About Siena, Italy

Siena was first inhabited by the Etruscans in 900-400 B.C. Siena’s building activity was largely suspended in the 16th century, and because most modern building has taken place outside the city walls, Siena’s original character remains unspoiled, and Siena remains essentially a medieval town. The walls and gates enclose a city center that is composed of narrow, winding streets, old buildings and palaces. Siena is a small town in Tuscany with a population of about 60,000, so similar to Flagstaff. Siena is also about an hour away from Florence, by train. The historic center of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008. Siena is famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year. The Palio is held July 2^nd and August 16^th, so I unfortunately will not be able to see it. However, it is what the city is known for. The city center is shut down during the weeks of the Palio in order to prepare for it. Inside the town walls, Siena is made up of 17 contradas, similar to communities. Each contrada has an animal as their mascot and a shield boasting their colors. There is the panther contrada, unicorn contrada, caterpillar contrada, snail contrada and turtle contrada, just to name a few. My school is in the turtle contrada and there is a large turtle fountain on its street. Each neighborhood has several statues of the contrada’s mascot and the buildings are flanked with that contrada’s colors and shields. It is very interesting and fun to know where you are in the city, based upon whether you are standing next to a turtle fountain or a panther statue. So twice a year each contrada puts forth a jockey and a horse and there is a race around the town. It is a very lively and intense event. It is extremely competitive and people often get hurt, some jockeys have even died before because it is so rough.

Here is a link to a video about il Palio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7zugWrjATM