Siena

The heart of the city is the Piazza del Campo, with its magical appeal, to which everything converges and where the Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia are presented as absolute center.
The face of the fourteenth-century Siena is the result of a decision to be faithful to the past felt as tradition relinquished.

Piazza del Campo in the form of a shell with its beautiful buildings and wonderful pavement surrounding it:
The Palazzo Pubblico (1297-1342), the Torre del Mangia (1348 - d. 102), isolated in the square's monumental statues Fonte Gaia are copies of originals by Jacopo della Quercia, Palazzo Sansedoni restored in the eighteenth century. Inside the Palazzo Pubblico, the Museo Civico (9-18.30 to 9-13.30 April to September and from October to March; Holidays 9-13) among many frescos by Simone Martini: The Madonna in Majesty (1315) and Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the siege of Montemassi (1328) and those of Ambrogio Lorenzetti including Effects of Good Government in the city and country.
The Cathedral one of the most important creations of Italian Gothic architecture with inside among the many works, the famous Pergamon (1266-68) by Nicola Pisano, the Libreria Piccolomini, frescoes by Pinturicchio (1502-1509).
The Baptistery with inside the font by Jacopo della Quercia (1417-1430), the Feast of Herod by Donatello ... and a thousand other jewels among the palaces, museums, operas, wonderful views ...

Surrounding

Monastery of the Observance at 2.5 km founded by St. Bernardino of Siena on a twelfth-century monastery stands on the hill of the Roll, where you can see a beautiful view over the city, houses many works of art.
Hermitage Lecceto, of ancient origins, the edge of a forest with an inside cloister of one of the '400 and '200.
In Murlo 26 km in the former Archbishop's Palace Museum of Archeology.
IN Brolio km 23, the castle before the ninth century, destroyed in 1478 and rebuilt in 1484.
Monteriggioni 14.5 km ...." closed the circle round the "village" of towers crown "(Dante). Its walls date back to 1212-19 have a svilutto circular m.570 with 14 towers.

Palio of Siena
the first in a series was never interrupted during July 2, 1656 and was won by the Contrada della Torre, in 1701 at the initiative of the Contrada of the Goose was decided to repeat the Palio August 16 Feast of the Assumption, and then so is .
All this in the wonderful frame of Piazza del Campo.
From 1720 only horses can race to 10 between the 17 existing districts drawn together. The names of the districts are: Eagle, Caterpillar, Snail, Owl, Dragon, Giraffe, Porcupine, Unicorn, Wolf, Goose, the Wave, Pantera, Selva, Tortoise, Tower and Ram.
Six other districts but no longer exist: Gallo, Lion, Bear, Oak, Spadaforte, Vipera. A magnificent procession in costume is the long preliminary race before the thrilling ... the "barbs" are aligned to the "rope" in the order chosen at random and kept secret until the last ... the rope is lowered ... horses snap ... jockeys use the "backbone" (the horse can win even "shocked" that has lost most of the race, the jockey) ... and eventually the district will win big party at the roadside.