Villa Pia’s Day Trip to Siena
Should you come to visit us at Villa Pia, consider taking the family on a day trip to Siena.
While we appreciate that it might be difficult to pull yourself away from the grounds, the chef, the pool, and the wine… taking the kids to this picturesque medieval hill town will create a lifetime of memories and help foster a love of Italian art, culture and countryside.
Siena is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to several architectural, sculptural and fresco masterpieces. On a day trip, you can visit the Siena Cathedral, the pinnacle example of Romanesque-Gothic architecture. Touring the cathedral, you can find bas reliefs by Donetello and Ghiberti, your kids should be impressed by Pisano’s famous pulpit shouldered by lions, a masterpiece from the 13th century.
If you have room for more, head over to the museum Palazzo Publico, located just off the Piazza del Campo and make sure to see Lorenzetti’s famous instructional fresco ‘Allegory and Effect of Good and Bad Government’.
Siena’s Piazza del Campo is a destination in and of itself, with its medieval architecture, fountain and shell-shaped square. Each year, the Piazza del Campo hosts the national Il Palio di Siena. This beautiful and exciting horse race is run around the crowd-filled, shell-shaped medieval piazza; spectators bask in the grandeur of an event that has been running continually since the 17th century.
Il Palio consists of teams representing the 17 different contrada (or areas) of the city; each racing against other contrada in two 4-day tournaments. One four-day tournament takes place in July and the other in August. Taking children into the piazza for the final race of either tournament is not advisable, but certainly touring the city during the tournaments is an amazing family experience.
If you prefer history to art, the Monte dei Paschi di Siena is located off the Piazza del Campo, one of the world’s oldest continually operating banks – it’s a fascinating cultural excursion for all ages.
To plan your visit and itinerary at Villa Pia, head to our Bookings page
Photo credits:
“Siena toscana panorama” by Lew – Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
“Ambrogio Lorenzetti 002” by Ambrogio Lorenzetti – The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
“Siena-piazza del campo”. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
“Siena Piazza del Campo 20030815-375”. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
