I was assuming to take the bike out for a day ride today then I thought "ten days continuous cycling, more to come next week, the opportunity to explore your beloved Siena; maybe it is time for a break" So it came to pass that the bike waits in its storage, wondering where the bloke is.
I am not a poet, and I know it, so it is hard to explain why I love Siena so much. It is not just the amazing buildings, and ancient streets, plenty of Italian towns and cities have that. It is something to do with the geography, how steeply streets fall away, to reveal another vista, how unexpectedly a view will open out. It is to do with the size; it is most definitely a tourist town, but not A list [Venice, Florence, Rome etc] and probably not even B list [Pisa, Naples, Verona etc] and so it feels far from overwhelmed by its visitors. The main language you hear in the streets is Italian.
And it is to do with its realationship to the landscape around it. You walk 100 metres behind the Campo [main piazza] and look over a wall to people's vegetable gardens, orchards, and Tuscan fields and hills behind; it is as if the detritus of modern life has forgotten to strangle Siena. Of course this must just be an illusion, but it is one I like.
And more than anything it is to do with the Piazza del Campo, the sloping piazza that is serene, calm, welcoming, peaceful and perfect. I know of nowhere in a city that is so simply fit for purpose. The amphitheatre like quality of the space, the magnificent tower above it and the building corralling you in make this one of the best places on earth.
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