Four Nights in Siena: Eat, Drink, Do, Siena, Italy (B)

I’ve been wanting to go to Siena for years and years and have just missed it a number of times for various reasons, even when quite close. A lot of people visit it as a day trip from places like Florence. I thought of doing that last year while spending five days in Florence, but then decided against a journey of an hour and a half each way for a quick glimpse of Siena. No, I thought, Siena needed to be seen properly; I needed to stay there for a few days. So, in January this year, I booked my trip!

Why have I been wanting to go? Well, as a self-confessed Italophile, I go to Italy once or twice a year and have seen much of the country, from Genoa, Milan, Turin and Venice in the north, to Rome and Naples further south, Puglia in the deep south, and – many years ago – Sicily. But Siena had escaped me. Siena, famed for its beauty, its incredibly well-preserved historic centre, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Italy, possibly the world. It really is like taking a step back in time and while there, sitting in the Campo one evening, I thought: Where else could I sit and be surrounded by medieval buildings without a modern building in sight? It was truly stunning and every bit as beautiful as I’d heard. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).