Siena Day Off

Greetings from Siena Italy! What a spectacular town this is! Did I tell you that the temperature dropped forty degrees?  I bought a sweatshirt jacket because I was freezing even with my wool shirt and my very light Chico jacket.  And so windy!  Brrrr!  

This is a Capitoline Wolf at Siena Duomo. According to a legend Siena was founded by Aschius and Senius, two sons of Remus. When they fled Rome, they took the statue of the She-wolf to Siena, which became the symbol of the town. Remus and Romulus also twins and their grandfather ordered them thrown in the river.  Instead, they were rescued by a she-wolf who raised them.

My first look at the Duomo di Siena or Siena Cathedral.

This is the Opera Museum which didn't seem to have anything to do with Opera.

One of the more beautiful depictions of Jesus.  Notice the snake around his feet and the skull.

The ceilings in some of the places are the beast of the architectural features.

Dennis and I climbed what seemed to be a million steps up a very narrow spiral staircase to get to the roof. Like we really needed the exercise.  Although the wind was blowing up a gale it was a beautiful place to see the city. The attendant kept warning people about the wind.  She should have said wind and cold!

This was about two stories below the roof. The tower is the Torre del Mangia which is located in the Piazza del Campo, considered one of the prettiest town squares in all of Europe.

This is a very large rose window designed by Duccio de Buonninsegnay.  It was somewhere around thirty feet tall.  Beautiful.

The Facade of the Duomo.  It appeared to be mostly ivory and marble.

The organ pipes.

The chapel of the Madonna

So many beautiful ceilings!

Look at the faces.  Probably hidden somewhere in these carvings is the artist, his wife, and all their friends.

The pulpit was one of my favorite things in the Cathedral.  According to Wikipedia, "The Siena Cathedral Pulpit is an octagonal structure in Siena Cathedral sculpted by Nicola Pisano^[1] and his assistants Arnolfo di Cambio, Lapo di Ricevuto, and Nicolas' son Giovanni Pisano between the fall of 1265 and the fall of 1268. The pulpit, with its seven narrative panels and nine decorative columns carved out of Carrara marble, showcases Nicola Pisano's talent for integrating classical themes into Christian traditions, making both Nicola Pisano and the Siena pulpit forerunners of the classical revival of the Italian Renaissance."

Another beautiful ceiling.

I know it is a lot of church photos but this cathedral was just exquisite with its towering striped columns.

This is the highlight of the city center...the Piazza del Campo.

Look at this beautiful fountain.

The Basilica de San Francisco.

It was a cavernous space with mo pews until very close to the front.  The pitched wooden ceiling was gorgeous.

A beautiful stained glass window backlights the pulpit.

According to Wikipedia "Savina Petrilli (29 August 1851 - 18 April 1923) was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious who founded the Sisters of the Poor of Saint Catherine of Siena upon receiving the encouragement of Pope Pius IX. Petrilli devoted her order to the alleviation of the poor while catering to those people who came to the congregation seeking help. She opened her first international house in Brazil after her order was established though managed the house in Siena where she lived until her death from cancer in 1923.^"

Dennis and I had a glass of wine (not our favorite) in this little romantic alcove.  I was bundled up like I was headed to Anartica and Dennis had his glasses taped in the center.  I kept telling him he looked so nerdy that people were going to ask him to fix their computers.  We were quite the stylish couple!  But every pot has a lid!

After our delicious dinner and some gelato, we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the long walk tomorrow.  Look at this moderny light post on this old building.  

Caio until mañana. Or is that Spanish?