Explore Italy: Siena — Jenny Nicole

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Siena in a nutshell

Location: Tuscany, Italy

Best known for: Its large central piazza, Piazza del Campo, where the “Palio” horse races are held

Days needed to explore: 1+ - Siena can be enjoyed in a day, but spending at least one night will allow you to explore it more fully

What to see and do:

Piazza del Campo
The main piazza of Siena, large and beautiful, the heart of the city. The famous Palio horse races happen twice year here on July 2 and August 16. If you’re able to line up your visit on one of these days or even in the days leading up to the races, it’s quite exciting! I came on June 30 in 2018, and was able to feel the excitement in the air as everyone was getting ready for the races, and ran into a parade where one “contrada” or quartier of the city was singing and parading around their horse. There are 17 contrade in all, and thus 17 horses participate in the races. Each contrada has their own flag with an animal, from a panther to an owl, unicorn to dragon. It’s easy to understand which contrada you’re in as you wander around the city because there are their flags and colors everywhere!
Piazza del Duomo / Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
Here you can hang out and enjoy the spectacular duomo from the piazza, or you can get a ticket to go inside. There are several areas you can visit that require different tickets, so if you want to visit more than one or two, I suggest you go for a combo ticket. You can visit inside the cathedral, the crypt, the Piccolomini Library, the baptistry, and the Opera del Duomo museum. Children up to 6 years of age and disabled persons with their escort enter for free. Price for cathedral and library is about 8.50euro, combo ticket to see all will run you closer to 20euro.
Basilica of San Domenico and the head of Saint Catherine
Who is Saint Catherine and why do I want to see her head? Saint Catherine, or Catherine of Siena, was born in 1347 and one of 25 children (!). She dedicated her life to God at a young age, and grew to be a very influential figure in Italy and the Catholic church, being named the patron saint of Rome and even of Italy, alongside Francis of Assisi. In 1999 she was proclaimed the patron saint of Europe by Pope John Paul II. She was also one of the first two women to be named a doctor of the church. She died at just 33, and her popularity only grew after her death. While her body lies in Rome, her head is in a gilt bust of bronze in the Basilica of San Domenico. The church is free to enter, and yes, you can view her head. No pictures allowed, though!
Torre del Mangia
This is right on Piazza del Campo, part of the town hall or “Palazzo Comunale” which, at least to my mind, is the quintessential photo of Siena and I’m sure you’ll recognize it immediately. I’m always happy to admire these things from the outside where it’s free, but you can also climb the tower and for the views. And exercise. 400 some steps!
If you are an art person, you can visit the Civic Museum and the Torre del Mangia for a combined ticket of 13euro.

Established: The area we now know today as Siena was originally founded by a tribe of Etruscans called the Saina, who lived there from about 900-400 BC.

As legend goes, Siena as we know it was founded by brothers, Senius and Aschius, nephews of Romulus who, also according to legend, founded Rome. This tale explains why there are several statues of the she-wolf suckling these twin brothers, The Capitoline Wolf, around the city.

The site later became the home of a Roman town around 30 AD, known as Saena Julia. It did not thrive under Roman rule, being far from common trading routes. Eventually it was seized by the Lombards, who attributed to its flourishing, then it was seized by the Franks in 774 AD.

The Republic of Siena was created in the 12th century. It had its ups and downs, the rivalry between Siena and Florence is legendary, especially the few times Siena managed to beat Florence! The Republic of Siena survived half of its population being wiped out by the Black Death, rebuilding itself even to become one of the most important banking cities on the continent. However, Florence eventually won out, and Siena surrendered in 1555 to the Duchy of Florence allied by the Spanish. The Spanish king, being in debt to the Medici, ceded the city to their control. You just can’t get away from the Medici legacy!

Typical foods to try:

Ribollita (Tuscan bean, bread, and vegetable soup)
Crostini (slices of bread with differing toppings, served as an appetizer. One of the main Tuscan toppings is pureed liver. You could order the “crostini misti” which will get you a sampling of different crostini)
Pecorino e miele (pecorino cheese and honey, a divine appetizer)
Salumi (cold cuts, try a variety and especially some of the boar that comes from Siena’s hills)
Pici (pasta, like a thick spaghetti)
Cinta Senese (Siena’s pig)
Lepre (Hare)
Panforte (a chewy, nutty and fruity dessert)
Cantucci (twice baked cookies, what Americans often call biscotti)
All the wines, some of the most famous of Italian wines come from this area - Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti, Nobile di Montepulciano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Vinsanto

How to get there from Florence: *Please note that these methods of travel are written as things were before Covid-19. As things stand, some buses aren’t running, or running fewer per day. Many sites are not updated or timetables not available and ever changing, so I will not link to them here because they won’t be of any help.

You can arrive by bus, train, or car. Bus and train options have similar prices, ranging from 5-10euro for a one way.

Bus: There is a direct bus and a non-direct bus that makes stops in two towns before arriving in Siena. Both take off from the bus station behind the Santa Maria Novella train station, in Via Santa Caterina. The prices for the buses I believe are the same, so you might as well take the faster direct bus. Roughly two buses take off per hour, but it’s always best to get the schedule ahead of time, since weekends and holidays often have fewer buses running. Buy your tickets beforehand if possible. You can purchase them on the bus, but they will cost more.
Likewise, there is also a Flixbus that takes off from a different area by the train station, near Villa Costanza. This may very well be a better option, since Flixbus is much easier to find times and tickets online, rather than the extraurbano buses that take off from Florence.
Train: Another good option is the train. Similar to the buses, there are direct and non-direct trains. Prices are all the same, as of 2020 9.50euro one way, so again, you might as well take the faster direct train, which takes about 1hr 30min.
Regardless of whether you take a train or bus, always remember to validate your tickets, otherwise you will get fined if caught. For buses, the validation machine is on board. For trains, you’ll need to validate before getting on the train.

Siena is also easy to get to from San Gimignano by bus, or vice versa. It’s very possible to see both the cities in one day if you are short on time!

What I like about Siena

See here the various flags of the contrade waving!

Siena was long a town I had heard of and imagined, and finally got to go in 2018. Aside from being bigger than expected, it’s very fun to explore and hilly! It boasts a beautiful duomo, the classic cobblestone streets and beautiful brick buildings, and the famous piazza, Piazza del Campo, where the “Palio” horse races happen.

Siena has delicious food, delicious wine (Chianti territory!), art, some shopping, and overall a general ambience to the city I really enjoy. It’s not too big, not too small, and is smack dab in the middle of beautiful Tuscan countryside.

It makes for a wonderful day trip from Florence, but also has enough to explore you may decide you want to stay a few nights here.

Personally I think Siena is small enough, even with a day trip, for you to see everything you need to see just by walking around without much of an agenda. Main points of interest you will probably come across even without a map, unless you’re me, then you can’t even find the main Duomo without walking up and down the hilly streets and somehow walking a large perimeter around it, but always just out of sight.

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