Siena and the Chianti Classico Zone

After our long Easter weekend in Florence, we continued south, towards Siena.  Until its devastation by the Black Death in 1348, Siena was an important rival to Florence in the arts.  Just as Florence was inspired and ruled principally by the powerful Medici family, Siena was ruled during the Renaissance by the rival Strozzi family.

Siena's city center has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Even though there weren't hordes of tourists there when we visited, there were still a lot of visitors.

It is in this city center plaza (Piazza del Campo) that a famous horse race known as the Palio takes place twice each year - once in July and once in August.  Imagine this area cordoned off with its cobblestones covered with a layer of dirt so that ten horses representing ten of the 17 city wards (contrade) can race frantically and frenetically around it.  The jockeys ride bareback and are more often than not thrown to a hard landing on the cobblestones before the race is over.  

The race is also hard on the horses.  Shamefully, 48 animals have lost their lives in this race since 1970.  Siena this year announced that it would nominate the Palio to the UNESCO Representative List of Non-Material Cultural Heritage, which protects events or traditions that symbolize a populace or civilization.  But the Italian Minister of Tourism recently withdrew the Palio's candidacy, citing concerns about animal cruelty in light of the statistics relating to injuries and death for the horses.

In a less controversial vein, Siena's beautiful cathedral (Duomo di Siena), designed and completed in the 13th century, was also worth a visit.

The hillsides between Florence and Siena contain the villages of the Chianti Classico zone, originally designated as three villages in 1716, but expanded in the 20th century.

Chianti classico has its own separate zone in the greater Chianti-producing area.

Because we found ourselves so close to Assisi, we also ventured from Tuscany into Umbria to visit the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi and where the basilica dedicated to St. Francis, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located.