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Siena has announced the 2021 dates when the extraordinary inlaid marble mosaic floors of the city's cathedral will be unveiled as part of an eagerly-awaited annual event. The magnificent marble floor, covered with masonite sheeting for the rest of the year, can be visited from 26 June until 31 July and again from 18 August until 17 October. Visitor...

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Urban trekking was born from the union of "walking" or "hiking" and the wonders that each Italian town or village offers. Urban trekking is an expression born in Siena in 2003 and a proposal of slow tourism to live the Italian cities intensely. It is not suitable for those who choose "hit and run" tourism. The birth of this expression "urban trekk...

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Siena has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995 when it was recognized for its extraordinary ability to preserve and its historical authenticity, which allows those who visit it to almost take a journey through time and Italian history. It is a city that has fixed its medieval soul in time infinitely and indelibly, preserving architecture, c...

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A priceless set of medieval relics stolen from a seminary on the outskirts of Siena in 1989 has been recovered, Italian art cops said Thursday. The San Galgano Reliquary was made in 1200 out of gold, silver and enamel. It was stolen along with another 10 works of sacred art of an inestimable value. All the works, property of the dioceses of Siena,...

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If you’ve been to Tuscany, you had vin santo, the sweet, thick fragrant nectar often served with another Tuscan legend, cantucci cookies. To be fair, vin santo is typical of all regions of central Italy and some variants of it can be found also in the North-East of the country, especially in Trentino, where it’s produced with  Nosiola  grapes, and...

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The piazza is as Italian as it gets: not as an architectural or urban feature, but rather from a cultural and social point of view. In small villages, it’s where people meet, discuss and buy food, when it’s market day. In cities, the piazza is the equivalent of a grand palace’s living room, the place where you show the best your home has inside.  W...

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Piazza del Campo is the heart of Siena, its historical soul. It is famous all over the world for its beauty, architectural integrity and unique shell shape. It is a Unesco World Heritage site since 1995, along with all of Siena’s historic center.  In the past, Piazza del Campo was a green area, used to host open-air markets; today, it is the meetin...

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The square is the heart of every Italian city. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, many are created following very original projects. But some squares hide secrets in their own structure and their own name. Their form is shaped directly on the oldest buildings or on the pre-existing spaces, still preserved below. We literally walk over history,...

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The palio is a form of entertainment dating back to medieval times. Even today, competitions between the districts are celebrated in the folkloristic festivals of the towns of Italy. In addition to the Palio di Siena, the most famous, in our peninsula we find various events that bring us back to the traditional challenges of the past. In Italy the...

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Upon arriving in Siena, Italy, we traveled first across the winding sidewalks which led us to the Campo, the public square. Before us, kiosks of various vendors dotted the wide-open area stretched out in front of the impressive Palazzo Pubblico and its tower. Around the outer edge of the square, a wooden barrier was being installed in anticipation...

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