highest “mountain” in Chianti), and then back to Lamole. All in all, the hike was perhaps a bit disappointing from a scenery point of view (we didn’t really see any of the “stunning views” our guide book talked about – those parts of the path always seemed to be covered by trees and bushes), but of course it’s always nice to get out and about in the nature.
Nothing negative to say about the meal we had in the restaurant back in Lamole, though. In fact, it was pretty sublime. The antipasti, starters, mains, deserts, everything was pretty much perfect. And the Chianti Classico we had with the food was just right, as well. It was also nice to see the chef actually took an interest in his customers, and came over for a chat. We were captivated enough to acquire a couple of bottles of Chianti Classico as well as some vinegar, in the restaurant shop.
Our stomachs filled, we continued our drive through the beautiful scenery, making for Greve in Chianti, the principal town in the Chianti district. We mostly came here since it’s supposed to be a great place to buy some of that famous Chianti Charcuterie, and wine of course. With this in mind, we did what most other tourists do, we went to Antica Macelleria Falorni, the most famous place in town for those tasty Tuscan sausages. Touristy or not, I’ve never seen such a tasty collection of charcuterie in my life – I was well impressed. We naturally purchased some local specialties, and acquired a couple of more bottles of wine as well…
We drove back to Siena, very happy again with our day. We spent the evening walking around Siena – we hadn’t quite seen everything the day before (the historic centre of Siena is actually quite spread out, and the fact that it’s built on a few hills (I can’t remember on how many, now) means a fair bit of descent/ascent is required. The more and more we walked around the place, the more the place grew on me. I guess there are less things to see than in Florence (although there is plenty), but I would say Siena is almost as much of a must-see attraction as Florence. We also noticed that in one particular part of Siena, all the houses had flags out – we figured it was maybe the quarter which had won the Palio which had taken place just two days earlier. Our suspicions were confirmed, as a procession walked past us, carrying the Palio (the Palio is also the name of the race trophy, a kind of piece of silk). Pretty cool, all in all. We finished off the evening eating take-away pizza on the Piazza del Campo, watching the world go by.
After another good nights’ sleep, we got up again for a last visit of Siena, before carrying on towards Perugia. We decided it was finally time to actually go inside some of those magnificent building we’d walked by. The highlight was clearly the Duomo. Unlike the Duomo of Florence, this time the exterior of the Duomo was matched, or even superseded by the stunning interior. The place is simply amazing. Especially the intricate mosaics that cover the floor are really impressive, as is the Piccolomini Library with its frescos.
After a quick snack lunch, we sadly left Siena, heading towards Umbria. We made a brief stop-over in Pienza, another small cute town (which is mostly famous for its “perfect renaissance square), which spelt an end for the Tuscan leg of our journey. I guess we knew one week wouldn’t be enough to do justice to this beautiful part of the world, and this visit confirmed our suspicion. So we will surely be back…
On the way to Siena, we decided to do a stopover in San Gimignano, a famous Tuscan medieval town. San Gimignano was founded all the way back in Etruscan times, and is these days mostly famous as one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Tuscany (which, considering the amount of medieval towns there are in this corner of the world, is quite a feat), and especially for its numerous towers (14 remain), which adorns its sky-line. We were a bit fearful of being overwhelmed by tourist masses, considering this was august, and Tuscany… The fact that all the car parks next to the town centre itself were full didn’t really alleviate our concerns… Anyway, after a healthy hike up from the out-of-town car park, we finally entered the city, and braved the tourist masses. It’s a real pity, actually, about the mass tourism. For me there is limited pleasure visiting a place like this, when the tourists outnumber the locals about 20:1 (at least Florence is a big city, so the tourists never quite take over). Beautiful though this town is. We pretty quickly left the overcrowded main squares and strolled around the side-streets instead. And did get a great panorama over the tower-dotted skyline from a ruined monastery/manor just above town. I’m sure San Gimignano is a lovely place in the evening (when most of tourists are gone), or off season. But we just didn’t get the most out of it, I’m afraid. The next stop on the way to Siena was Val d’Elsa, which had been recommended in our guide book. And it was definitely a kind of pleasant experience after San Gimignano and Monteriggioni. It’s not quite as picturesque as either of those places, but picturesque enough, and it has a much more authentic feel to it. Basically, there are no tourists (er, apart from us…). So, a quick panini snack lunch, and a pleasant stroll around the desert streets of Val d’Elsa put us back in good spirits, as we carried on towards Siena.
On the way there, we spotted a rather stunning-seeming village perched on top of a hill, which turned out to be Monteriggioni. It is just the perfect image of a medieval village (with it’s intact city walls, and turrets), in the middle of classic Tuscan landscapes. We obviously had to visit. Compared to the exterior, the interior of the village is a tad disappointing. It’s actually a very small place, the city walls just makes it seem like a more imposing place than it really is. Without the tourists, I’m sure it would be an absolutely lovely place. But alas, the tourists were well present… So, we rather quickly moved on, having checked out the city walls and eaten a slightly disappointing ice cream.
Siena is, after Florence, the other absolutely-must-see place in Tuscany (historically they have always been rivals, with Siena mostly playing second fiddle). I’d not actually heard so much about Siena (as opposed to Florence), so for me the place was a real revelation. After checking in (this time we were located outside the historic centre – turns out there are actually quite few hotels inside the historic centre), we headed out to explore the cobbled streets of Siena. Siena is, for me, almost like the perfect medieval city. Its rather large historic centre is pretty much perfectly preserved (you basically won’t find any moderns building there at all). It has quite a different feel to Florence, actually. Florence to me is quintessentially Italian, colorful and chaotic in that charming, Italian way. Siena seems more restrained, more orderly. The streets are immaculately clean, lined up by the stern townhouses. We naturally headed out to check the most famous square in Siena; the Piazza del Campo. It is rather a stunning square, and rather unusual too, in that it’s half-circular in shape, and slopes down towards the straight edge (where the imposing Palazzo Publico and its Torre di Mangia overlook the square). This is where the famous horse race, Palio di Siena, takes place twice a year (the latter one of them actually took place yesterday!).We rounded off a pretty much perfect day with a meal at a very nice, rough and tumble kind of restaurant behind the Piazza del Campo. It was quite a big place, and full of tourists (not all of them foreign, though), but we liked the straightforward and friendly service, good and hearty food, and the bill didn’t hurt that badly afterwards.
The next day, we got up bright and early, as we were planning on doing a bit of hiking. The hike we had selected in the book “Walking and Eating in Tuscany” we had acquired (twice, actually, since I had left the one we bought in advance in France, so we had to re-purchase it in Florence) was one around Lamole. Lamole is located in Chianti, the famous wine-making region which I think needs no introduction (it’s handily located between Florence and Siena). The drive up to Lamole was pretty sublime, the views over the rolling hills very much living up to the promise of postcards and pictures we’d seen of Chianti. Lamole itself is a tiny little village, with nothing much of interest apart from a small church and a restaurant, where we planned to lunch later. After booking the table, we headed off… The circular walk took us through some vineyards (once more offering some pretty nice classic Chianti views), but mostly kept us on forested tracks. We walked past Monte San Michele (which is apparently the highest “mountain” in Chianti), and then back to Lamole. All in all, the hike was perhaps a bit disappointing from a scenery point of view (we didn’t really see any of the “stunning views” our guide book talked about – those parts of the path always seemed to be covered by trees and bushes), but of course it’s always nice to get out and about in the nature. 
Nothing negative to say about the meal we had in the restaurant back in Lamole, though. In fact, it was pretty sublime. The antipasti, starters, mains, deserts, everything was pretty much perfect. And the Chianti Classico we had with the food was just right, as well. It was also nice to see the chef actually took an interest in his customers, and came over for a chat. We were captivated enough to acquire a couple of bottles of Chianti Classico as well as some vinegar, in the restaurant shop.Our stomachs filled, we continued our drive through the beautiful scenery, making for Greve in Chianti, the principal town in the Chianti district. We mostly came here since it’s supposed to be a great place to buy some of that famous Chianti Charcuterie, and wine of course. With this in mind, we did what most other tourists do, we went to Antica Macelleria Falorni, the most famous place in town for those tasty Tuscan sausages. Touristy or not, I’ve never seen such a tasty collection of charcuterie in my life – I was well impressed. We naturally purchased some local specialties, and acquired a couple of more bottles of wine as well…
We drove back to Siena, very happy again with our day. We spent the evening walking around Siena – we hadn’t quite seen everything the day before (the historic centre of Siena is actually quite spread out, and the fact that it’s built on a few hills (I can’t remember on how many, now) means a fair bit of descent/ascent is required. The more and more we walked around the place, the more the place grew on me. I guess there are less things to see than in Florence (although there is plenty), but I would say Siena is almost as much of a must-see attraction as Florence. We also noticed that in one particular part of Siena, all the houses had flags out – we figured it was maybe the quarter which had won the Palio which had taken place just two days earlier. Our suspicions were confirmed, as a procession walked past us, carrying the Palio (the Palio is also the name of the race trophy, a kind of piece of silk). Pretty cool, all in all. We finished off the evening eating take-away pizza on the Piazza del Campo, watching the world go by.
After another good nights’ sleep, we got up again for a last visit of Siena, before carrying on towards Perugia. We decided it was finally time to actually go inside some of those magnificent building we’d walked by. The highlight was clearly the Duomo. Unlike the Duomo of Florence, this time the exterior of the Duomo was matched, or even superseded by the stunning interior. The place is simply amazing. Especially the intricate mosaics that cover the floor are really impressive, as is the Piccolomini Library with its frescos.After a quick snack lunch, we sadly left Siena, heading towards Umbria. We made a brief stop-over in Pienza, another small cute town (which is mostly famous for its “perfect renaissance square), which spelt an end for the Tuscan leg of our journey. I guess we knew one week wouldn’t be enough to do justice to this beautiful part of the world, and this visit confirmed our suspicion. So we will surely be back…
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