Look for the beauty around you

Especially during spring. Start looking out of the window, take walks outside, be in the sun. Get the most from this wonderful season. This is what spring brings us in Tuscany!

Snow

This is usually one of the best views of Siena but with this snow it's even better!
And following are some other cool pictures of our beautiful city in snow.

Best wishes for the Holiday Season

All of us guides from Guide Siena e Oltre wish you Italian food, art, and culture lovers all the best for this holiday season. We also hope all the best for your future.

Christmas is coming...

And there's lots of interesting activities and events in Tuscan and Umbrian cities and towns. Just as an example, here's a link to the official website promoting all events for this December in Siena. We hope you'll find something interesting for you!

Here's a picture of a recent event. A market commemorating the old tradition of the market in our beautiful Campo Square.

751 years later in Montaperti

Too late to hide the fact that the person writing the blog was born in Siena, and has Sienese blood flowing in her veins (though it's mixed with other Tuscan cities).

So, how else can I stress my origins if not by remembering the toughest battle that Siena had against its worse enemy, Florence, in 1260. It is the only battle that every average Sienese person knows, and the reason for this is that it's the only one in which we really and truly won.

Ok it was 751 years ago... But every year we remember what happened and we celebrate by staging a mock battle, which envolves the Sienese army and the supporting army of the Emperor Manfred, and the Florentine army. The latter being almost magically defeated after having threatened the destruction of Siena, if the governement of the city hadn't given up its independence to Florence.

It was a cruel and fierce battle. Even our Dante Alighieri wrote about it in the Divine Comedy saying that the water of the nearby river Arbia turned red because of all the blood of the Florentine soldiers dying in the battlefield.

After the 4th of September 1260 Siena became the "capital" of Tuscany, or rather, the most influent city in Tuscany. This period didn't last long though. But shhhhhh, don't tell all those proud Sienese people, who don't know what happened just a few years later... So let's keep dwelling on this memory for another 751 years, and maybe even more. We in Siena are used to looking at the past glories, and forgetting the present.

For those who read Italian, following is a piece, which describes what happened.

La battaglia durò passato il vespro. Era tanta l'uccisione che i sanesi facevano dei nemici che non potevano più combattere per la stanchezza e la moltitudine dei morti "che tute le strade e viotoli corivano sangue e fu alora"- narra il cronista-che la Malena "corse sangue de' fiorentini". I sopravvissuti si dettero a una fuga disperata, ma erano inseguiti, braccati, incalzati e raggiunti dai tedeschi che li mettevano al taglio della spada. Un tal Geppo, un taglialegna per conto di Siena con la sua scure ne scannò 25: un fiume di sangue correva per le vie e sui campi.
Dalla torre intanto l'annuncio della vittoria: I fiorentini sono stati sconfitti.

A picture, so that we all have an idea of how it might have been...

And finally a link for more info.

Little beauties

Lippo Memmi, Madonna del Popolo

Tomorrow the author of this post is going to have a guided tour in Siena. While revising for it, since it's going to be a "new" itinerary, she found this beauty, and couldn't avoid sharing it with you. The Madonna del Popolo was painted by Lippo Memmi, brother-in-law of the great Simone Martini (and great himself I reckon), around the 1330s. A careful visit in Siena shares this and many other beauties with visitors interested in something "off the beaten path"...

Our lovely sweets

I've always said they're special, though I don't always like them, because when they're industrial made their quality drops horribly... But when you go to the right shop and buy them (being prepared to spend a bit more for them than usual), you'll have a taste of heaven.

Now the at the EU they must have had a few of them, and they've realised that these sweets should be protected just like many other Italian culinary products. So one other reason for coming to Siena: RICCIARELLI!

For news on the EU's decision click here.

 

For info on the Ricciarelli click here.