Siena is a Tuscany medieval town on a hill, 68 kilometres south of Florence, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. It is one of the most visually distinctive cities in Italy with its intact Gothic centre, shell-shaped central piazza and striped marble cathedral.

Siena encourages tourists to travel slower Siena is a city that does not charge to experience its best moments, and all the best things are free and within sight.

The Piazza del Campo: Why This Square Beats All the rest in Italy

The central square of Siena is a fan-shaped piazza named Piazza del Campo, constructed in the 14th century in nine sections inscribing the city council of that time. No cars enter it. No market stalls crowd it.

Nevertheless, the vast majority of visitors take a snapshot of it on the ground floor and fail to take in the view of the hill tops in the Tuscan region, which is undoubtedly worth the EUR10 fee and the 400-step walk, which is fully justified.

You will find the tower and the surrounding Palazzo Pubblico at the core. That is why here you must at least budget 90 minutes, and not the 20 most day-travellers.

What the Duomo Kenseth That No One Knoweth?

Siena Cathedral – the Duomo di Siena – is one of the best Gothic structures in Italy, with its exterior being striped with white and greenish-black marble. When someone plans things to do in Siena, the Duomo always finds the list.

The floor of the entire nave is inlaid with 56 designs of marble, representing biblical episodes and allegorical characters, by 40 artists over two hundred years. In addition, the panels are not completely bare for more than eight weeks a year, usually in autumn, from mid-August to the end of October.

The library of Piccolomini, which is located in the inner part of the left nave, consists of the bright old frescoes of Pinturicchio from the 15th century in excellent condition. Included in the normal cathedral ticket is entrance.

What to do with a day in Siena and not hurry about anything?

Based on the five priorities discussed below, plan your travel program.

• Be there before 9 AM in order to walk Piazza del Campo when the stones are unoccupied and the morning sun illuminates the square at a low angle.
• Immediately climb Torre del Mangia and beat the queue that is bound to build up to more than 20 minutes by mid-morning.
• Plan to visit Duomo around 10 AM as this is the time you will have the least crowd & you will also get to see the most intense light with the rose window.
• Have lunch in the Mercato, the covered market underneath the Campo, where there are local stalls where you can get Sienese pici pasta and wild boar ragu at a fair price.
• The free 4-kilometre walk around the perimeter of the city walls is a good afternoon walk, with constant views of the Crete Senesi landscape.

Due to the small size of Siena, all of them could fit in one day with not a rush to finish a single one. Reserve your Torre del Mangia ticket the night before, be at the Campo at 9 AM, and leave the rest of the day to flow downwards from there.

Sheri Criss