France/Italy roadtrip – Siena | alison richards | graphic designer and artworker

I left the campsite outside Siena a bit before 7:30am and drove past the sunflower fields I'd passed the night before, but there was still nowhere to stop, so I kept going. I got to Siena at about 8am, and found an easy place to park, but was then told by council workers that they were mowing the grass nearby and that there was no one really parked there for fear of rocks flying up scratching the paintwork. Thinking that was quite a wise move, I went back to the car to move it. But oh there was no parking anywhere, I did a big loop all around the city then back again before finally spying a spot on the side of a main road. One thing that's good about driving a British car in Europe is that you're sitting on the kerb side, meaning that I did a perfect parallel park, then got out safely on the footpath. The parking was also free there, so even better!

It was quite a walk into the city but my way was well-signposted and I just followed all the signs to the Duomo, as I wanted to see it hopefully without too many people around - I got my wish too!

The Piazza del Campo and the Torre del Mangia in the early morning

This marble was in the entrance way to the duomo, It was amazing

A view inside the duomo, with only the caretaker inside

The souvenir-sellers started setting up for the day

You had to pay to go into the duomo but you also got access to several other places as part of your ticket so I decided to just do it. The cathedral didn't open for an hour, but the Museo dell'Opera was open, along with its panoramic viewpoint over Siena, so I lined up for that. The museum was full of mostly religious items and artwork, so I had a quick look around before heading to the stairs. I think they only let about 15 people or so up to the panorama point because its very narrow, but wow, it was sooooo worth it!

The Piazza del Campo, where they hold Il Palio, a horse race around the square which happens twice a year

This image in the museum by Sano di Pietro reminded me of The Handmaid’s Tale….

After I left the museum, it was time to go to the Duomo. Just a warning, I took LOTS of pictures inside this church because it was simply amazing...

The symbol of Siena – a she-wolf with Romulus and Remus from the 14th century. The floor of the duomo was hard to capture with people walking everywhere, but it was A-MAZING. Look it up on Google. It was so decorative that I felt bad walking on it!

There was something to look at everywhere you looked in the duomo. Could have easily spent hours in there but it was hard with the volume of people

The amazing works of Fra Giovanni da Verona (1456–1525), an inlayer and carver who played a leading role in the art world of the 16th century

The next part of the walk around the cathedral took me to the Piccolomini Library, which was just so beautiful. The entire library was decorated from floor to ceiling, with the frescoes having been painted by Pinturicchio. The library was to house an extraordinary array of old books collected by Pope Pius II.

One of the beautiful books in the library

After the Duomo, I visited the Baptistry and the Crypt. The Siena card to get you into all of these places was well worth it. I finally went to explore the rest of Siena - it was SO hilly! I must have walked the only vaguely flat walk from the car to the duomo because everywhere else had really steep hills! It was starting to get hot and I was a hungry and, admittedly, a bit crabby so I didn't feel like walking around. I found somewhere to eat and sat down gratefully. I am sorry to say that today was just not my day for exploring out in the sunshine, and I left soon after lunch without having seen a lot of the beautiful city. I would definitely return to Siena in the cooler months, as it was a beautiful place but stifling hot in the summer.

I hopped back in the campervan, cranked the A/C and drove to Montalcino, hoping that I would arrive there in better spirits!