More has been written about Tuscany than any of Italy's other regions and, rightly so, for in terms of its art and architecture, Tuscany enjoys what might be described as an embarrassment of riches. In addition to such familiar gems as the cities of Siena, San Gimignano, Arezzo, Lucca and Pisa, the region is awash with picturesque medieval hill top towns. There are also isolated Romanesque churches, medieval castles and abbeys, Renaissance and Baroque villas and gardens, many of which I will be writing about in my short guide. And most places are situated in one of the most beautiful landscapes Italy has to offer, making the journey often as rewarding as the destination. I shall start with Siena, which is summed up by the Blue Guide in the following terms: 'for beauty and interest in Tuscany, Siena is rivalled only by Florence'.
The beautifully preserved medieval city of Siena has a population of about 60,000, which is only 10,000 more than it had at the height of its power, over 600 years ago. In the first half of the 14th century, Siena was one of the largest (and most prosperous) cities in Europe, on a par with London, and much bigger than Rome. But in 1348 all this came to an end when the plague struck. It has been estimated that up to half the population perished, bringing to an end the city's golden age.
 Piazza del Campo: Siena unlike its neighbour and rival, Florence, is a city of brick not of stone and it is the uniform use of brick as a building material that gives the city its particular sense of harmony. And nowhere can this be better seen than in the Piazza del Campo, one of the most beautiful squares in the whole of Italy. The shape of the brick-paved piazza is unique and is often compared to a shell or fan. But the Sienese like to compare it to the Virgin’s cloak or holy mantle. This is where the world famous horse race, the Palio, is held, but more of that a little later. The square is overlooked by a magnificent bell tower, which soars to a height of 336 feet or 102 meters.
The tower was built between 1338 and 1348 by builders from Perugia and faced in brick. The castellated top was designed by Lippo Memmi, a Sienese artist, and faced in stone. The tower is known as ‘La Torre del Mangia’, after the nickname of its first bell ringer, Mangiaguadagni, literally, the eater of money. He acquired the curious nickname, on account of his tendency promptly to spend everything he earned.
In an age when clocks were few and far between, the bell tower regulated the daily life of the community, reminding people when to work and to pray. At dawn it signalled the lifting of the curfew and the opening of the city gates. At midday it rang to signify the break for lunch and so on until the return of the curfew at the end of the day. The bell, itself, is called ‘Il sunto’, for it is dedicated to Maria Assunta, the Virgin of the Annunciation.
Palazzo Pubblico: Flanking the bell tower stands the Palazzo Pubblico, the medieval seat of government, which dates back to the end of the 13th century. It still functions today as the city's town hall. Decorating the arch of every single window is the Balzana, the black and white emblem of Siena. The Palazzo Pubblico is well worth visiting, for it houses a fascinating series of 14th century frescoes by major artists of the Sienese school, such as Simone Martini and the brothers Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti.
 On the opposite side of the square is a public fountain known as 'La Fonte Gaia'. The fountain was built at the beginning of the 15th century by Jacopo della Quercia, a local sculptor. It is known as ‘La Fonte Gaia’, the joyful fountain, for its completion was greeted with immense joy. It was fed by an aqueduct over 40 miles or 25 kms in length, which predated the building of the fountain by about a century.
Provision of water was always of the first importance in any flourishing urban community in medieval Italy. Siena had its own particular problems. It was not situated on or near a river. It drew its water from vast underground supplies, which fed a series of public fountains scattered around the city. The construction of private wells was strongly encouraged. As the city grew in size, demand soon outstripped supply. The reliefs one now sees in place at the back of the fountain are rather poor replicas of Jacopo della Quercia's original sculptures which, suffering from the ravages of time, neglect and the elements, were removed in the 19th century to the safety of the nearby town hall.
 Twice a year, on July 2nd and August 16th, the Piazza del Campo hosts the celebrated Palio, Italy's most famous horse race. This, however, is no ordinary horse race, it is a highly-charged outpouring of excitement and emotion. The race takes place in the early evening and is preceded by a procession lasting over 2 hours. With seemingly endless beating of drums and waving of flags, it is a colourful pageant with plenty of posturing.
Throughout the middle ages, Siena was known as the city of bankers and saints. It was once one of the most important centres of banking in Europe and the Monte dei Paschi di Siena is the oldest surviving bank in the world.
Siena's most important saint was born on March 25th, 1347. Her name was Caterina Benincasa and at the age of 17, she entered the third order of the Dominicans, thereby becoming a tertiary and not a nun. This allowed her to continue living in the world, while not being wholly part of it. She soon developed a reputation as a mystic and in 1375 she received the stigmata, following in the path of St Francis of Assisi, a century and a half earlier.
She died in Rome in 1380, aged only 33. Her body is buried in that city, but her head was removed and transferred to the city of her birth, where a special chapel, in the Dominican church of San Domenico, was built to house it. She was canonised in 1461 and is known as St Catherine of Siena to distinguish her from St Catherine of Alexandria. She shares with St Francis of Assisi the honour of being the patron saint of Italy.
 Cathedral: Decorated with the familiar zebra-like bands of white and dark-green marble, Siena's Duomo is the oldest of the great Tuscan Gothic cathedrals. the building history of the church, spanning eight centuries, is one of the longest in Italy. Although work started in 1215, the mosaics were not finished until the 19th century, while the bronze doors were only completed at the beginning of the 20th century.
Of all its treasures, I would like to single out two: the 13th century pulpit by Nicola Pisano and the the Piccolommini Library, which was frescoed the the beginning of the 16th century by Pinturricchio.
In the first half of the 14th century, after only a century of construction, Siena's prosperity led to a demand for an even greater and more magnificent building. In 1339 the decision was taken to expand the cathedral to twice its size, in the hope of making it surpass in dimensions and magnificence those of its neignbours, Florence to the north and Orvieto to the south.
The existing cathedral would not be demolished, but would be incorporated into the fabric of the new cathedral. This was a remarkably ambitious project, but almost immediately it came up against problems: both economic and structural. The new building was inadequately supported and financed. And, following the catastrophic outbreak of the Black Death, in 1348, the authorities faced an additional problem, namely, the shortage of skilled craftsmen. The project was eventually abandoned and the skeleton of the new cathedral still stands as a testament to a glorious, but unrealised ambition.
Today, the building houses the Cathedral Museum, which is home to probably the greatest picture ever painted in Siena, Duccio's image of the Maesta.
Santa Maria della Scala: Directly opposite the cathedral stands a rather ordinary looking brick building, which contains some extraordinary frescoes. The building once housed a hospital which, since its foundation in the 9th century, catered to the thousands of pilgrims who plied their way to and from Rome. Until very recently, it still functioned as a hospital; today, however, it is a museum. The 14th century, Sala del Pellegrinaio, is decorated with a series of colourful and detailed frescoes from the 1440s.
Baptistery: To the east of the cathedral, at the bottom of a steep flight of steps, stands the Baptistery. The Gothic facade is so large and imposing that people may be forgiven for thinking that this is in fact the entrance to the cathedral.
The Baptistery dates back to the 14th century and houses a beautiful 15th century hexagonal font, which is decorated with six bronze reliefs. The reliefs are not the work of a single hand, but the combined effort of some of the greatest names in Italian sculpture. Donatello, Ghiberti and Jacopo della Quercia all contributed one or more panels. My favourite panel is the 'Feast of Herod' by Donatello, a powerful and ground-breaking achievement.
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