Seen in Siena

I made a day trip to Siena today, and I can say it was so worth the time and effort to get there. It's an easy 90 minute bus ride so it is close. I was on the "Rapido" bus so no stops but still pretty countryside along the way.

Of course the tourist had to visit a few churches, though to just call them churches is a bit of an injustice--Lake Holcombe United Methodist is a church--these are edifices and monuments. The photo of the candles and the shrine was stolen at the Basilica, the smaller of the two major churches though remarkable for a church that is 800+ years old. I did buy and light two candles...one for me and one for others. I figured I needed a whole one, while my friends could share.

The larger church, the Duom0 takes your breath away. In Florence, all the decoration is on the outside and while impressive to look at it from that perspective, it basically has the charm of a pole barn on the inside. Well, OK, a NICE pole barn but one none-the-less. Not so in Siena. Certainly they were competing to be more magnificent and if so, Siena wins hands down. The stone work and all the contrasting colors of marble is so visually arresting that it takes your breath away. It is impressive from the outside, but the inside boggles the mind. Here is how stunning it is: You barely notice the four statues by the Mike guy who did David. Admittedly they are smaller works, but still. They are just swallowed by the splendor. The view from the top is no less impressive. I would have loved to visit that roof top gardent. It perhaps helps that Siena is built on several hills, and they give it a scale that Florence doesn't have since it is so flat, though the hills were challenging, especially in the rain.