Friday, July 4, 2008

Siena, Il Palio and Onward to Florence

Since I last blogged I have been accutely reminded of the need for down time when travelling.. Having almost become acclimatised to the heat and humidity in Europe, after leaving the cold, windy, rainy Melbourne, I am having 3 or more showers a day, drinking litres upon litres of water, and developing a very enviable watch-tan.



We had three nights in Rome, and contending with jet lag and coming off a 12 week term with reports and parent teacher interviews, the decision to spend an afternoon in bed was taken out of my hands when my body decided it just wasn't prepared to do anything else. And it made a huge difference. We didn't get to see all we wanted to see, and I am disappointed about not getting to Bocca della Veritas (The Mouth of Truth), the Sistine Chapel, or the Bone Church. This has been more than made up for, though, by having a more rested start to our Tuscan adventure.


We arrived in Siena and caught the bus to the centre. What an amazing city! It reminded me alot of Delft in the south of the Netherlands. It is a walled Medieval city, and with the exception of the shops (and even then, not all of them), not much has changed since then. We arrived in time for the Palio, a traditional horse race which takes place around the main square (which is not a square at all, rather a kind of concave shell-like shape), Il Campo. In Siena, there are 17 contrades, or districts. 10 of these are selected to compete each year. The horses are allocated to the contrade's chosen jockey by ballot. Each day, there is a trial run, and people pile into the centre of Il Campo, decked out in their contrade's colour and symbol. http://palio.comune.siena.it/main.asp?id=3527




We ventured into Il Campo for the trial the night before the big race. After the Carabinieri (horse-riding security police) led a charge around the square, dressed in full regalia, the canons sounded and the horses pelted around the square three times, before coming to a halt. Each horse and jockey was surrounded by the members of it's contrade as the horse was paraded around, and led back to it's contrade. We followed the Porcupine contrade that night, and had lots of fun joining in the frivolity.




Yesterday was the big day. We headed to the square in the morning for the final trial run, and were surprised at the lack of attendance and enthusiasm. Until we recalled the feasts that were held in each contrade the night before. Deciding to conserve our energy for the big race, we headed back to the hotel for some rest. I popped across to Chiesa San Domenico, the church where St Catherine of Siena's head and thumb are on display. I was a little disappointed not to be able to get close enough for a decent photo of her mummified head for the kids, but it was very cool in a kind of morbid and fascinating way.





We headed to Il Campo and staked out a spot, where we stood in the sun for over three hours. After the charge of the Caribinieri (again) they opened the gates so the thousands upon thousands of Sienese and tourists could enter the square. What followed can only be called a mob scene. Anita and I clung together initially laughing and joking with those around us about how crazy it was, with people pushing and shoving to get in. The rush to get in became increasingly violent, and as the two of us were shoved and elbowed out of the way, we saw punches thrown and men and women, heads down, elbows out, charging into the crowd in an attempt to get into the square, we decided that perhaps it would not be the wisest place to stay. It took us a good twenty minutes to fight through the crowd of people still trying to get in, but once we were out, shaken and nervously laughing, we discovered Anita's camera had been stolen. We both decided we were lucky to get out not missing anything else. Like an arm.






We headed aroun the winding streets surrounding Il Campo and found a bar across from our hotel, when the actions of the owner, who fetched us a chair and sat it in front of the TV so we could watch the race with a beer, redeemed our opinions of people. Having seen the race, I am glad we weren't there. That being said, I am SO glad we went the night before to the trial run, as it was exhilerating, exciting, and fun. The Contrade of the Porcupine won.



The hotel we stayed in was fantastic. It's shutters (yes, shutters) opened to the view and sound of the church bells of Chiesa San Domenico, tolling each morning. We had a big room all to our selves, and glorious water pressure in the shower!




We left Siena this morning, on a train for Florence. I was sad to say goodbye to Siena. It is an amazingly beautiful city, and I would love to go back again, to explore when it is not so busy, and to see the town and it's surroundings. Today is a day of rest before heading out tomorrow to see all the sights Florence offers us, including, but not limited to, a church with a crucifix. Nothing unusual there I hear you say. Well in this church, on this crucifix, Jesus is not adorned with a loin cloth. That's right folks, tomorrow, I am going to see Jesus' doodle!


In an interesting note, Anita is watching satellite TV. McLeod's Daughters dubbed in Italian is gold!!

4 comments:

Anita said...

Mmm.... Pizza. Mmm... Chianti. I am enjoying Italy. Your post really does the colour and vibrancy of this country justice. xxx

barry allen said...

Whats all this talk of piza? We never get any here in Australia!!Tania And Anita after looking at the pictures of the people in the square, it's no wonder you were little scaredy cats! oh an i think i saw your camera on the ground Anita: :-( looking foward to the running of the bull, wheres that?barcelona? buttercup can enter:-)..
some really grate pics here:-)

Anonymous said...

Great posts Tanya,
Well the horse race sounded really dangerous and think you two did the wisest thing in getting out. the countryside you have been seeing sounds wonderful and it sure seems like you two are seeing a fabulous variety of sights. Glad you are both enjoying and taking out some time to have some rest.After all it is a holiday and you are both meant to come home relaxed and rested, ha ha.
Have a ball and enjoy everything.
Bev xxoo

Anonymous said...

lol at seeing Jesus's "doodle" ... hope its all its cracked up to be ...


rofl