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Tuscany by Photocat, Part 5/1 : Siena
My first view of Sienna was rather dissappointing, we were still in the van, so it was a quickie, I had no idea about the beauty of what was inside these walls.
After my getting lost on Monday in Cortona, whenever we started a new trip, I took a picture of our starting spot, in case I got lost, I could show it on the camera to whomever I was talking to. With big hopes that they would know where it was...
I knew our meeting point was San Francesco parking!
The nice thing about Siena is that there are rolling stairs taking you up to the upper street level, so you don't have to climb.
Here is a link for those who want to know more about this absolute MAGICAL city. Siena has me in its spell...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena
And a teaser picture as we walked up on the Via Rossi to the center.
A lonely Charles on the exploration route
I love the pastel colors in Tuscany. They are all around us, they never get boring, they always have a special charm attached to them.
If only the walls could speak
No, this is not an undecent picture... (How the mind can play tricks with us)
I love the veggie stores in Italy, they make my mouth water... You want to eat peaches the whole day long
This must be one of my favorite pictures from Siena, I wished I had had my 300 mm lens with me, so I could go in closer on this Maria behind glass.
that will teach me about being lazy and not wanting to log lenses around. I had one lens on this whole trip to my big shame, my 28-75 2.8 tamron zoom.
Watch it, crazy Vespa in the surrounding
Michael and Charles as innocent tourists...
A lost mermaid... caught in stone since centuries
Ready to enter the heart of Siena, the Via Rossi comes out in one of the main streets, leading up to the Campo.
It astonishes me that the modern times are so imbedded in ages and centuries of history. It must be incredible to live in Siena, never mind the millions of tourists, that is the price to pay for living in this place. Living inside of history has a high price...
Note to self, take a picture of the Gate where you came into the city, in case you get lost, you can go back to this gate and just go down...
Signs again, they chant to me...
I feel emerged in the past, I expect to see an etruscan at any moment now...
Technically not the best of photographs, as there is a more then four stops contrast between the streets and the skies, but I try my best to capture the atmosphere
A poster that fits completely here, Pasolini, here I am, in Siena
The coppers of the day, it would not be me if there would not be some policia in view...
Lovely upscale stores, all the big names of fashion are here, it could be Paris or Milan...
I arrive at a little campo, with a statue (another statue, one more, one less, who is counting?)
Hard to tell who it is, he looks unpleased... Some research learns that it is Sallustio Bandini, founder of the Community Library in Siena. Sounds rather prestigious.
The building on the square is a bank. Not any bank, it is one of the original institutions in the Italian banking history.
They were the first ones to use letters of credit. They are housed in the Palazzo Salimbeni, one of the most beautiful palazzo's in Italy.
Wikipedia tells me the following: "Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SPA (MPS) is perhaps the oldest surviving bank in the world. Founded in 1472 by the Magistrate of the city state of Siena, Italy, it has been operating ever since. Today it consists of approximately 1,800 branches, 28,000 employees and 4.5 million customers in Italy, as well as branches and businesses abroad. Its headquarters in the Palazzo Salimbeni in Siena are host to a magnificent art collection and a large number of priceless historical documents spanning the centuries of its existence. However, this collection is not usually open to the public.
Can you say : "MONEY?????" Does it scream money? It does for me.
The lion keeps calm... hear, see and no talking! Rule number one for the banking world
Time to leave the smell of money, (I assure you all, it smelled like money)... Time to go in the city and see what's up
We are still in Tuscany, it means little streets and alleyways, I am repeating myself endlessly, but that is just how it is
And of course we are prepared for a zillion churches again
A female wolf feeding twin brothers because on roman origins, Siena would have been created by twin brothers, Sienus & Achius, suns of Roman Emperor REMUS
I wonder how they build up the bricks to become such a narrow corner...
More lions, guarding ornaments on important buildings, this lion is on the building that once housed the French king of Naples, Robert D'anjou in 1310...
Busy streets
Layered roof tops
Impressive, artsy door knockers. One can only guess how much work was spent on these little treasures
The square holes in all the walls were where the scaffolding was situated when building... Medieval genius minds
Black is supposed to be beautiful
On the edge on the right, you can see part of another important building in Siena, the neo-gothic loggia of merchants (loggia dei Mercanti). They seriously try to protect the historical treasure buildings from the pigeons.
I really liked this beheaded statue, it looked so real. What crafmanship those stoneworkers had... It is marble, one of the hardest materials to work with.
The loggia is now a working bank too... (Maybe it was just that all along)
I spend quite some time in this gallery, as it was outside and yet showing me some inside of a building. If the gallery is as rich, how must the inside be?
On the street, people pass by, I got in by accident, as I watched a girl just pushing open the grid, if I would not have seen her go in, I would not have known that you CAN go in and take a closer look at the wonderful ceilings and stone carvings.
A view that asks for more, I decide to go look for a lunch place first. I know it is the campo, but I want to take time for it, so I postpone the pleasure
Little fragments of color, people, houses, blinds.
It soon becomes clear why Siena is on the world site Heritage list...
Siena Public Palace: built between 1288 and 1309, this elegant and majestic gothic palace is one of the most significant Italian treasures; The three lancets windows are all stamped with the Siena emblem; The tower built with red bricks and crowned by a stone belfry is called Torre del Mangia since medieval times; It got its name from that of a bell ringer and is 88 meters high
The walk from the Via Di Citta to the campo
A little gem, a blue Mary
Walking back up to the Via Di Citta
I am seated in this heavenly spot to have lunch, with a view on the Gate to the Campo. I feel so happy and totally lucky to be able to do this.
What a luxuary feeling.
I wonder off after lunch, I have decided that I will keep the campo for last, I will firstly go away out of the center a bit, so I can see what the city is really like (I mean where the locals reside)
The Duomo Campanile
Sadly enough, the Duomo is wrapped in sheets, scaffolding all around, no way to see more
Reflection in a window of the front of the Duomo
And a vague self portrait again
I have no clue if this is the wolverine I saw earlier, I think it is another one (same legend, other statue)
A flag that shows the Pallio, a famous race with horses through the streets of Siena, good for so many million visitors a year.
The different parts of the city competing against each other, each divided with a color.
This one has fun... grinning at all us silly tourists... he knows...
The roster for the pharmacies, weekend and nightshifts are posted here
This is not a daydreamer, he is riping. Two different things
An empty stair, rare view in this crowded city
I am still in the Duomo area
It is after one, people have gone, you hear them from inside, it is mealtime again. The streets are empty, eary... Only tourists walk around at this hour, and nosy photographers
Lots of hidden corners, and sudden peeps into other streets
I see this courtyard and enter it, and it feels like I am trespassing, so I back out
It feels as if I am in a private part, that is NOT for tourists... No signs, it is just a feeling that I have
The colors take my breath away. It feels as if I saw something godly, it is almost a spiritual thing to have seen this little spot in Siena
Yet some new technologie tells me that I am still in 2006...
As I do have a lot more pics of Siena, I will split it up over two days. If you still want more, part two is for tomorrow...
Thanks for looking!!!
After my getting lost on Monday in Cortona, whenever we started a new trip, I took a picture of our starting spot, in case I got lost, I could show it on the camera to whomever I was talking to. With big hopes that they would know where it was...
I knew our meeting point was San Francesco parking!
The nice thing about Siena is that there are rolling stairs taking you up to the upper street level, so you don't have to climb.
Here is a link for those who want to know more about this absolute MAGICAL city. Siena has me in its spell...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena
And a teaser picture as we walked up on the Via Rossi to the center.
A lonely Charles on the exploration route
I love the pastel colors in Tuscany. They are all around us, they never get boring, they always have a special charm attached to them.
If only the walls could speak
No, this is not an undecent picture... (How the mind can play tricks with us)
I love the veggie stores in Italy, they make my mouth water... You want to eat peaches the whole day long
This must be one of my favorite pictures from Siena, I wished I had had my 300 mm lens with me, so I could go in closer on this Maria behind glass.
that will teach me about being lazy and not wanting to log lenses around. I had one lens on this whole trip to my big shame, my 28-75 2.8 tamron zoom.
Watch it, crazy Vespa in the surrounding
Michael and Charles as innocent tourists...
A lost mermaid... caught in stone since centuries
Ready to enter the heart of Siena, the Via Rossi comes out in one of the main streets, leading up to the Campo.
It astonishes me that the modern times are so imbedded in ages and centuries of history. It must be incredible to live in Siena, never mind the millions of tourists, that is the price to pay for living in this place. Living inside of history has a high price...
Note to self, take a picture of the Gate where you came into the city, in case you get lost, you can go back to this gate and just go down...
Signs again, they chant to me...
I feel emerged in the past, I expect to see an etruscan at any moment now...
Technically not the best of photographs, as there is a more then four stops contrast between the streets and the skies, but I try my best to capture the atmosphere
A poster that fits completely here, Pasolini, here I am, in Siena
The coppers of the day, it would not be me if there would not be some policia in view...
Lovely upscale stores, all the big names of fashion are here, it could be Paris or Milan...
I arrive at a little campo, with a statue (another statue, one more, one less, who is counting?)
Hard to tell who it is, he looks unpleased... Some research learns that it is Sallustio Bandini, founder of the Community Library in Siena. Sounds rather prestigious.
The building on the square is a bank. Not any bank, it is one of the original institutions in the Italian banking history.
They were the first ones to use letters of credit. They are housed in the Palazzo Salimbeni, one of the most beautiful palazzo's in Italy.
Wikipedia tells me the following: "Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SPA (MPS) is perhaps the oldest surviving bank in the world. Founded in 1472 by the Magistrate of the city state of Siena, Italy, it has been operating ever since. Today it consists of approximately 1,800 branches, 28,000 employees and 4.5 million customers in Italy, as well as branches and businesses abroad. Its headquarters in the Palazzo Salimbeni in Siena are host to a magnificent art collection and a large number of priceless historical documents spanning the centuries of its existence. However, this collection is not usually open to the public.
Can you say : "MONEY?????" Does it scream money? It does for me.
The lion keeps calm... hear, see and no talking! Rule number one for the banking world
Time to leave the smell of money, (I assure you all, it smelled like money)... Time to go in the city and see what's up
We are still in Tuscany, it means little streets and alleyways, I am repeating myself endlessly, but that is just how it is
And of course we are prepared for a zillion churches again
A female wolf feeding twin brothers because on roman origins, Siena would have been created by twin brothers, Sienus & Achius, suns of Roman Emperor REMUS
I wonder how they build up the bricks to become such a narrow corner...
More lions, guarding ornaments on important buildings, this lion is on the building that once housed the French king of Naples, Robert D'anjou in 1310...
Busy streets
Layered roof tops
Impressive, artsy door knockers. One can only guess how much work was spent on these little treasures
The square holes in all the walls were where the scaffolding was situated when building... Medieval genius minds
Black is supposed to be beautiful
On the edge on the right, you can see part of another important building in Siena, the neo-gothic loggia of merchants (loggia dei Mercanti). They seriously try to protect the historical treasure buildings from the pigeons.
I really liked this beheaded statue, it looked so real. What crafmanship those stoneworkers had... It is marble, one of the hardest materials to work with.
The loggia is now a working bank too... (Maybe it was just that all along)
I spend quite some time in this gallery, as it was outside and yet showing me some inside of a building. If the gallery is as rich, how must the inside be?
On the street, people pass by, I got in by accident, as I watched a girl just pushing open the grid, if I would not have seen her go in, I would not have known that you CAN go in and take a closer look at the wonderful ceilings and stone carvings.
A view that asks for more, I decide to go look for a lunch place first. I know it is the campo, but I want to take time for it, so I postpone the pleasure
Little fragments of color, people, houses, blinds.
It soon becomes clear why Siena is on the world site Heritage list...
Siena Public Palace: built between 1288 and 1309, this elegant and majestic gothic palace is one of the most significant Italian treasures; The three lancets windows are all stamped with the Siena emblem; The tower built with red bricks and crowned by a stone belfry is called Torre del Mangia since medieval times; It got its name from that of a bell ringer and is 88 meters high
The walk from the Via Di Citta to the campo
A little gem, a blue Mary
Walking back up to the Via Di Citta
I am seated in this heavenly spot to have lunch, with a view on the Gate to the Campo. I feel so happy and totally lucky to be able to do this.
What a luxuary feeling.
I wonder off after lunch, I have decided that I will keep the campo for last, I will firstly go away out of the center a bit, so I can see what the city is really like (I mean where the locals reside)
The Duomo Campanile
Sadly enough, the Duomo is wrapped in sheets, scaffolding all around, no way to see more
Reflection in a window of the front of the Duomo
And a vague self portrait again
I have no clue if this is the wolverine I saw earlier, I think it is another one (same legend, other statue)
A flag that shows the Pallio, a famous race with horses through the streets of Siena, good for so many million visitors a year.
The different parts of the city competing against each other, each divided with a color.
This one has fun... grinning at all us silly tourists... he knows...
The roster for the pharmacies, weekend and nightshifts are posted here
This is not a daydreamer, he is riping. Two different things
An empty stair, rare view in this crowded city
I am still in the Duomo area
It is after one, people have gone, you hear them from inside, it is mealtime again. The streets are empty, eary... Only tourists walk around at this hour, and nosy photographers
Lots of hidden corners, and sudden peeps into other streets
I see this courtyard and enter it, and it feels like I am trespassing, so I back out
It feels as if I am in a private part, that is NOT for tourists... No signs, it is just a feeling that I have
The colors take my breath away. It feels as if I saw something godly, it is almost a spiritual thing to have seen this little spot in Siena
Yet some new technologie tells me that I am still in 2006...
As I do have a lot more pics of Siena, I will split it up over two days. If you still want more, part two is for tomorrow...
Thanks for looking!!!
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Comments
Lee
MOOOOOOOOORE, MOOOOOOOORE...............please.
[/LEFT][/QUOTE]
Thanks guys... Be careful what you wish for Art. Grin, thanks so much for the comments.
No time today as I had a wedding album to complete, but I am ready, set and go for tomorrow
Thanks again all of you who comment, it is very much appreciated!
http://photocatseyes.net
http://www.zazzle.com/photocatseyes
Beautiful shots.
PBase Gallery
I have visited all of these places in years past, some more than once, but you are taking me back...reminding me of all the little details that I missed. I must return.