Siena 2018: Spiral Stairs and Magnificent Views, Siena, Italy

I had breakfast early in the B&B, took things slowly and wrote a blog post, and by the time I went out it was definitely time for mid-morning coffee. I headed for Caffe Nannini which my son had recommended and is one of the best-known cafes in the city.

I queued at the till, Italian style, to pay and get a ticket for a cappuccino and croissant to have at the bar (sitting down in cafes is always more expensive, but it’s also fun to stand at the bar with locals).

My plan was to then go back to the cathedral that I’d seen from the outside yesterday, and buy an Acropoli Pass (€20) which would buy me entry to the main sights for 3 days. It turned out this included a tour of the Porta del Cielo - literally, the door to the sky. I took a 12 noon slot and decided to fill the intervening hour or so by using the pass to go to the Facciatone, at the back of the cathedral, which promised a wonderful view over Siena.

The Facciatone is the only remaining part of a proposed extension to the cathedral which was begun in the 14th century but never finished because of a plague that devastated the city in 1348.

Well a great view over a city invariably involves climbing. Lifts exist in some places but are rare - or certainly in medieval cities. The way up was a climb up two steep and very narrow spiral staircases. I was definitely climbing off that croissant! Once at the top, the views were stunning, especially down in to the Campo. It was sunny with just a few clouds and I could see far into the distance. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).