The Siena dome

The Piazza del Campo is one of the most beautiful squares of Europe. All main roads of Siena leave from here, so the square literally is the hart of the city. The small slope, the shell like form and the fountain, create a special atmosphere that will stick with you forever.

The town hall or Palazzo Publico is housed at Piazza del Campo as well. Here you find the most important museum of Siena, the Museo Civico, where several valuable fresco's of the Siena school are to be admired.

Piazza del Campo is separated in 9 sectors. The symbolize the "court of 9", the medieval town council that consisted of nine rich merchants.

Yet not only the architecture of the square is famous. Maybe even better known is the Palio delle Contrade, that is held here every year in august. This Palio is a wild horse race (three rounds) around the square. It only takes 90 seconds to complete it, but the preparations of this festival take months.

The tradition of it dates back to the 13th century. First people ran through the streets, but since 1656 the three rounds around the Piazza are raced. Ten racers are allowed to compete each other, and they come from the 17 different "contradas" Siena has. A contrada is a quarter, and each one has its own church, museum, social club, flag, symbol, etc.

Which contradas can participate is defined by raffle. In the competition, winning is most important. But apart from that, different contradas try to humiliate their greatest rivals in battle. The many quarters are competing against each other for ages, and the rich merchant families that ruled the different contradas are said not even to speak to each other. Up to today? Maybe. Traditions are kept well alive in Tuscany :)

The palio is so important for Siena and the Piazza, that in Italy, there is a saying that goes: "Chi dice Siena, dice Palio". It can be translated as: "Who talks about Siena, talks about the Palio", and it is used to state that two things are indissolubly connected to each other. Need I say more?