Buon Giorno, Tutti!
Wow, with all that has happened since my last entry, this might have to happen in a few separate entries. I had every intention to do a computer entry on Friday, but all the regular places closed up for the Palio festivities.
Thursday was a fun day - we did a tour of the Duomo of Siena (far better to visit the inside than in any other Duomo in Tuscany), and got to view the black and white fest that is the beauty of the inside of the Duomo. A side chapel contains many manuscripts of chant books, which were collected by Pope Pius II (Piccolomini), who hails from Siena. Afterwards, we all headed to Nannini's, the best bakery in town, where we got to enjoy (by my treat) a few Siennese treats, namely cantucci and vin santo. Cantucci are little cookies which look like biscotti (named thus because they're "twice baked"), but are super-hard. You have to soak them in vin santo to make them soft enough to eat, or else you could break a tooth on some of the harder versions of them. Ricarelli are soft cookies, dusted with powdered sugar, and, then, there's the Panpepato and Panforte (made with dried fruit and almond slices, with a little flour to hold it together). Yum, yum, and MORE YUM. Parents, I often encourage your kiddos to pick these up as gifts to bring home . . . we'll see if they heed my advice!
Friday was the day of the Palio. And, as always, it was a day of craziness! I had a gal in my homestay one year from Switzerland, who turned to me during the Palio, and said, "Questi Senesi, sono proprio pazzi." (These people from Siena, they are crazy in their own right.) We got out of class and they locked up the school right at 1:30, and everyone went their own way. at 2:30, many of us attended the Benedictioni at one of the contrada's churches, where they walk the rider (Fantino) and THE HORSE into the church for a blessing from their contrada's priest. Then, each contrada marches by the Monte dei Paschi (where banking was established - sponsors much of the Palio), to salute the bank, then back around town to salute the Archbishop, who is standing at his window, just juxtaposed to the Duomo. Then, they all follow down to the Campo, with the Corte Storiche (a historical procession, where people in medieval garb represent all the contrade, plus all the cities in Tuscany, as well as all the virtuous qualities)following afterwards. Everyone who hasn't paid for a seat (exorbitant - 300Euros per spot, and sold out by February) follows this procession into the Campo, like water flowing down the drain, and they wait and bake. Sooner or later, the Palio (a big flag, a new one designed each year) comes out on a cart drawn by four ENORMOUS bulls, and, once it's posted up in the corner of the Campo, the Fantini and the horses come out. Many false starts ensure, and the lineup has to be redone many times. This year, it was actually faster than usual, and the real race happened about 45 minutes before I was expecting.
And what a race!!! L'Onda started out strongly, and made the two first laps way ahead, but then . . . that crazy gray horse . . . well, you can watch it yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVBCFFN605s&feature=PlayList&p=585BA467533EF135&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1
La Carriera is the actual one. You get all the excitement - people falling from their horses, a change in leaders . . . so exciting. And, my favorite part - when it's over, the winner celebrates, and everyone else turns off the TV and starts dinner, as if it were just another program. Don't worry. Selva has been partying. EVERY NIGHT. My window is 100 meters from the border between Aquila and Selva. Grazie a Dio for earplugs. They will do this for a while - they have bragging rights for this Palio until next July. There is another one of these in August, but it's considered a totally separate event, and that winner will, also, have bragging rights until the next August.
On Saturday, we went to Florence for a day of learning about art and architecture, and what a great day! SPI booked reservations, so we got to enjoy some strolling time, then went right into the museums at our reserved times! We got to see the Primavera and birth of Venus by Botticelli in the Uffizi (and my favorite statue, Laocoon, the priest of Troy), and we got to see i prigioneri and the David at the Accademia. We discussed the idea of seeing motion in sculpture, and we even got to enjoy a little bit of shopping! But, with the heat which has settled into Tuscany, we were all happy to get onto our bus with A/C and get back in time for dinner at the homestays.
On Sunday, we had our giorno libero. Beach time for the kiddos, and they had a great time! And the sunburns are none too bad, as well (yay!). We will get a little optional beach time on Saturday, too, when we have our last day in Rome. We'll see if they want to do it by then . . .
Today was back to class and regular schedules. We did a nice walk to some sacred places in town (to see spots relevant to St. Catherine of Siena), as well as a walk to some fresher spots. As we parted from each other, some thunderheads were forming in the distance. While I've sat here, the guy at the internet spot claims that it started raining, but I don't believe it, unless I feel it! They say that the heat index in Florence today is at 41 gradi (which is close to 110 degrees F), and it's never much different in Siena. Get me to the Fortezza, quick!!! Mom and Dad, I'm totally camping out at the pool when I get back . . .
We were talking this weekend, and can't believe we're halfway through this trip! Becky just made the comment to me, today, as we were passing a group of visiting tourists, that she doesn't feel like she's a tourist - she feels like she has more an attachment to Siena. Indeed, we are all feeling more like locals at this point.
More to share once we've done it!
pax,
Laura :)
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