Return to Siena

We went to Siena during September of 2009 but didn't blog about it. We went back in December 2010 during S's visit. It was a bit chilly and rainy, but we had fun anyway. The city was festively lit up for the holidays. Here's the main square, Piazza del Campo:



That structure is the municipal building, or Palazzo Communale in Italian. Here's what the same place looked like in Sept. 2009:



The other side of Piazza del Campo:



This well-lit tree is in front of Palazzo Salimbeni, headquarters of the bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The statue is of Sallustio Bandini, champion of economic freedom.



Siena is known for its horse race or palio, held twice each summer in the Piazza del Campo. The city's neighborhoods, called contrade, compete against each other in the race. Each contrada has its own symbol, flag and colors.

Back in September, the palio was long over, but the flags were still flying.



S identified with the Contrada della Selva, whose symbol is a rhinoceros, a creature which once charged her. (She escaped.)



A symbol of one of the other contrade is the turtle.



Siena is also famous for its cathedral, one of the largest in Italy. It was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the September sunlight:



A December detail of the creatures emerging from the facade:



S examines the marble floor design outside the cathedral.



Siena is an interesting and pleasant town for walking. There are lots of pretty little streets and alleys.



Lots of shops have appealing displays.



I'm not so sure about this ham display. It doesn't look so nice with the skin on.



We saw some posters about "the great and magnanimous." Featured luminaries include Roman emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold the Second, and Nelson Mandela.

Return to Orvieto

Our loyal readers (har har, all two of you) might remember that we visited Orvieto our first summer here.

This December and January we had some visitors and decided to bring them there as well.

This area is known for its ceramics, and S wanted to buy some, so we checked out the shops.



Orvieto has a couple of remarkable wells. This is the San Patrizio Well, built in Renaissance times by architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.



There are double-helix staircases leading down, down, down to the bottom.



There are plenty of little shops selling culinary specialties of the region. No lack of pork varieties. (That hairy boar leg looks particulary appetizing, no?)



A poster advertises the Umbria Jazz Festival under a sign describing traffic rules.



We caught some music while walking around town. Check out this marching band, the Fantomatic Orchestra, whose electric guitar player carries his own amp on a shoulder strap.



Hear the Fantomatic Orchestra on this video:



What are these people looking at? If they were a band, this would be the album cover.



Behind them is the view of the countryside from Orvieto's wall:

Snow, no snow

Our friends back in the US have had a snowy winter, snowier than usual.

Here in Rome it doesn't snow much. Last February it snowed for about an hour, and that was the first Roman snow in 25 years, according to the newspapers.

On Dec. 17, it snowed again. As the flakes fell, I happened to be on my way to Italian class, walking through Villa Borghese. Here's what it looked like.



Above: the pond where you can rent rowboats. Below: the archway at the western entrance to Viale dell'Aranceria.



One of many fountains in the park:



A half hour later, it started raining, and all the snow disappeared. It hasn't reappeared since.