Siena, Steak & Wine Tasting
We were to meet up in the Campo (Siena’s city centre), but it was bucketing down as we drank our morning coffee and peered out at the gloomy weather. An hour later, things looked a little brighter, and by ten there was even a watery-looking sun.
The centre of old Siena is pedestrian only – taxis are the exception – so parking had to be done at a nearby shopping plaza about a 25 minute walk away …. once you’d reached street level, that it. The city is quite elevated so from the shopping plaza this involves taking a series of 8 escalators/moving walkways up!
The Piazza del Campo is where they hold the famous Palio de Siena horse races in July and August each year — it’s a free-for-all, no holds barred, bareback race between the 17 fiercely competitive historic districts. https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=Palio+di+siena+youtube&mid=29E6806C290FD12EA4EB29E6806C290FD12EA4EB&FORM=VIRE Three laps around the plaza … it’s over in about 90 seconds … and should a rider fall (or be thrust) off, his horse can still win! Tons and tons of are clay are brought in for the horses to run on, while 5000 spectators are packed like sardines into the centre. The best views of course are those from the surrounding balconies, but these go for a premium price and are booked years in advance.
Lunch at one of the cafes was not only delicious (bruschette and accompanying roasted vegetables) but fortuitous … as the sun disappeared behind a massive black cloud and the skies opened once more… just briefly. We were lovely and dry under the cafe’s wide canopy, but the tables at next door’s restaurant were instantly depleted of customers and bedraggled visitors from the campo searched hopefully for a vacant table so they could shelter.
Down the street … past the famous Macellerina (butcher shop) where a line-up of customers waited patiently halfway down the alley … past the original bank — a grand building where carved heads of all the former chief bankers gaze down at you … past slightly curved buildings whose walls could be anything from ancient rock, stone, marble or brick … or a meld of several as repairs had been needed. Then on to the Duomo. By this point in our trip we had seen multitudinous assortments of churches and cathedrals … from simple, almost bare to elaborate, ornate confections which overloaded the senses with gold, carving and paintings. One tends to become immune after a while. However, Siena’s Duomo still managed to stand out. The striking dark and white horizontal stripes on the bell tower are duplicated inside on the arches — very reminiscent of Cordoba’s mosque … while the marble floor murals/etchings, I’ve not seen the like of anywhere.
For dinner that evening we were treated to the famous Florentine Steaks (massive things, 2 inches thick) cooked by Bill on a true, Italian barbecue. Two served the 4 of us more than amply .. with tiny local chipolatas, several salads and Bill’s almond Cantucci (think biscotti but only baked once, so not as hard) more wonderful gelato .. and of course several glasses of Chianti’s finest wines.
Speaking of wine … the next day we visited a nearby winery which our friends had become well acquainted with and liked tremendously. Down a rutted road is a parking area shaded by olives and a stone’s throw from Michaelangelo’s tower. Buondonno Winery https://buondonno.com/agriturismo (if you scroll down to the 3rd photo, that is where we sat for the wine tasting). Valentina gave us an outstanding and thoroughly fascinating tour … taking us through the whole process from picking to bottling – showing both old and new methods. For the Chianti Classico wines their primary grape is the Sangiovese but they are allowed between 5 and 15% of other grapes such as Merlot, Cabernet and Shiraz. Gabriele was experimenting with an unusual white — Bianca alla Marta, named after his daughter who had suggested it (I think it went against his vintner’s instincts at first, but he’s inordinately proud of it . Aged in barrels slowly with the skins for 6 months (not the usual 2-3) it is unlike any other ‘white’. Dark golden amber with a rich, fruity tone – very drinkable. In between tastings we sampled Marta’s cheeses and some excellent salami along with bread and olive oil. Re the tower … it dates back to 1047, but in 1549 one Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni purchased the building and land (located between Castelina and Panzano) for the sum of 2360 florins, and began producing some decent Chianti wines … which he took along with him to the Sistine Chapel while he was painting … and presented several barrels to Pope Julius II. https://eco-museisenesi-org.translate.goog/archivio/164/torre-di-michelangelo/?_x_tr_sl=it&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc In the early days, the ground floor would have housed the animals while the family lived upstairs. The present owner (after researching and discovering that Michelangelo and succeeding generations of his family did indeed live there) spent 20 years restoring what was then almost a ruin … and is today a comfortable B&B.
We bade farewell to friends Darlene and Bill … and drove the scenic route home … before enjoying the view from our terrace one more time. We have to pack and move on to Bologna in the morning – our last stop!
A few more photos before we left:
