Arrival in Siena, Italy

The Town of Siena in the Tuscany Region o Italy

During the short taxi drive from the train station into the historic city of Siena, being aware that we were here to study Italian, our driver had time to slip in a few short yet valuable language lessons.  This historic walled city is seated in the hills of Tuscany. Entering Siena is like stepping through a portal back into medieval times. 

Siena is known for its art, museums, the Palio (a famous horse race around the Piazza del Campo) and its beautiful architectural cityscape.  Narrow streets twist and turn as they wind their way up and down throughout the city opening here and there into alcoves or piazzas with ancient dwellings and towers rising high above.

View from the Apartment

Our apartment, built between 1200-1500 AD, is in the heart of the historic center.  We are on the second of four levels rising high above the street below. A roadway actually passes under the living area of our L shaped apartment which was built on the side of an archway. The other side of the archway opens into an amazing panoramic view overlooking a patchwork of tiled rooftops and stone buildings until one's gaze rests upon a large, impressive Gothic structure – the Basilica di San Dominico also known as Basilicata Caterina.  This is the view that greets us each time we set foot from our apartment or peer out its tall, narrow kitchen window.