Guide to Siena

"It's all history, history, history in seductive Siena – perfect for a flavour of traditional Tuscany."

Picture this. The residents of Siena are preparing for a horse race. But they are not decking themselves out in fancy frocks and outrageous hats; their preferred costume dates back four or five hundred years to medieval times. Some are wearing armour, others are in gaudy pantaloons or the long-obsolete uniforms of standard bearers. This is Italy and this horse race will be run bareback, within the confines of the city's main square! It's just part of the most celebrated festival in Tuscany, an event that can trace its history back to the early 1200s. Siena's past also lives on in its buildings. It is, without doubt, one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the whole of Europe. You can wander through the winding streets and fancy yourself transported back to those days; imagine yourself living in one of the soft, red brick houses with a swaying terra cotta roof (there are no straight lines here, time has seen to that!), thick walls and tiny windows with dazzling window boxes full of bright flowers. A walk into Piazza del Campo – Siena's main square and the scene of a certain horse race – will present you with buildings on a slightly grander scale. A turreted campanile, the soaring bell tower typical of so many Tuscan towns, stands above the square and its heavily ornate fountain. And then you come to an extraordinary Duomo, a huge striped cathedral, the barred effect achieved with alternate layers of black and white stone, and enhanced by the generous use of pink and green marble inlaid around the portico. Step through this inviting portal look up…at a ceiling depicting the night sky, painted with gold stars. A magical place, within a magical place.

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