http://www.terzidisiena.com/index.jsp?lingua=EN
It's located just a street over from the Piazza del Campo, one of medieval Europe's most famous. It's in the shape of a shell with nine sections, each symbolizing one of the most powerful families at the time of its construction in the late 1200's to early 1300's. I walked over to this piazza and took a seat on the gently sloping brick, surrounded by fellow tourists gawking at the enormity of it all. In front of the piazza sits the famous Torre del Mangia, the second-tallest bell tower in Europe.
Torre del Mangia
Piazza del Campo
Fun fact: the color "Burnt Siena" in a Crayola crayon box is named for the color of the bricks in the Piazza del Campo!
That night I went to the Duomo di Siena, a fabulous, black and white candy-striped cathedral at the top of the town. The faces at the top of the church are those of all the popes, which looked down with consternation at passersby, but upon further inspection, the faces are a repetition of the same four! In one chapel are several Bernini sculptures, as well as a painting of Mary that is prayed to prior to the Palio, Siena's famous biannual horse race.
That night, I gave in and tried the gelato chain Grom, which was surprisingly great! Definitely not the idea of a chain restaurant that one thinks of in the States. After this treat, I headed back to my hotel, because it gets dark pretty quickly in the alleyways of a medieval town.
The next morning, I enjoyed the world-class views from the kitchen of my hotel while sipping a hot tea. I ventured out to the famous Nannini coffee house for a cappuccino and cornetto, then strolled along the Piazza del Campo to buy panforte, a famous condensed fruit cake only sold in Siena. I succeeded in finding a panforte store, and bought enough for the ride home to Rome. I had a quick lunch of biscotti and more coffee (no regrets on that high sugar intake) and went back to Rome satisfied with my Tuscan weekend.
View from my hotel balcony
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