The Armchair Traveller

Ciao, come sta?

Well it has been quite a while since I last updated my blog. I apologise for that to those who look at it reasonably regularly. I guess life got in the way of writing. I have decided to pick up where I left off on the tour around Italy. So, I left you readers in the wonderful city of Firenze (Florence) and now we will continue our journey south. So there are a couple of places which are a quick train ride away from Florence, you could choose to make these each a day trip or stay overnight at each location. The two towns are Arezzo and Sienna.

Let us visit the town of Arezzo first. The easiest way to get there is by train from Florence, this will take you to a train station on the edge of the historic old town. The town is small and walking around the city is the recommended mode of transport for seeing the sights, although it is also worth noting that Arezzo is located at the top of a steep incline so there is a lot of uphill walking if you head to this town. The Piazza Grande is the most beautiful square in Arezzo. It is surrounded by marvelous old buildings and plays host the Giostra del Saracino every year. The Giostra del Saracino is an annual medieval festival (the Joust of the Saracens); there is a jousting competition and virtually the whole town dress up in medieval costume and cheer on the competitors. The dates for this event this year are 23 June and 2 September 2007.

Another great event that the city hosts is an Antiques Fair in the Piazza Grande and its surrounding streets. This takes place on the first Sunday and the Saturday preceding it of every month. There is an array of about 500 stalls to browse through – lots of fun.

If you are not visiting while Arezzo is hosting a fair or festival of some sort, don’t despair, there is still plenty to see and do. For example there are beautiful churches to visit such as the Arezzo Cathedral (Duomo) or the Church of San Francesco, and then of course there are the museums – Museo del Duomo and Museo Archeologico. There are also a couple of other treasures worth checking out. The famous Italian medieval poet Petrarch came from the town of Arezzo, his home (Casa della Petrarca) is open if you knock on the door and ask very nicely to come inside. Apparently it is well worth seeing if the proprietor lets you in. Arezzo also featured in the film La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) by Roberto Begnini. As you wander through the city centre you will see colourful signs featuring pictures from the film at specific locations of actual filming. You should spend same time wandering from sign to sign.

After you have enjoyed what Arezzo has to offer, hop on a train back to Florence then on another train this time out to Siena. The historic centre of Siena is a UNESCO world heritage site. The university of Siena was founded in 1203 and famed for its faculties of law and medicine, and today is still among the most important Italian universities.

The Palazzo Pubblico in Siena is home to a magnificent example of late-medieval/early Renaissance art as well as a representation of the utopia of urban society as conceived during that period. The works are best known as the frescoes of Good and Bad Government and were painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti from 1338 to 1340. Lorenzetti’s task was unprecedented at the time, for he was apparently called upon to paint allegorical depictions of good and bad government and to represent the effects such regimes would have in the town and the country. The result is the first panoramic city/countryscape since antiquity, and the first expansive portrait of an actual city and landscape. Lorenzetti chose the best-illuminated walls for Good Government and its effects, leaving Bad Government in the shadows on a wall that has also suffered considerable damage. If you get the chance it is well worth having a look at.

The Siena cathedral (Duomo) is a wonderful example of Italian Romanesque architecture. Begun in the 12th century, it is unique among Christian cathedrals because its axis runs north-south. To explain this further, the church was originally intended to be the largest cathedral in existence with a north-south transept and an east-west aisle (so that it looked like a cross is viewed from above with the east-west aisle being the long part of the cross). The transept and east wall were constructed and then the money ran out, so the rest of the cathedral was abandoned and what was left was what we see today. The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo holds fine examples of some great Italian artists such as Nicola Pisano, Ghirlandaio, Donatello, Ghiberti and Jacopo della Quercia, it is also home to Duccio’s famous Maestà (1308–1311).

So Siena is full of artistic magnificence and Arezzo full of historic beauty. Make sure you visit both!

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