Chris & Kelly's Travel Adventures

Today was a day trip to visit Siena.  Chris drove into the city and found a parking garage at the bottom of the walled city with multiple (6) escalators to the top.  While I've come to understand that an Italian day without hills or stairs does not exist, that does not mean I do not REALLY appreciate a cheat day with escalators!!!

We thought the city was pretty, intimate in size with sort of a carefree energy you only find with youth. Besides castles and beautiful tiny streets, it is also known for its Piazzo del Campo (square) that angles from a semi-circle down to the Palazzo (palace) Pubblico with its famous tower...many college students gather here during the day for lunches or social gatherings.  The Siena Duomo with its black/white stripped marble columns, starry ceilings, several Bernini scuptures and a library within the church that contains not only a very vibrant fresco'd ceiling, but also many church hymn books from the 1400's will leave you stunned.  The floors of the church are covered with intricate patterns of black/white/red marble.  For a church that was never finished and a city that lost a popularity fight with Florence it has a lot to offer.

We then toured the museum associated with the Siena Duomo.  The main piece of interest was the rose  window. It is from the 1200's and one of the earliest forms of Italian stained glass.  It was removed from the church during WWII for fear of damage from bombs and then put in the museum and restored.  We also saw some very impressive bronze statues (Chris and I did not recognize the artist), and a sculpted Mary w/child relief by Donatello.

Can you ever have too much pizza?