Archive for 'Siena'

Pienza is a small village in the Val d'Orcia in southern Tuscany. Set high atop a hill, overlooking the Orcia Valley, it has extraordinary views, and is often known as the "ideal Renaissance city”.

The creation of the great humanist Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who later became Pope Pius II, the town was his birthplace, originally called Corsignano. He transformed it into his idea of a Utopian city, what would eventually come to be known as Pienza. If you want to wander the streets of an ideal town for yourself find a luxury villa in Pienza!

The Papal Palace, or Palazzo Piccolomini, is located to the right of the Duomo has a large loggia with hanging garden from which there are breathtaking views across the Val d'Orcia Valley. This is the highlight of the town, the garden in particular.     Read More

You may be planning a trip to Tuscany and looking at the kinds of activities that you can enjoy while there. There are plenty and a rather wide variety to choose from but you probably haven't considered mummy spotting as one of them. Yet, there are a few that can be found in rather unlikely spots. Here are two that you might find interesting if you're intrigued by history and the more macabre things in life.

Catherine of Siena was a Dominican tertiary, philosopher and theologian. Born in the 14th century, she began having visions of Christ at the age of five or six. At seven, she had decided to devote her life to God. She resisted marriage as a young woman until she was eventually allowed to join the Dominican Order.

She was known for helping the sick and poor and launching reform campaigns among the faithful. Catherine even went so far as to become involved in political matters like swaying the loyalties of cities back towards the papal armies.

Her writings spread her word further and gained more followers but she also became known for extreme devotion, eventually dying due to her refusal to eat. In 1461, she was canonised by Pius II and is now one of the two patron saints of Italy.

Siena, her birthplace, still remains the best place to see evidences of her life and works. The most intriguing of these is her head, which was separated from her body after her death in Rome when followers wished to return her to Siena. Unable to sneak her full body past guards in Rome, they settled for just her head which they smuggled out of the city. It is set in an ornate reliquary in the Basilica San Domenico (also known as Basilica Cateriniana, after the Saint) in Siena.     Read More

In our final installment in this series, we will recount just a couple more of the Tuscan dishes that you should keep an eye out for if you are visiting the area over the Christmas or winter period this year.

We have discussed plenty of sweet treats and savory delights but there is one delicacy that is king in Tuscany and is imported out of the region to every corner of the globe: truffles.

San Miniato in Tuscany is, in fact, one of the most productive truffle-rich areas of Europe and the white truffle that grows in the San Miniato hills is the most valuable variety.

The truffle has greatly impacted local cuisine and is so important to local identity that the town hosts an annual market, the San Miniato National White Truffle Market, during the last three weeks of November, which is internationally celebrated and recognised.     Read More

Continuing on from our last post, we are outlining some of the dishes from Tuscany that you need to try if you are spending the Christmas period in the region this year!

These include delicious desserts and wonderful main courses and, among them, you are sure to find something to please everyone in your party.

Savoury dishes and gelato are what come to mind when people think of Italian food but the beautiful and historic Siena, is actually particularly well-known for her pastries and, while they are not something you only find at Christmas, they are very much connected to the time of year. In fact, you will probably find many are readily available in nicely packaged sets in gourmet and specialist food shops in your own city over the festive period.     Read More