Siena

Once upon a medieval time, Siena was Florence's archrival. It was a political and military powerhouse, a center for banking and trade, and with a population of 60,000, it had more residents than Paris.




In 1960, Siena was the first city in Europe to eliminate automibile traffic from its main square. The square and its buildings are the color of the soil they are built upon, known to artist and Crayola-users as "Burnt Sienna." 



We shared a picnic on the sunny square of "Il Campo", or what we called the "brick beach."

We loved these copper door panels to the church of St Catherine of Siena, a contemporary version of copper, church panels made popular by artists in Renaissance times.

(As true of so many historic places in Italy, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside of the church. So, you will have to come to Siena yourself to see Sophia and Josephine's favorite sight: the relic head of St. Catherine!)

 

                               We had fun exploring the steep and narrow streets of Siena,

where pedestrians have the pick of parking spots! 

We discovered one of the most amazing views we've seen so far of Tuscany from the roof of the Duomo museum, a trip worth every step of the spiral-stair, turret-climb to the top!

(As you can tell, Siena sits on top of a hill. It is just 35 miles from Florence, an easy day trip for us by bus or train.)

 Siena is full art, of course, elegant icons and scenes from its Renaissance heydays.

But for us, the masterpiece in Siena is its majestic Duomo!

The Duomo's Piccolomini Library is brilliantly frescoed and has never been restored. It helped us imagine what church life must have been like in Renaissance times: colorful and distracting!

Imagine singing hymns from this illuminated manuscript... 



...or peering upward from a pew and through this hole in the dome;





looking at the faces of 172 popes above a forest of giant, striped columns,

or bowing your head towards the inlaid marble art on the floor.



The oldest bank in Italy is in Siena, reminding us of its important past.

Although its population remains at 60,000 residents today (compared to the 420,000 in Florence), Siena continues to rival Florence as a favorite place to visit in Italy. After our visits to Siena this year, we can see why!

Red, White, and Green

 Italy celebrated its 150 year anniversary of unification this week!

That's right. This land of early Etruscans, Roman ruins, medieval castles and Renaissance masterpieces is younger than the Unites States.



In Rome and throughout Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi is honored for his role as a military leader in forming the new country in 1861.



This past January, models of a dozen scenes were on display in Florence showing the various battles Garibaldi fought throughout the pennisula. 




This week, we found the red, white and green of the Italian flag everywhere, a symbol of Italian unity.

We've seen red, white and green fashion,

red, white and green street art,


 




                                                                  




 ...and red, white and green in almost every shop keeper's window!



The Italian flag flew across the streets and outside of windows and doors.



It hung alongside the flag of Japan, whose people have been in our hearts this week.

We were proud to fly the Italian flag from our apartment window. (Our apartment includes the 2 windows to the left and the 1 window to the right of the flag.)

And what's an Italian birthday party without gelato?

  

Buon compleanno, Italia!    Happy Birthady, Italy!



PISA



One day, Joe and the girls took off to enjoy a day in Pisa, which is an easy day trip from Florence by bus or train.



Pisa peaked in 1200 AD and was a major player in medieval times.

Sitting just 6 miles from the Mediterranean on the Arno River, Pisa was made a navy base as well as a sea-trading power by the Romans.

These days, Pisa is one of the lovely, Tuscan towns we explore and enjoy.

Like so many places we visit, there is a lot to see just walking down the street in Pisa. But there is nothing in Pisa quite like the sight of...



...The Leaning Tower.



Pisa prided itself on being independent of popes and emporers, and used its own sea-trading wealth to build three, grand monuments of the "Campo dei Miracoli," or, Field of Miracles. These monuments lie on the best lawn in Italy.





Built as the church bell tower, the Leaning Tower is one of these three monuments and important sights of Pisa.

Another of its monuments is the church cathredral, or Duomo. It is said that the hanging incense burner inside this church caught the attention of the teenage Galileo. A gust of wind set the burner swinging, giving the young Galileo opportunity to measure and time the pendulum motion. 

The most impressive sculpture in Pisa's huge, Romanesque cathedral is this famous and beautifully carved pulpit.

 

The Field of Miracles also holds important tombs, like this one of Henry VII from Germany, who was crowned Holy Roman Emporer by the pope iin 1312 and brought the promise of peace to warring Italy.



The third, important sight and monument in Pisa is this Baptistry,

                                       
                  Its stunning, bronze doors face the Tower and are illustrated with 24 scenes of the life of Christ.
                                   

                                        For the girls, the details of the monuments were beautiful to see...



...and sketch.





It took two centuries and at least three different architects to build the Tower. Just after they laid the first stones and arcade, the Tower began to lean from marshy, unstable soil. Over the centuries, many have tried to correct the lean and stop its slow-motion fall, including Joe.



He did what he could to stabilize the Tower, enough so that he and the girls could walk up its stairs to see the bells inside and the views all around.



 

It's hard not to get a great shot, or a great day, looking out from the Tower in Pisa...



...making days like this in Italy "easy Pisa."