Siena is a historic city located in the Tuscany region of central Italy, renowned for its medieval charm, well-preserved architecture, and vibrant cultural traditions.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, Siena flourished as an independent city-state. It rivaled Florence in wealth and power. The city reached its cultural peak during the Gothic period, evident in its art, architecture, and the works of artists like Duccio di Buoninsegna and Ambrogio Lorenzetti.

We came into Siena by car and we parked in a garage complex with good connection to the city centre by escalators, Siena sits on a hill, and allows no cars in the city centre. 

Piazza del Campo

It is the heart of Siena, this fan-shaped square is considered one of Europe’s most beautiful public spaces. It is one of the absolute must sees in Italy, and the world for sure. It hosts the Palio di Siena, a thrilling bareback horse race held in Piazza del Campo twice a year, steeped in local rivalry and centuries-old traditions. See if you can find the tv-documentaries about the race, just totally bonkers and facinating. The campo is much bigger than we imagined and the slope of the square is much steeper than it looks in photos. 

Siena Cathedral (Duomo)

A masterpiece of Italian Gothic architecture featuring intricate black and white marble facades. We lined up for tickets in the pouring rain, probably why the line was short. And we should have pre-bought tickets but we did not this time and paid the price by being soaked! The interior houses works by Michelangelo, Donatello, and Bernini. We have been to many great and awesome cathedrals, like Cordoba and Seville but Siena was very different due to the black and white «stripes» on all pillars and interior. The floor is covered in reliefs and the side chapels were sumptuous. Very crowded, and that was expected but perhaps even more so since it was raining heavily outside. 

We also had a look in the crypt, the entrance for this is separate on the back of the cathedral. 

We wandered the streets of Siena, drenched, and we happily and luckily came across a great sandwich shop that served delicious panini. Du Cose da Berna was a highlight both for warmth, dryness and absolutely first class paninis. 

We guess that Siena is glorious in sunshine and great weather but we had a nice time just looking around for a few hours, and it feels like we need to come back to explore some more in the future.