Today we have taken things easy compared to the other days and focused on a single tourist site, Siena. It is a larger city than all the other places we visited and there were a lot more tourists. It has several well know places to visit like the Cathedral, The Palio horse races on the Piazza del Campo and the hospital Santa Maria della Scala. We strolled around there for several hours and though we didn’t go in to all of them (the tickets for the cathedral, for example, were unreasonably expensive), we saw most of them from the outside.

One of the most interesting ones was the slightly less know Basilica of San Domenico,  where the mumified head of Italy’s patron saint, Saint Catherine of Siena is on display in one of the alcoves. Sadly it was forbidden to take photos in there.  I also really liked the Piazza del Campo with it’s round shape sloping in towards the middle, and I guess the Palio horse races that take place there twice a year are really exciting. The frescoes in Santa Maria della Scala were also very impressive but the other exhibitions in there were a bit too much.

The Basilica of San Domenico

Siena Cathedral

  • Inside of Santa Maria della Scala
  • Piazza del Campo
  • The other side of Piazza del Campo
  • Palazzo Pubblico righ on the Pizza del Campo
  • Courtyard of the Palazzo Pubblico

I think by now I’ve seen enough of these quaint towns with their old houses and impressive churches; I was less active with the camera today so there are fewer pictures.  Anyway, after having seen most of the famous sights in Siena we headed back to the hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool, either swimming or just lying in one of the deck chairs looking out over the Tuscan landscape.