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During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Siena flourished
as one of the major cities of Europe, growing rich from banking
and the wool trade, that's why the fourteenth century saw a great
amount of building: the Duomo, Palazzo Pubblico and the Campo
were all begun then. The city was built across a range of small
hills, a unique position which gives it a pleasant atmosphere of
being a collection of smaller towns. From the Campo it is fairly
easy to get your bearings. This spectacular shell-shaped space
is the focal point of the city, the meeting place and the market
place as well as being the venue for the Palio, the traditional
horse race, which is held on July 2 and August 16 every year. |
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Your trip to Siena wouldn't be completed without a couple of bottles of
Chianti, the best-known Italian wine, which comes exactly from splendid
towns and villages near Siena. Brunello di Montalcino, Vin Santo, Chianti
Classico and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano all of these mythical wines
hail from this lovely region. Visit Montepulciano and Montalcino, the
Renaissance dream-city of Pienza, the beautiful Val d'Orcia, the great
monasteries and the enchanting spa-villages such as Saturnia and Bagno
Vignoni, and of course stop by on wineries for the wine to die for. |
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There is a diverse range of restaurants and eating places here,
from five stars to farms that offer homemade food. One thing
they all have in common though, is high quality! The secret -
best local fresh ingredients: olive oil from this region is
among Italy's best; artichokes, melon, pumpkins, chestnuts,
mushrooms, spinach - the trademark ingredients in anything
cooked "Tuscan". Sienese specialties include ribollita (a
vegetable soup), pappardelle with a
hare sauce, wild boar stew, cantucci (biscuits served with
the sweet dessert wine known as vin santo) and of course
wine - in Siena, the Settimana dei Vini or Wine Week is
one of the cornerstones of Italian wine culture!
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