Ah, the deserts of Tuscany!

Sunday, October 30

We're off for our first overnight exploration! We're heading to Tuscany in the early morning fog.

On the autostrada, 7 AM.
By 8 AM, it was looking more colorful in some areas.
We stopped at the outskirts of Montepulciano to see this church of Madonna di San Biagio. It's architect, Antonio da Sangallo, designed this in the Renaissance Greek cross central plan and it was built in the early 16th century.
We moved on to Pienza, the dream of Pope Pius II. He was born here in 1405 and after being elected pope in 1458, he decided to commission a new center of Renaissance perfection in his hometown. We parked our car and this 20th century statue was our first sight. Perfection?!
We walked through the center, distracted by the quaint shops along the way.

We visited the nearby church of San Francesco, which had a few remains of some 14th century frescoes. We spent some time trying to figure out which story was being told. Here, we think, is the Angel Gabriel telling Mary that she is with child.

We walked around the papal palace towards the wall.

Despite Alex's pathetic pose, he was having a good time!

We had coffee and snacks across from the three 'must sees' of Pienza: the Duomo, town hall and papal palace. Admired the architect's, Bernardo Rossellino, attempts at perfection and wondered about Pope Pius II's crescent shaped symbol.

The Duomo's doors (from the interior) were flanked by the confessionals.

His crescent moon symbol was everywhere! Quite the modest fellow. Siena is covered in these, too.
Tuscany brings images of rolling hills covered with healthy fields of sunflowers, but we saw a different late October landscape. We had our lunch here, on the side of a field looking back at Pienza.
Across the way, this was our view. Not what they put in the travel books!

Soon we were through the desert and on the outskirts of Siena. I took this photo just after we found parking and walked through the gates.
We were greeted by the she-wolf of Romulus and Remus fame. This time, Remus gets some credit, as it is his son, Senius, that legend has founding this town.
We found our hotel and walked around a few corners to San Domenico. Building started on this gothic church in 1226.

It is a beautiful space with gorgeous artwork, but it is mostly famous for housing the head of one of Siena's famous locals, St. Catherine. She had many visions and she received her stigmata here. I only took a photo of the door frame.

We walked towards the fortress and I took this photo of St. Catherine's statue looking directly at San Domenico's bell tower.

Turning around, you see the walls of a fortress. We walked around, in, and on the Medicea Fortress. Cosimo I had this built after the Florentines defeated Siena after their 1554-5 war. More than 8,000 Sienese died in the 18 month siege. Today, this fortress seems more popular for running laps in.

This was the view from one of the fortress walls. You can see San Domenico's in the foreground and the Duomo in the background.

We met up with Neil's friend and visited the Campo. Perfect spot to have kids run round.
Off to dinner! A good reunion and more to look forward to in our two night stay!