Siena is a Tuscan city, near-by Florence. During the late Middle Ages fought with Florence over the territories and power. Eventually Florence won (of course!) and incorporated Siena into its administration. Tho there was one significant battle of 1260, Battle of Montaperti, from which Sienese came out victorious. In Siena they still talk about it.
Florentines paid ransom for captured Florentine war prisoners, and the money were suppose to go to the war reparations in Siena, but Sienese decided to use a big chunk of that money for embellishing and enlarging their Cathedral instead…blah-de-blah, long story short: Florentines - jealous that someone else has got a bigger Cathedral (began to enlarge their own). Sienese – very happy to have a magnificent Cathedral with a handsome façade by Giovanni Pisano, full of sculptures.
Umm, a bit too much sculpture I’d say.
I imagine a movie shot where at the sunset the creatures on the façade of the Cathedral come alive and fly, crawl, and drop out of the Cathedral’s wall before all hell breaks loose.
According to his diary, Richard Wagner, a famous conductor and composer of 20th century, said that the sight of the Cathedral made him cry: “the greatest emotion I ever felt in front of a building”. Well, that’s great, but Wagner also composed a cycle of songs called “Kindertotemlieder” (songs of the dead children), which he thought was beautiful. Tragically beautiful?
But yes, Sienese did achieve magnificence with the Cathedral, even if there are too many statues for my liking.
Another cool thing I learned about Siena is that every summer a horse race takes place in one of the squares (circle in this case), Piazza del Campo. The race itself is about 1.5 minutes long, but the preparations for it are grandeur. This is a tradition kept from the Medieval times. Almost 20 Sienese districts, each with its own mascot, compete in the race.
Living in a place full of creepy yet magnificent statues, Medieval horse racings, and almost no cars (residents have to purchase expensive permits to drive in the city) seems surreal.
