Siena, Italian capital of the Middle Ages, lies amongst
ancient hills moulded out of age-old tufa and cradled
between the Val d’Elsa and the Valdarbia. Legend
has it that Senio and Aschio, the sons of Remus, founded
Siena although the town really has Etruscan and Roman
origins. The town’s structure was laid down during
the late medieval period when the three hill districts
of Città, Camollia and San Martino came together.
After the Lombards, bishops and consoles had come and
gone, Siena became a place of merchants and craftsmen
and grew powerful on a colourful trade in textiles, spices,
perfumes saffron, wines and waxes. Its flourishing past
is evident in the magnificence of the walled town centre.
Siena’s fine homes still stand as monuments to
its wealthy former denizens. The town’s fabulous
squares of heady proportion and the intensely religious
nature of its Romanesque-Gothic churches bear witness
to a scale of artistic endeavour unique in the world.
But misfortune struck in the 14th-c.: famine and the
black death decimated the people of Siena and brought
their town to its knees. Siena was a broken city and
lost its independence. Giangaleazzo Visconti, Pandolfo
Petrucci, the Spaniards under the rule of Charles V and
lastly Cosimo I de’ Medici prevailed and mastered
the city. This brought about a terrible economic crisis
that ended only in the 18th c. with the arrival of the
Lorrainese. Nowadays Siena is a paradise for tourists.
A spell seems to have been cast over the town and its
inhabitants, because they are the only people in Italy
who still observe an ancient and traditional feast day
purely for their own pleasure: all their own proud feelings
of citizenship are invested in the Palio.
A visit to Siena is like journeying backwards through
time: walking through the picturesque alleyways surrounding
the famous Piazza del Campo, everything seems to have
remained much as it would have been in medieval times,
when the city enjoyed its greatest artistic and civil
splendour. The medieval atmosphere lives again particularly
during the Palio, the traditional horse race, which is
held in the Piazza del Campo on 2 July and 16 August
every year. Preceded by a historic cortege and procession
in costume, the race itself lasts little more than a
minute, but all the symbolism and spectacle of ancient
tournaments is concentrated within it, and it is closely
followed by the Sienese and the thousands of tourists
who come to watch it every year. The magnificent Piazza
del Campo in which it is held is one of the finest city
spaces in Europe, with its unusual shell-like shape uniting
the different levels formed by the conjunction of the
three hills on which the city was founded.
Strolling...
From the Campo to the Duomo
The appeal of this itinerary is that it traces the magnificence
of Siena in its greatest period, the 13th to the mid-14th
c. when its civic power and religious life were at their
height. The Piazza del Campo was the civic heart of the
city state, and its monuments celebrate the Sienese power
of the golden era. The Palazzo Publico is a fine example
of secular Gothic architecture enhanced by its magnificent
tower, the Torre del Mangia, and the Cappella di Piazza
at its foot. The shell-like shape of the Campo is lined
with noble palazzos surrounding it like a crown, while
at the highest point is the celebrated Fonte Gaiai (Fountain
of Joy), the masterpiece of Jacopo Della Quercia, built
on the site of an earlier fountain serving the piazza.
The harmonious beauty of the impressive Duomo is captivating
and it contains many superb works of art. In the Museo
dell’opera Metropolitana, the originals of the
statues by Giovanni Pisano which used to decorate the
facade of the Duomo may be seen, as well as an absolute
masterpiece, the Virgin in Majesty by Duccio di Buoninsegna.
From the Loggia della Mercanzia to Sant’Agostino
This route is a journey backwards in time through the ‘living
medieval city’ of Siena. It starts at the Loggia
della Mercanzia, whose elegant architecture recalls the
mercantile power of the city, and it ends at the church
of Sant’Agostino, which dates from the 13th c.
The route follows the Via di Città, in which there
are numerous glimpses of history and the beauty of ancient
Siena. The high point of the walk is the Pinacoteca Nazionale,
a picture gallery in which the visitor is immersed completely
in the painting of the great Sienese school from its
origins to the Renaissance.
From the Croce del Travaglio to San Francesco and the
Fonte Branda
The historic centre of Siena concedes little to the modern;
indeed the city was the first in Europe to to take steps
to preserve its historic environment by closing the centre
to traffic in 1966. Nonetheless, this itinerary allows
the enjoyment of some limited concessions to the world
of today. The route mainly follows the Via Banchi di
Sopra, a lively, crowded street filled with beautiful
aristocratic palazzos, delightful cafés and historic
patisseries. As a counterpoint to the worldliness of
the noisiest, most elegant street in Siena, the tour
visits important religious landmarks including the church
of San Francesco, the Oratory of San Bernardino, the
church of San Domenico and the Sanctuary of Saint Catherine.
Siena Wines
The symbolic gatehouse to the kingdom of Brunello is
without doubt the a magnificent city. The cradle of Italian
art on the old pilgrim route from France to Rome, the
Via Francigena. Leaving Siena by the south the route
then winds towards Murlo, Pienza, to Montalcino itself.
Amidst the Crete, the unique landscape of sandy hills
eroded into shape by antediluvian waters, the old fortress
of Montalcino is the last outpost of Sienese territory
before reaching the woods of the Maremma and the heights
of Monte Amiata. This is the setting for one of Italy’s
most famous and most important wines.
Wines:
*Brunello di Montalcino
*Moscadello di Montalcino
(See wine review below)
Brunello di Montalcino - Toscana
Produced only in the commune of Montalcino, province
of Siena.
Characteristics
Grapes: Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello) 100%. Production:
7,750,000 bottles per year. Deep, ruby red with orange
reflections; typical, rich full bouquet with clear hints
of vanilla and violets; dry, austere, rich in alcohol,
moderately tannic and well balanced. Minimum: 12.5°.
Obligatory ageing for 4 years of which 3 must be in barrel.
Entitled to Riserva denomination with 5 years’ ageing.
History
Brunello is a relatively recent invention; in fact, it
was created and launched on the international markets
only at the end of the 19th century.
Often at its best between the sixth and eighth year of
ageing, but good examples can be aged for up to 20 years.
Bottles must be kept horizontally in cool dark cellars;
best taken back to the producers’ cellars every
ten years for re-corking and re-capsuling. Uncork several
hours before consumption; better still if decanted and
served at room temperature (about 18-20 °C). Excellent
with roast meats, game and aged cheeses.
Moscadello di Montalcino - Toscana
Produced in the commune of Montalcino, province of Siena.
Characteristics
Grapes: Moscato Bianco 85-100%. Production: 170,000 bottles.
Produced only in the commune of Montalcino, province
of Siena. Straw yellow in colour; typical delicate and
fresh bouquet; sweetly aromatic on the palate, like all
Moscato-based wines. Minimum: 10.5° (of which at
least one quarter in residual sugar). Also made in a
semi-sparkling version and as a Late Harvest wine.
Traditional Tuscan dessert wine, made DOC in 1984, and
considered a perfect after-dinner drink to go with cantuccini
and other dunking biscuits.
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