Florence and Sienna are similar in size, but they were completely different to experience. We visited these cities back-to-back for two days each, and it was as if we had entered two entirely different worlds.
We entered Florence at the Centro Storico (city center), surrounded by beautiful shops, restaurants, churches, statues and lively street performers.
We dropped our bags at our hotel in nearby Piazza della Signoria, and went looking for the Duomo. It’s always amazing to see such a large cathedral in the middle of a busy city!
We wandered the city, checking out various plazas, shops, churches, statues, and other works of art. Cafés were busy for dinner and the waiters were friendly and fun.
In the morning, we walked to the Arno River and saw the Ponte Vecchio in the distance. Then we hiked up to Michelangelo Plaza to get good views of the city from above.
In the afternoon we joined a food tour on the other side of the Arno. Our guide, Jamie, calls this area the “real Florence,” because it is much less touristy. We had a wonderful time sampling great food and drinks and seeing a part of Florence that we had not seen before.
Jamie knew that Kenton and I were spending 60 days in Europe to celebrate my 60th birthday, so before we parted she had our small group sing Happy Birthday to me! It was so sweet!
The streets were packed in the lovely summer evenings, and we had fun people-watching and seeing the city lit up at night.
We made a visit to the Uffizi Gallery and spent hours walking the halls and seeing the huge collection of art that is housed there.
Then we did some shopping. In Florence it’s almost mandatory!
Florence was delightful!
Leaving Florence, we headed to Siena. The Tuscan countryside was pretty, and we stopped for lunch and a wine tasting at Brancaia Winery.
Then we entered the Medieval city of Siena. We had rented a room on the edge of town that ended up being the most ornate apartment we’d ever seen! It was over the top!
We walked to the city center. Sand had been poured on top of the brick around the outside edge of the main plaza, the Piazza del Campo, to prepare for the Palio horse race. The Palio is a hotly contested race between the contradas (neighborhoods) of Siena, and has been held twice per year since 1633. We had changed our travel plans to stop in Siena just to see this race.
Each contrada has its own colors and symbols, and residents of Siena wore their scarves declaring their contradas as they celebrated the weekend of the Palio. We had asked to be included in the celebration as part of our visit, and were assigned to the Oca (goose) contrada. We bought a scarf and prepared to cheer for our team in the race!
The day before the race there was a trial run. The crowds heading to the Piazza del Campo were enormous and the energy was astounding as they chanted, sang and marched through the streets, wearing their colors and costumes.
We stood (and were crushed) in the center of the plaza to watch the trial run with thousands of fans, cheering their horses and jockeys as they raced around the outer edge.
After the trial run the parading, chanting and partying seemed to go on all night, and in the morning there was more. Dignitaries paraded around the town as drummers and flag twirlers marched with their contradas through the streets, from plaza to plaza.
The next afternoon we had seats on bleachers for the actual race, and from the stands it was fascinating to watch hours of parading, drumming and flag twirling from boys and men in full costume.
The pageantry was astounding, as the community treated the pre-race parade like it was the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
After a group of men fixed “crash corner” with more padding, the horses came into the square. Several delays and one false start, and then the horses finally raced.
It was crazy. We watched horses crash into each other and one crash into padded walls, with the rider falling off and get trampled a bit until men rush onto the racecourse to help the injured rider get to safety. There were crashes on other parts of the course and three horses continued to run without their riders. It was complete mayhem as the crowd screamed and cheered!
When the canon shot announced the end of the race, people streamed onto the track, some getting hit by horses that were still running. It was chaos. The people running on the track were screaming, cheering, sobbing, and a fistfight broke out in one corner. It was unbelievable.
We had no idea who had won, but as soon as we saw a path out, we left the stadium and headed to a quieter street where we had made a dinner reservation at a street-side restaurant. Many of the restaurants and bars were replaying the race on TVs. Eventually, we learned the Oca contrada had won, with a horse that had continued to run without its rider! While we ate, we watched the Oca fans march with the trophy at the bottom of the hill. We continued to hear the drums and whistles all night.
And then again, flags, drums and whistles all morning as the Oca contrada continued to celebrate by parading from plaza to plaza throughout the city.
The Palio in Siena was an unforgettable experience!
Click here to see the race: