Golden Chianti Countryside, Thursday, 9/15/22
Siena
Piazza del Campo: Location of the twice-a-year Palio that assigns bragging rights for being the "best" one of 17 contrade scattered throughout Siena.
Siena
The stand-out feeling visiting Siena is the same feeling I get when hearing the David and Goliath story. Siena is David to Florence's Goliath. An age-old rivalry still exists between the cities (at least in Siena residents' minds) and The Medici play a central role in the bad blood.
Roberto Bechi (of Rick Steves' TV show fame) is our local expert guide for our tour of Siena. He gives us the lowdown on the actual details of the Florence fallout (yep, everything is definitely Florence's fault). Just having Roberto (a TV star!) as our guide is exciting and fun and well, entertaining. Once he begins walking us through the Siena streets and toward our first stop (The Siena Cathedral), he suddenly becomes what he really is: a proud resident and expert of Siena (and surrounding area). He sets the bar for the local guides that follow (and they rise beautifully to it).
Our time in Siena is too short (barely a full day) but we experience the best of the beauty, art, and history. Still, for me the memory that will stand the longest is seeing Siena through the eyes of it's proudest resident--Roberto of the dry, quick sense of humor. Informative yes, but entertaining, too.
Roberto is the best!
