Siena's Campo: the Palio race is run around its perimeter
Today, Thursday August 13 the only flower which grows on tufo, or tuff rock began to bloom: the Palio di Siena.
This is an evergreen plant which blooms only twice a year, once being at the height of summer on the 16th of August for the feast of the Virgin Mary’s Assumption. The flower emanates an intoxicating, giddy perfume for local residents and visitors alike.
The Palio is not a sporting event, and it isn’t just a horse race. The event is a tournament from the past that continues to still evoke great passion in the people of Siena. You have to see it to believe it.
Last Saturday we went back to Roccatederighi to attend the “Festa del Borgo”, the medieval fair held every year in this nice village in the Tuscan Maremma. We were positively impressed: we write about it in more detail on our brand new blog Medieval Festivals.
Since we wanted to take our time in seeing the many attractions of the Medieval Fair and visit the nearby Castle of Sassoforte, we decided to sleep in the area for one night. We slept at a nice bed and breakfast near Sassofortino called Podere Usignolo. The owners, Martin and Barbara, are really nice and have created a beautiful place from which one can enjoy the hills of Maremma! We definitely recommend it even for a long, relaxing stay in the Tuscan countryside.
When we visited Volterra last year, we passed by Colla Val d’Elsa which seemed to be a beautiful medieval town. We didn’t have a chance to stop then to visit it, but this past weekend, taking advantage that we were in the area for the medieval fair at Monteriggioni we decided to spend a day exploring Colle. It was a very pleasant discovery.
Colle Val d’Elsa is about 15 minutes from Monteriggioni which is where we were staying, right below the castle at the Residence La Rosa. The residence is very nice and small with only a few rooms and two apartments. We got the small apartment for 2 nights. The place is very close to Monteriggioni but being between the castle and the Firenze-Siena roadway took away from some of the tranquility we were expecting to find. The owners, father and son Aldo and Paolo were welcoming and nice, offering us a bottle of wine they produce on the farm.
We had no problems finding parking once we arrived in Colle, there were several parking lots right below the historical center (since Colle means hill you can clearly understand the old town is foun on a hill). The modern part of the town spreads out in the surrounding valley.
We followed a path from the parking lot up toward the Porta Nuova, or New Door, that guards the city’s entrance from Volterra. Imposing, with two large round towers and medievals walls to the side and a moat! It seems we have stepped back in time but we are brought back to our time as a car comes out of the medieval door .
We spent this last weekend around Monteriggioni since its medieval fair has become one of our favorite summer events. We took advantage to visit the area as well, visiting Colle Val d’Elsa and we’ll soon post about what we saw there.
“Monteriggioni di Torri si Corona” or “Monteriggioni Crowned by Towers” (the phrase comes from Dante Alighieri) is a medieval fair that takes place over two long weekends every July in this beautiful castle near Siena. The castle, very well conserved, is a pleasure to visit and ideal setting for recreating past eras.
It is easy to go back to the Middle Ages when surrounded by the large defensive walls and giant towers, walking amidst knights in armor, minstrels, musicians and tables set up to illustrate medieval crafts. A step back to medieval times is always fascinating, not least because it offers the possibility of being centuries away from our responsibilities of daily life especially once we turn off our cell phones .
It’s time for one of our favourite events in Tuscany: the medieval festival of Monteriggioni. Monteriggioni is a beautiful medieval castle with giant towers near Siena. It has been the setting of several medieval battles between the armies of Florence and Siena, and it’s the perfect location to recreate medieval times.
The festival started last weekend on the 3d of july, we will be going this friday (10th) and saturday, maybe on sunday too for the last day. Learn more about the festival on the official site of “Monteriggioni di Torri si Corona” .
This video, from last year’s edition, shows a reenactement of the medieval battle during the siege of the castle by the Florentines, in 1526. Unfortunately the audio of the first part is only in Italian!
I have finally edited and uploaded on our Youtube channel a video of this year’s Regatta of San Ranieri. It was a little bit long to wait in the sun for over an hour, anyway here you have it all in less than 5 minutes . You can find more info on the Regatta here on our article.
We were in Pisa last week to witness the beautiful (but very crowded) Luminara along the Arno river and then to attend the late afternoon regatta of San Ranieri. We spent a little more than 24 hours in Pisa. Most everyone who tries to fit Pisa in into an otherwise crammed Tuscany itinerary generally only dedicates a few hours to Pisa. Get in, see the Leaning Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli (main square where you find the tower, cathedral, baptistery and monumental cemetery) and leave.
The teams of the Florence’s Calcio Storico (Blues, Whites, Greens and Reds) have faced off over the last two weeks in the semi-finals to decide which two teams compete in the traditional Tournament of St. John in Florence’s Piazza Santa Croce on June 24.
The soccer game played in costume is one of Florence’s main events historically planned for the month of June in the celebrations for San Giovanni, St. John, patron saint for the city. For this special occasion, the large, beautiful square in front of the Church of Santa Croce serves as the playing field. Bleachers are set up for spectators and the stone square is covered with sand.
For the final match, the Reds will face off the Blues on Wednesday June 24 at 5 p.m.
The tiny village of Serravalle Pistoiese, just 10 kilometres from Pistoia, is preparing to dive into the past with the Medieval Fair organized at the Rocca di Castruccio from May 22 to 24.
Serravalle was the most important castle for the Ghibelline city of Pistoia, both reaching the peak of their splendor and importance at the end of the second century. The Medieval Fair celebrates the ancient glory of Serravalle at the beginning of the 300s, bringing back to life the old fortress with its garrisons, artisans, merchants and all the places and personages which animated the castle at that time.
The Fair will start on May 22 with a medieval dinner and continues over the following two days with many events and exhibitions that take us back to that era.
On Saturday 23 at 10 p.m. we highly recommend attending the show by the medieval-inspired musicians of the Compagnia la Giostra. We have seen this high energy group perform in other important medieval fairs around Tuscany (such as the Monteriggioni fair in July) and we have been big fans since the very first time we heard them! We’re planning to attend the fair this week in Serravalle to not miss the show of our favorite medieval group and the rest of the fair.
Has someone else attended in the past or is thinking of joing us? Let us know what you think!
I remember it was a zoo-safari: visitors crossed huge areas directly aboard their own cars, passing through fields where lions and monkeys made their home.
To my young eyes, these great fields were the savanna and reminded me of Tarzan movies. I couldn’t imagine what enclosures were and I certainly didn’t intend on walking through the big cats to ensure myself that these walls existed (I was a wise guy at the time).
I let my fantasy do its job and I looked at the animals full of delight.
More than thirty years later, I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and photograpg something different. Somehow I decided to go to the Pistoia Zoo to take some shots.
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