On to Siena

PART 4: On to Siena

Thursday September 26:

Yesterday we bought bus tickets for the two hour ride to Siena.  The bus leaves from Sta Maria degli Angeli, but no one that we talk to (Serena at the B and B, or the fellow at the Tabachi that sold us the tickets) can tell us exactly where the Siena bus stops. They are "pretty sure" it’s in Sta Maria near the basilica, behind the train station.”  The city bus driver says he knows where it is and that he stops there.  So down the hill we go, and wind through the streets of Sta Maria, which appears to be a much busier town than Assisi.  Whereas Assisi is pretty and touristy, Sta Maria is commercial.   The bus drops us off in front of the Basilica, and the driver says we can catch the Siena bus “over there” on the street running alongside the Basilica.

The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli is (according to Rick Steves) “a grandiose church built around a humble chapel.”  The chapel is the Porziuncula, the church Francis restored and the place where he died.  Its plaza is a little run down and edged with kiosks selling souvenirs and trinkets.  We are definitely outside the park-like atmosphere of Assisi.

We had 40 minutes until the bus was scheduled, so we peeked inside the church and caught a glimpse of the Porziuncula, far at the other end. Anxious, we returned to the street to find the exact place where the bus would come, and to forestall missing a bus that might come early.  We spied an information booth across the street, and the woman there told us the Siena bus comes “right there, by that orange sign,” which was right alongside the basilica.  But it was a sign for the city bus, not the Siena bus.  But 40 minutes later and 20 minutes late, the Siena bus arrived.

Two hours later (about noon) we were in Siena, standing inside a city bus tunnel-like station waiting for a bus that would take us up the hill to the old walled city.  The schedule board said we should have a ten minute wait, but that extended to an hour as bus after bus came, but not ours.  When it did come, it was SRO and our bags were in the way of everyone getting on or off the bus.  They all seemed to be Sienese – no tourists.  But they were also polite. 

City buses in Italy were always crowded and we seldom had a seat, but the passengers, if they understand you, were pretty helpful.  On the Metro in Rome, during morning rush hour a twenty something fellow advised me to put my backpack on backwards to prevent pickpocketing.  Good advice.

The bus took us to Piazza Gramsci, which looked like Siena’s port of entry with cars, buses, motorcycles and pedestrians going every which way.  The map indicated our hotel was to the south and not too far.

On the way out of Piazza Gramsci

After ten minutes of puzzling over street names - Is it Via dei Termini or Via delle Terme; the Rick Steves Guidebook says one, our printed reservations say the other – we came to Antica Residenzia Cicogna, our home for the next three days.  And both addresses were correct, the front entrance is on Terme, the rear entrance on Termini.  This was another seven room B&B, which Rick Steves describes as homey, elegant and ideally located.  He is right on all three points. Elisa, who runs the B&B with her father, told us the building dates from the 17^th century. They have been remodeling and running it since 1990.  The room we stayed in was a two room suite that could easily accommodate four people.  When we made reservations in May, Elisa told us that was the only room left during the time we would be in Siena.

Siena has a lot to recommend it:  cars (with a few exceptions)are not allowed in the center of the city; it’s cathedral is one of the finest in Europe; its town square (Il Campo) is regarded as the finest in Italy; and it’s Museo Publico has been in continuous use as the seat of government since the 13^th century.  It is big enough (60,000 population) to attract significant cultural activities, but small enough that visitors can grasp it in a few days.

IL Campo and the Palio:  The Campo is the heart and geographical center of the city, and where the two Palio races are run in July and August.  The Palio is a horse race around the square.  Each of the city’s 17 districts (contrades) is represented in at least one of the races.  The Palio was developed in the mid 17^th century as a way to control the intense rivalries that had developed among the contrades.  The race today is a no holds barred free for all:  three laps around the square (about 1200 meters).  The jockeys ride bareback and if one falls off, his horse can still win the race if he can keep the lead.  The winner has bragging rights over the city for the following year.  We asked Elisa who won the Palio this summer, and her face lit up:  “Oca (goose) which is the contrade where the B&B is, and Onda (wave).”  That explained why we saw Oca banners flying all over our neighborhood.  Each of the contrades is identified by the name of an animal (goose, panther, tortoise) or object (wave, tower, forest).  Originally they were formed around parish churches.  Here are views of the Campo at the time of the Palio, and when were there.

 

When there is no horse race Il Campo is a great place to see or be seen.