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It
is the city of the Virgin and of the so-called Balzana and it is divided
into two factions: the White and the Black. It is a city not fond of
mediocrity, just like its heraldic symbol witnesses. Siena is passionate
and contemplative, everlasting on the climb and sloping-down, clear and
dark. The red shade characterizing Piazza del Campo appear dazzling and
unexpected from the lanes
more narrow and precipitous. The Majesty by Duccio di Buoninsegna face
the one by Simone Martini while the Buongoverno by Lorenzetti and the
Pulpit by Nicola Pisano are hanging over your head. Domenico Beccafumi
and Rutilio Manetti's works are present in many churches. Propitiatory
singings bring to mind ancient rites and modern allegories down the
lanes, in the museums and in quarter
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oratories.
In the meantime the tramping provoked by soles on the empty pavement is
by right counterpoint of the tranquillity characterizing the green
valley prudently enclosed in the town-wall by the ancient heads who were
centuries ahead of their times. The Cathedral and the wonderful
landscape; the great front (left unfinished after the plague in 1338);
the Hall by Pellegrina; Santa Maria della Scala, the Piccolomini library
and the prestigious Chigiana Academy. Big spaces inside the
"Medicea" fortress are containing the more precious wines made
in Siena, Tuscany and in the Italian peninsula. Anyway, this kind of
"profanity" is only a stone's throw far from the Shrine
dedicated to St. Katherine, patron Saint of Italy. Inns, cakes with a
lot of spice in them, noises provoked by craftsmen's working; rinsing
out fountains
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Fontebranda
and the Mystery of Diana, a mythical river thought to flow underneath
Siena. The "bottini" and their secrets. The geometric
alchemies of the Square, cabala and esoterism, neo-gothic suggestions
and popular belief. That's why, as a famous inscription on Porta di
Camollia says, "Siena opens one's heart more than anything else."
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The Coast