Pienza is a smaller Tuscan hill town. An event was going on when we visited but we didn't understand what it was about. Some people were dressed in Renaissance clothing. A group of young people stood in front of the church with trained birds of prey. This owl was spectacular. We have never seen anything like it.
Il Campo, the central plaza of Siena. It was paved with brick in 1347 and divided by marble strips to create a shell shape. The major buildings in the center-right are the Torre di Mangia and Palazzo Pubblico.
We visited the civic museum in the Palazzo Pubblico, whose courtyard was in yesterday's post. A couple of floors up there were windows looking southeast across the city to the valley below. The view gives some idea of how steep and high the climb is from the parking lots at the base. The church is the Basilica of San Clemente in Santa Maria dei Servi, https://tinyurl.com/mu9xm24 . We had not heard of it until I did some research to identify it in this photo. The outside is plain but the interior is spectacular. We wish we had gotten there.
The very center of the old city of Siena is the fan-shaped plaza known as Il Campo, or The Field (even though it is paved). It slopes downward from the curve of the fan to a center point at the Palazzo Pubblico and the famous Torre del Mangia. The palazzo contains the civic museum, which is worth a visit. The entrance courtyard is open to the sky, making for a dramatic view.
I have not gotten back out on the street singe we returned from our travels. There is a lot going on over the coming weekend to fill my memory cards but for now we remain in Italy. Bologna has a unique feature in the old city center, block after block after block of sidewalks covered with porticos. Some are arched, some are flat but, besides the beautiful sight lines, they offer protection for rain and sun when out about your business. No enclosed shopping malls needed.
