Via Francigena 2022: Rest Days in Siena

(By Laurel)

Siena has unicorns! And dragons, panthers, eagles, caterpillars, snails, owls, giraffes, porcupines, geese, tortoises, and she-wolves! No, it’s not in the zoo — these are twelve of the seventeen “contrade” or districts that the city is divided into, dating from Medieval times (the others are labelled seashell, wave, forest, tower, and valley of the ram). The contrade still play an active part in the life of Siena; each has its own boundary, members, history, heraldry, headquarters, church, museum, and water fountain. Twice yearly, they fiercely compete in the Palio di Siena, the famous horse race held in the main square of the city (Piazza del Campo). We won’t have the thrill of cheering on Onda (Wave), the contrada that we’re staying in, because the races are held in July and August; however, we’ve still been fortunate to see some of the festivities. As we were strolling through the old city streets one afternoon, we heard drumming. Soon, we were overtaken by a parade made up of dozens of men and boys dressed in red and white traditional attire, marching through the streets drumming and proudly waving the flags of their contrada! It was Giraffa (Giraffes)! They were still parading a couple of hours later, while we washed our clothes at a laundromat in the Tartuca (Tortoise) Contrada — a few members of Tartuca came out and waved their own flags in good-natured opposition to the Giraffa. It was fun exploring different neighbourhoods trying to find some of the flags, tiles, and fountains of the various contrade.

As well as learning about the contrade and doing our laundry, while in Siena we’ve visited the stunning Cathedral, other historic churches, meandered through the narrow old city streets and parks, eaten delicious pasta, and rested in our comfy Airbnb “Suite 19zero3.” There is still more to see in charming Siena, but we must move on tomorrow.