Italy Vacation (part 6)

Another day trip we took was to the city of Siena. Siena is a large city, especially in comparison to San Gimignano or Greve. Like Rome, Siena is hodgepodge of ancient and modern. The big difference in Siena though, is that motor traffic is very limited in the older parts of the city. Which means no playing chicken with oncoming taxis, and no crazy motorini.

Il Duomo di Siena is the famous church of the city. It is a large church, but nowhere near the scale of St. Peters. But unlike St. Peters, the outside of the Duomo is ornately decorated. The unique feature of Il Duomo, however, is the stripes. Both the inside and the outside of the church are banded in alternate strips of black and white marble. (You can see this more clearly on the pictures from inside the church) I don't know why they made stripes, but it looks cool. The floor of the church is just as decorated as the walls and ceiling. The photograph of me and part of the floor is a depiction of Siena surrounded by the other major cities of Italy. It's cooler to see in person than in the photograph.

The other major church in Siena in the Church of San Domenico. I did not like this church at all. The building is huge, larger than Il Duomo, but it lacks the ornate decorations, especially on the outside. (see here for better photos) There are a few large frescoes and other decorations on the inside, but compared to the other major churches in Italy, it seemed sparse. It just seemed a little off, like it was empty or incomplete. And as I mentioned in a previous post, I did not like the stained glass. Compare the glass in San Domenico against the glass in Il Duomo, it's not even close. The figures are crude, the color choices don't work together, and even the coloring itself is inconsistent. Terrible glasswork. The only other interesting thing in the church is the chapel of St. Catherine, which boasts the incorruptible head and finger of St. Catherine. It's just fucking weird. I was more creeped out than impressed.

The last famous thing we saw in Siena was the Piazza del Campo, a large open space in the center of the city that served (and still serves) as a marketplace and gathering center. The Torre del Mangia is the famous tower that looms high over the piazza. It's cool and all, but I think that a tower that tall should have a clock on it.......whatever.