Last Year's Europe Trip: Siena

by Shaunne Kimberly - Friday, May 29, 2020

Day four.

(Click here to check out Rome and Assisi.)

DAY FOUR: SIENA

New sunny day, another day of extensive walking. Lemme be clear: I don't mind walking and roaming around but I do mind it when I'm doing that in an uphill place. Like, wow, I love you Siena, but you are unexpectedly too uphill! We started this day with a walking tour that also led up to our first church: the Basilica Cateriniana Di San Domenico or Basilica of San Domenico.

The Basilica of San Domenico was built in 1226 and enlarged in the 14th century. It is mainly made of bricks. I guess you could say that this basilica has weathered a number of calamities, like fires and earthquakes, resulting in significant damages throughout the basilica. This basilica also contains several relics of St. Catherine of Siena, a Doctor of the Church.

We continued our walking tour again to go to the next church. Here are some photos around Siena.

Next stop: Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta or the Siena Cathedral, a church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It was built and completed between 1215-1263 and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Duomo.

Entry to the Cappella della Madonna del Voto or Chigi Chapel. It was commissioned by the Sienese Chigi pope, Alexander VII, in 1659.

The Madonna del Voto, painted by Guido da Siena.

The cathedral's pulpit.

The ceiling of the Piccolomini Library, painted by Pinturicchio.

Outside the cathedral is the Battistero di San Giovanni or the Baptistry of St. John. It was built by Camaino di Crescentino between 1316-1325. We weren't able to go inside though.

After visiting the churches, we had a bit of free tie to roam around. We went back to the area of the Piazza del Campo where we had lunch.

So. Lunch. After wandering around, my parents and I decided to have yet another quick bite since we were still full from the breakfast buffet we had. We found a hole in the wall pizza shop that's cheap yet delicious!

I opted for a panini-like pizza (what do you call this anyway??) with spinach, cheese, and ham.

Siena is special to me because this was where I had my very first taste of authentic Italian gelato! And I can safely say that nothing can compare to it. It was smooth and very flavorful and totally different and much more special than regular ice cream. Ahh, Italy, you make me miss you so much!