Day 5: Siena & Montepulciano

Florence, Italy

Before heading to the southern part of Tuscany, we started the day by touring the inside of the Duomo in Florence. This cathedral was begun at the end of the 13th century by Arnolfo di Cambio, and the dome (somehow constructed with no scaffolding) was added in the 15th century on a design of Filippo Brunelleschi. A statue of these two architects can be found on the outside with the beautiful mix of white, pink and green marble. The inside is more simple, with great detail in the flooring and beautiful dome. Inside also houses the famous painting, La commedia illumina Firenze (The Comedy Illuminating Florence). It is the most famous fresco by Domenico di Michelino. I could gaze into the ceiling here for hours – absolutely stunning! We’ve been lighting a candle for my dad in every church we visit, and the candle holders in the Duomo have been my favorite display. I know he would have loved seeing these. I continue to be amazed by these structures that took centuries to build (the Duomo took over 400 years), as I can imagine working on something your entire life and never getting to see it completed. Following the Duomo, our first stop was Siena. Another city in the southern region of Tuscany. This was a Roman military outpost established in 30AD and quickly developed into a busy trading post. We quickly fell in love with the ornate Duomo here…you’ll agree when you see the pictures of this magnificent church. I loved every detail in here! The black and white contrast in the marble pillars, the mosaic flooring, detailed sculptures lining the ceiling and every additional painting/sculpture/tapestry and side alter! After touring the church, we explored various parts of the town and made our way to the Piazza del Campo, the main piazza. This may be my favorite piazza yet. I like the slightly odd shape of it ( not quite square or round), but the divided rows of brick are said to symbolize the number of divisions of the rule of The Nine (Noveschi) who laid out the campo and governed Siena at the height of its mediaeval splendour between 1292-1355. Twice a year a famous horse race, the Pailo, takes place here in the Piazza. I can’t imagine watching horses race on this uneven brick! We had a wonderful lunch overseeing the hilly countryside, and found the beans in Tuscany to be particularly yummy. Here we also got to see Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest surviving bank in the world and Italy’s third largest bank. Founded in 1472 by the magistrate of the city state of Siena, and it has been operating ever since. In the late afternoon, we had the chance to see Montepulciano – the highest elevation in Tuscany. Another fabulous medieval town, with fantastic views, wine/wine cellars deep into the foundation of the city, and many windy/tight streets! We made our way back to Florence and had a delightful dinner (my favorite yet) at Trattoria 4 Leoni. We shared bruschetta and a fresh green salad with pesto, avocado, pine nuts and a fresh/mild lambs cheese. Two more pastas to try: another marinara based one and the second was a house special! A ravioli in a mild cream sauce, stuffed with pears and ricotta. Mom proclaimed it be the best ravioli she had ever had, and we all agreed (Bryan even liked this – the cheese was so nice and light)! The guys decided this was the night to try the famous steak florentine, while mom and I shared ossobuco and a nice pork dish with a light gravy. One of the sides we tried was so unique – zucchini flowers! They were large steamed flowers, lightly breaded/fried and had a mild crisp to them. We all found their salty taste to be a nice compliment to our meals. After too much food, wine and lemon cello it was time to catch some ZzzzZz’s to prepare for a lot of climbing in Cinque Terre! Ciao for now!