A City Built to Last
After four days in Florence and all its Renaissance glories, we traveled south to the small walled city of Siena. It was one of the major city republics in Italy in the Middle Ages, built on trade in wool and textiles and banking. Its famous university dates from 1240 and its imposing medieval cathedral also was begun during that time. The water for its people and its fountains comes from a 15 mile aqueduct built in the 14th century. Under the hills of the city runs a still more ancient aqueduct system built by the Romans in the 4th century. These underground ducts are large enough for a man to stand up in and now serve as the sewer system for the city.
Walking up and down the streets of Siena is like stepping back in time. Its streets are narrow and steep and overhanging arches connect some buildings. Although the citizens have motorbikes and there are taxis, most people walk the streets paved with large stones. The Dominican Church of St. Catherine of Siena dominates one hill. On another is the Duomo, the cathedral, and a third hill slopes to the south. All the streets radiate like spokes of a wheel around “El Campo” the central piazza.
El Campo is shaped like a scallop shell gently sloping to a drain at the end opposite the fountain. It is surrounded on the north by imposing four story13th and 14th century palazzi with shops and restaurants on the ground floor. It is a grand place to sit at the outdoor tables with a cup of coffee and watch the activity in the piazza. On the south side are the Gothic Pallazo Publico and the Torre del Mangia which is the second highest tower in Italy. Ambitious young people climb the tower and wave to people seated at the tables.
El Campo is a place of triumph and defeat for two days in July and August when residential neighborhoods, formed into Contradas, compete in horse races. This horse race has been run every year since 1633. Each neighborhood has its colors and its symbol, a lion, or a porcupine, or an owl, or a goose. All together there are 17 Contradas. Some are quite small and others much larger.
There is a much excitement as the time for the races approaches. The chances of each Contrada are equalized by the fact that the horses and the jockeys are chosen by lot. After the drawing each neighborhood takes its horse home for a few days before the great race. Before the race a great community feast is held in each Contrada neighborhood and their horse is blessed in their church. The race, which is run around the perimeter of El Campo, is cheered on by 50,000 or more people who are standing in the center of the piazzo and by those who are seated in the stands and who have paid $100 for their tickets which they had to order six months in advance. The winner takes home the Palio,a banner printed with the image of the Virgin Mary and keeps it until the next year.
We will continue our tour of Siena in the next week.
– Mary