Today promised to be another red-letter day! In Italy by Vespa's itinerary, this is "history day". We'll be enjoying a long ride to the city of Siena, one of Italy' must beautiful and historic cities.
We enjoyed a long ride from Radda though more of Tuscany's signature rolling hills, forests, vineyards and olive groves until we reached the walls of the old city itself. Siena is considered "Italy's most perfect medieval town". Founded by the Etruscans before it became a Roman colony known as Saena Julia, Siena flourished in the 13th and 14th centuries as a center for banking and the wool trade. During the Guelph-Ghibbeline wars Siena and Florence fought all through the countryside that our group has been exploring this past week. With the final defeat of the Sienese by Florence at the Battle of Marciano in 1554, Siena was relegated to being little more than a backwater town, forgotten as Florence became the economic and cultural center of the region.
This proved to be a blessing in disguise, and as a result, Siena has changed little since the 16th century, providing visitors with a good look at a classic Medieval city. Siena celebrates it's rich heritage with such world-famous events as the annual Palio, a wild bareback horse race in the grand Piazza del Campo, where horses and riders sponsored by the 17 Contrada, or neighborhood associations, compete to bring glory to their respective sponsors. The 17 Contrada had been formed during Middle Ages to provide funds and troops for the military units hired to defend Siena against it's rivals. The "Wave" Contrada, for example, got it's name because it's military companies were tasked with the defense of Siena's seacoast. The Contradas exist to this day, and the rivalries between them are frequently quite keen. Siena's contrade include the Tortoise, Goose, Eagle, Caterpillar (!), Forest, Dragon, Snail, Tower, Owl, Unicorn, Shell, Ram, Giraffe, Hedgehog, She-Wolf (!!), and Wave.
It was a real treat to ride along the narrow, twisting cobblestone streets of Siena. Before long we met a charming young woman who had been engaged by Golden Travel to serve as our guide in the city. She was a Sienese native, and as we walked along and explored sights like the famous Duomo, or cathedral, she told us much about the history of the city. She took us to the museum of the "Forest" Contrada, and we were admitted by a member of the association who gave us a tour. Each Contrada has a museum like this, where the association keeps it's trophies and banners that date back to the Middle Ages, and they have meetings and banquets as well. This museum is not open to the public, but once again, Italy by Vespa allows you access to sights other tourists don't get to see!
After visiting the Museum, Dr. M. continued to give us a walking tour of the area, winding up at a delightful cafe for lunch. I enjoyed another Tuscan speciality, charcoal-grilled pork riblets, washed down with more delightful chianti.
After a quick stop for gelato, we were on our way back to Radda. Dr. M. is very careful to plan our riding days along 'great circle' routes, so we rarely have to backtrack and instead see as much of Tuscany as possible. On the road we saw a fairly unusual sight; a viper! These snakes are quite venemous but tend to stay out of sight. This unfortunate fellow had a nasty run-in with a car tire while trying to cross the road, and appeared quite dead. Understandably curious, Tess and I rode over to it to have a closer look. Needless to say, there was consternation in the camp when the 'dead' viper proved to be Not Quite Dead Yet, and proceeded to briskly slither towards us, trailing his entrails behind him! If there was ever a time we were glad for the quick acceleration that a Vespa is capable of, that was it!
That evening we were presented with yet another lovely gift, a pasta set!. It was a bittersweet evening, because we know tomorrow would be our last riding day of the Vespa Tour.
Next: Last Shout - Monteriggioni & San Gimigiano
