We were out of bed at 6 am so we could be ready to take the bus to the Stazzione della Santa Maria, where we were to meet our Walkabout Tour leader at 8:15.
The weather did not look promising and while on the bus, it began to pour down. When we arrived at the station, we decided to bite the bullet and purchased an umbrella each from one of the hawkers there. (It isn't illegal for these people to sell but it is illegal to buy from them so we kept a furtive eye out for the polizia!) They cost €5 each. Of course, it then stopped raining.
On the bus, which left a few minutes early because everyone was prompt, our guide introduced herself - Elisa- and the driver - Mauro. Elisa was born in Florence but left to go to England to find a husband. She spent 14 years there, which is why her English is so good. She and her husband (he turned out to be Spanish) decided to live Italy so came to Florence, where she has been working as a tour guide for 4 years. They have 2 young children, both girls.
As we drove through l'Oltrano (the other side of the Arno), Elisa gave a little commentary about the history of Florence. The major product when the city was first begun was wool. The river water was used to wash the wool, and then to transport it. Then it was banking, which is what gave rise to families like the Medici. They made their money by charging very high interest, up to 70%. Of course, the church frowned on this, viewing it as usury, which was a sin. The rich got around this by funding the building of grand churches, and by 'giving' art works to those churches.
The Ponte Vecchio was once a bridge of butcher shops. It was only after the time of the Medici's that it became a row of shops selling gold and jewellery. There is a covered walkway running over the top of these shops, leading from the Pitti Palace to the Uffizi.
Our guide then gave us a run down of the plan for the day. She handed out maps of each of the towns we would be visiting and made our mouths water with her description of the lunch we would enjoy in the Chianti region. She then gave us each an earpiece and a 'whisper' receiver, which we would use to listen to commentaries as we visited each place.
As we drove south, the rain stopped and a few patches of blue began to appear. By the time we arrived in Siena, our first stop, it was warm enough to leave our coats on the bus.
We walked from the parking lot down to the edge of the old part of Siena, where Camilla met us. Camilla is as passionate about Siena as Elise is about Florence. They both spoke of the (friendly) rivalry between the two towns. I had visited Siena once before, in 2007, but I had been alone so was very interested in having someone with us who could tell us the history of this town.
Camilla took us on a walking tour of Siena, explaining about the contrade, the 17 districts of Siena, and pointed out the little plaques set into the walls of buildings to mark where one district ends and another begins. Districts are named after animals, such as giraffe and porcupine, nature, such as forest, or man made objects, such as a tower and so on. Camilla lives in the tower district and she is very proud of the fact that they won the last Palio, the horse race held each year in the huge, seashell-shaped Piazza del Campo.
On our way to the Piazza, our guide took us past a building that still houses the oldest bank in the world.
We came to the piazza - the beating heart of the city, the focus of city life - quite suddenly. As we walked down a steep incline, we could see tall red buildings in the narrow opening ahead. Then we were out and in the Piazza. On the other side of the square rose the gothic Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) with its huge bell tower, which is known as the Torre del Mangia.
Here, Camilla described how the square is used to run the Palio in July and August, the excitement and the passion of the people, the celebrations after the race is over, and how planning begins for the next year almost immediately.
Then we moved on to the Duomo, on the highest point of the city, passing through some ancient walkways and places where the Palio horses are cared for during July and August each year.
The Duomo is magnificent and it holds many valuable works of art, including works by Donatello, Bernini, and the young Michelangelo, but the real highlight of the cathedral is the floor. Begun in the 14th century, this unique inlaid marble floor took two hundred years to complete. The 56 different panels, designed by 40 Italian artists, were created with the worlds most precious marble. The tiles are covered for most of the year to protect them. They are only uncovered fully a couple of times a year and we were extremely lucky that today was one of those days.
The library inside the Duomo was stunning, with richly painted walls and ceilings.
The dome and the altar were also masterpieces. We came away with sensory overload!
After our tour was ended, we had 45 minutes to explore this tiny but brilliant city. We would have enjoyed a coffee and a pastry but lunch was coming up and we didn't want to spoil it, so we contented ourselves with just looking before going to meet Elise to return to the bus. We had been told that we should be prompt, that if we weren't there at the allotted time she would assume that we had decided to stay in Siena and the bus would depart without us!
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