Summer in Italia 2023
The first running this summer of the Palio in Siena was Sunday July 2. You can read about it here.
Twice every summer, Siena hosts two runnings of the bareback horse race July 2 & August 16 around the Piazza del Campo. The Palio is more than a one day event, the city is vibrant with several activities among the various contrade or sections of the city.
We were in Lucca in northern Tuscany on July 2 and watched the local news to see that incredible horse race in the Piazza del Campo.
I spent two weeks in Siena in 2019, one of the most memorable experiences in my travels around Italy; living in a medieval city, walking over cobblestones through narrow winding streets, seeing Renaissance masterpieces in museums and churches, and strolling across Piazza del Campo.
Summer in Siena is prime tourist season, but it’s possible to escape them by ducking down side streets with quaint shops, quiet cafes, and small parks.
Even traveling to Siena is enjoyable. You’ll likely pass through Florence or Pisa and see Tuscan hilltop towns and valleys rich in soil for growing grapes and olives. Tuscan olive oil is considered some of the finest in the world, a source of pride for Tuscans.
Siena is similar to other towns in central Tuscany, enclosed by high brick walls, towers, and arched gates or porta. Streets are narrow, with brick and stone pavement, which limits car traffic.
A unique feature of Siena is that it has preserved its medieval heritage, divided into seventeen neighborhoods called contrade. Each contrada has sculptures of animals which appear on their colorful flags, banners, and costumes.
My apartment in 2019 was in the panther contrada. Every morning when I walked out to attend classes, I passed a stone sculpture of a panther poised to leap on prey. A memory I’ll never forget.
Siena’s 13th Century Duomo
I was fortunate that my apartment was a three minute walk to Siena’s 13th century Duomo, a majestic example of Gothic architecture. The cathedral’s impressive facade and interior were constructed with white and dark green granite stones stacked on top of each other. White and green represent Siena’s colors.
Tours of the Duomo begin by ascending a narrow, winding staircase to the bell tower and looking over the Piazza del Duomo below. 
A guide leads you under the Duomo’s steep, sloping roof, walking carefully over wooden planks. You have to watch where you step and duck so you don’t bump your head on wooden beams.
At certain stations, you can peer down into the sanctuary or step out onto narrow balconies on the Duomo’s roof with stunning views of the city and surrounding Tuscan hills.
Duomo’s art includes works by Michaelangelo and Donatello and frescoes by Lorenzetti. Stonework on the sanctuary’s floors includes Biblical scenes, signs of the zodiac, and banners of legendary Siena’s medieval families.
Piazza del Campo
The center of Siena includes Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia, the second highest tower in Tuscany. Palazzo Pubblico, constructed in the 1300’s, includes municipal offices, a courtyard, entrance to Torre del Mangia, and a museum with Renaissance paintings and frescoes.
June and July are exciting times to be in Siena as it prepares for the Palio. On June evenings, residents of Siena’s contrade parade through their neighborhoods carrying colorful flags and banners, a tradition that dates to medieval times.
Contrade flags also line the walls of the Piazza del Campo and throughout each neighborhood.
Contrade parades
On June weekends, patriotic citizens from Siena’s contrade show their colors — literally. Families dress in colorful medieval costumes and march through their contrada to the sound of thunderous drums, tossing flags (bandiera) in the air, twirling, turning, catching them, rehearsing for Palio parades before the bareback races.
La Scuola da Vinci
Siena is the fourth city where I studied l’italiano intensivo with the La Scuola da Vinci program. On the first day, students are tested and assigned to three levels: beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes. Students come from all over the world. In Siena, my intermediate class included students from Korea, Taiwan, Russia, the UK, Switzerland, and Austria. Only one other American.
Daily assignments include conversations in Italian about daily life — shopping for clothes and food, transportation, technology, pets, families, cooking, and entertainment. Teachers lead exercises to build vocabulary, understand unique phrases, and use complicated verb tenses.
S cuola cucina
One evening, I joined a few classmates for a cooking class, ‘scuola cucina,’ at Trattoria Fonte Giusta, a local restaurant.
After meeting chefs, we mixed flour, eggs, potatoes, and salt to form moist balls of dough which we rolled and rolled then sliced to make gnocchi, ravioli, and a local pasta pici (pronounced ‘peachy’). Pici are long strings of pasta served with traditional Tuscan specialties: cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper), pesto, and ragu meat sauces.
After preparing pasta and gnocchi, we worked alongside chefs in the kitchen cooking ragu, (meat, tomatoes, onions, herbs, olive oil, salt, pepper), chicken and potatoes with herbs, and roasted vegetables. For dessert, a few students made a fruit cake and gelato.
After three hours in the kitchen, we were escorted into Trattoria Fonte Giusta’s dining room to be served our creations. Our class marveled how delicious — and fresh — our meal was that we had prepared.
Needless to say, none of us who went to scuola cucina finished our compiti (homework) that night. But we shared stories the next morning with classmates and teachers about what we learned at scuola cucina.
If you’re interested in reading more about Siena, I recommend two books, The Italian Party by Christina Lynch, and A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar.
The Italian Party is an enchanting read, part romance, part mystery, with tantalizing drama on each page. It’s a love letter to Siena.
A Month in Siena is how a person can develop a deeper understanding of life by immersing themselves in art, especially art in Siena. Hisham Matar did; so can you.
We’ve been in Italia for more than a month, several days in Stresa on Lago Maggiore and also in Milano to see Italian and American friends. I’ve been in Milano every year since 2011 (except 2020, of course), returning every summer for researching my Milan Thriller Series.
The paperback of Book 4, The Lonely Assassin, was published recently. I’m working on book 5 of the series, following the Italian anti-terrorism police, Digos, as they investigate incidents to prevent a terrorist attack in Italia.
I’ll announce the title and plot summary of book 5 in a few weeks.
* * * * * ***In addition to this travel blog, I write international thrillers, mysteries, short mysteries, true crime, and romantic suspense novels.
I’m currently writing the Milan Thriller Series featuring Italy’s anti-terrorism police, DIGOS (Divisione Investigazioni Generali e Operazioni), as they pursue domestic and international terrorists.
I travel to Italy every summer for research, to see Italian and American friends, to work with my researchers, and to meet DIGOS officers at Milan’s Questura (police headquarters) who advise me with DIGOS investigative procedures.
If you’d like to receive a free ebook of the first book in the series, Thirteen Days in Milan, please sign up on the left side bar. I just need your name and email address.
You can find the Milan Thriller Series and all my ebooks at digital book sites and on my publisher’s website, RedBrickPress.net. Book 4 in the Series, The Lonely Assassin, was published as a paperback in 2022.
Paperbacks of Thirteen Days in Milan, No One Sleeps, Vesuvius Nights and The Lonely Assassin are available at RedBrickPress.net, Amazon, and independent bookstores. If they’re not in stock, stores can order from my Ingram distributor. You should have your book in 3 or 4 days.
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A presto –
Jack
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