Siena

On Thursday afternoon, we took a 1 hr bus-ride down to Siena, a sleepy, quaint town at the top of Tuscany.

We stayed here just 1 night at Rick Steve's recommendation to see the city after dark.

Upon arrival, we headed out to see the major sights of the town - the Duomo and Il Campo.

Il Campo is Siena's main square, the heart of the town both geographically and metaphorically. This shell shaped public area slopes down to the city hall and is the site of the yearly running of The Palio in mid-August. Riders from the various sections of Siena represent their communities in a bragging-rights rich race for 3 laps around Il Campo.

Mel Gibson wanted to make a movie about these epic local horse races, but the locals don't want their town's traditions "celebritized".

(just hold your mouse over the photo to stop the slide-show & see the caption)