Siena Cathedral (Il Duomo)

Well Italy, you've done it again! Right when I start to get attached to other countries, you pull on my heartstrings like a first love. This weekend in Tuscany was the best ever and made me ache at the thought of leaving in 32 days (AH!). The Tuscany trip was another Loyola sponsored weekend excursion that took myself and 26 other students on a …

Nach einem erholsamen Tag am Swimmingpool haben wir heute von unserem Hotel den Bus nach Siena genommen. Ein Grund für den Bus war sicherlich auch, dass unser Auto die lange Fahrt nicht ganz unbeschadet überstanden hat und nun nur noch maximal 110 km/h fährt, wenn es bergab geht. Auch die Werkstatt konnte uns nicht weiterhelfen. Mit den Mechanikern …

Our bus takes us into the hill towns. We stopped in Siena. Our guide is Elisa. It is a lot of walking up and downhill. I am exhausted when we are done. We visit the Church of St. Catherine of Siena. I light some candles. We see St. Catherine's relics, her head and her finger.
We visit the Siena Cathedral. The black and white cathedral is under …

Back on the road again headed west. We left the flat lands well past Venice and back into hill country. It seems the Italian philosophy of road building is to maintain minimum elevation changes on the road by building bridges across valleys and tunneling through hills - very expensive infrastructure costs but they toll these roads to pay for them. …

A nemisis has been found...

So today we decided to take a day trip to Siena. Apparently it's a picturesque little town that has a beautiful courtyard that once a year has one of the most dangerous horse races ever. Thankfully, we're not going during that time of year. So we arrived at the Florence train station with plenty of time to spare …

Our tour begins at 8:30 but Laura and I walked to the train station, where we are to meet the tour bus, and arrive at 8am. The bus is practically full already! Everyone is ready to start their Tuscany tour. Our tour guide, Agata, was Polish and studied 15 century Renaissance architecture and Italian languages. She currently is continuing her …

Today, we left Florence for an overnight in Siena. It's nice, with lots of winding side streets and hills. We went to the Duomo here, and then relaxed in the main square for the afternoon. The picture of Kate is in front of the San Domenico Church, that heralds the Patron Saint of Siena (St. Catherine). We are now heading to dinner. Tomorrow: …

Since arriving in Tuscany we had spent all our time in Florence so it was nice to see another of the historic cities in the region. Leaving through the Porta Romano (which signals the beginning of the Via Cassia) we began our fifty-six kilometre drive to Siena. Our guide for the day, Alessandro, explained the pine and cypress trees in Tuscany: pine …

Hello again, Blogonauts! Friday carried me further afield from Florence.

Several times each day, the "Bus Rapide" (in a “rapid” 75 minutes) transports travelers to Siena, Florence's current tourism cousin and former vicious foe. (Siena’s cathedral still proudly displays the 65-foot flagpoles their army captured in a hard- …

Bongiorno all:

We saw the entire medieval city of Siena on a 2-hour walking tour Saturday, led by a wonderful native Sienese woman from My Tours. Saturday happened to be the Feast Day of St. Catherine, so everything was decked out and festive.

We heard about the 17 districts in the city, the role Siena played as a pilgrimage stop …

Imagine a town with an over-the-top Gothic cathedral started in 1100 and something, streets and alleys with surprises around every corner and the whole thing ringed by a mediaeval wall. We had that today in Siena, with sunshine and coffee added for ...

... lucky enough to get a hotel room on a square overlooking the main pedestrian thoroughfare, with a balcony looking out on a beautiful cathedral and, beyond that, bits of the Canal system. We spent two full days in Venice; highlights included watching the ...

... the other hand has something genuine that Venice lacks.  Can't put my finger on it, but it's a magical place.  And the Cathedral really is one of the best in all Europe - Sorry Florence.  I know that's a sore point.  Even ...

... one, sit for a while and watch the world go by. We paid the small admission to visit the imposing Siena Duomo - the Catholic cathedral built from the 11th to the 13th centuries in predominantly white and black marble. It has a nave still unfinished ...

... have been able to support the weight of the planned addition.  So three cheers for the black death I suppose.  The cathedral was incredibly impressive, and rather inexpensive to get into.  We wandered in, and took in the sheer size of the ...

... generations of Sienese over the centuries. The floors were even more ornate: on even going so far as to represent Siena as the centre of Italy with Rome and Florence as subordinates. Somehow I doubt the Florentines or Romans would agree with that. After ...

... ;s. Of course, a trip to Siena would not be complete without spending some time in the incredible Duomo – the Romanesque cathedral that dominates the town.  They started building in the 1300’s and finished (sort of – does anyone ...

... it, had gelati, and went to the Cathedral/Duomo. It was incredible!!! It is the most beautiful cathedral I have seen! The ceiling alone is fantastic!! Siena is really pretty, quaint and everything they rave about it is true!! I now know why TripAdvisor ...

... and attached is a arch of the plague to remember all those who died of the devistating plague that was experienced in Italy a long time ago. 7% of Siena died from the plague. the Chapel is used twice a year only to bless the horses and the jocks. We ...

... were too long again!) we were once again impressed by the magnificence of the architecture on the outside. Construction of the cathedral began in the 12th century. The outside is constructed of coloured bands of marble. Between 1369 and 1547 some 40 ...