MEET STEVE McCURRY IN SIENA

Steve McCurry at the press conference of his exhibition in Siena

For a change in front of the lens: Steve McCurry in Siena

Meet the man who made a photo go around the world. Tomorrow, Saturday 15th of June, Siena's Santa Maria della Scala museum opens the doors for Steve McCurry's Viaggio Intorno al Mondo.

Maybe National Geographic's best known photographer, Steve McCurry is in town for the opening of the show. His masterclass at Siena University was attended by 700 students from all over Italy.

You'll be able to meet McCurry at the museum for questions and book signing from 11 am to noon and from 4 pm to 5 pm.

The exhibition in the stunning setting of the medieval SMS museum complex concentrates on Steve McCurry's portrait work. Also part of the exhibition are the photo of the green-eyed Afghan girl and a short film by National Geographic, which documents McCurry's quest to find his famous model nearly two decades later. Which indeed he did.

The green eyed Afghan girl met again as a woman

Old friends: Steve Mc Curry's voyage to find the Afghan girl

Steve McCurry exhibition at Siena's SMS museum

A fabulous museum setting: The medieval tufa rock rooms of the SMS museum in Siena

Portrait of a minery worker by Steve McCurry

Portraits from Afghanistan by Steve McCurry at Siena's SMS museum

VIAGGIO INTORNO ALL'UOMO (TRIP AROUND MANKIND)

SIENA'S SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA MUSEUM, piazza del Duomo, 1

15th of June to 3rd of November 2013

Opening times: every day from 10.30 am to 7pm,

Tickets: 10 Euro (incluscive audioguide), kids up to 11 years for free

The show has been prolonged till the 6th of January. Check detailed opening times on the SMS website.

BEST BIKE RENTAL IN SIENA

Villa Catignano: one of the many beautiful places an e-bike can get you to from Siena A few years ago, I interviewed an American writer , who during her month-long stay in Siena whizzed through the city on a bicycle. This was an unusual sight - vespas are the two-wheelers of choice in Siena's hilly town center, not bikes like in mostly flat Florence. But the invention of e-bikes is about to change this. The city of Siena has installed an electric bike sharing program which is functioning well. However, it's mostly aimed at locals and residents, as its set-up is a little complicated for visitors who only stay a couple of days in town. Hence, for tourists, the best bike rental options in Siena are with the privately owned shops which supply bycicles of every size and type for a day or two or an entire week. Giulia from Julskitchen.com cycling through the hills of Siena Siena Bike Shop rents out racing bycicles, hybrid and e-bikes and is a great optio...

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Ambrogio Lorenzetti's frescoes and paintings

From toddlers to octogenarians, when in Siena I schlepp everybody to see Ambrogio Lorenzetti's 'Buon Governo'. The long title of the painting is 'The Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the City and the Countryside' and it is exactly that - namely an accurate depiction of daily life in medieval Siena. The detailed and elegant fresco cycle is a rarity not just in regard to Lorenzetti's style and technique, but mainly due to its subject matter. In the 14th century, paintings and frescoes focus on stories and characters from the old and new testament and not on the day-to-day tasks of builders and farmers. Medieval Siena depicted on one of the walls of Ambrogio Lorenzetti's fresco cycle in the Palazzo Pubblico (©Wikipedia) And this is exactly why it's so much fun to spend some time in front of the fresco cycle in the civic museum in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico. Whether its kids - or meat lovers - looking for the famous Cinta Senese pig ...

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NINA ZILLI CONCERT IN PIAZZA DEL CAMPO

Whatever the exact financial situation of the city of Siena and its famous nearly broke bank - the fact that free concerts are back on Piazza del Campo is a promising sign! In the summer of 2012 , Patti Smith sang 'People have the Power' on Piazza del Campo. The song and her fabulous concert in Siena feature in the book soundtrack - and hopefully also in the future film adaptation - of my memoir Across the Big Blue Sea . But while a spectacular full moon rose behind Torre del Mangia the night of Patti's concert, the city itself had just started its descent into a longlasting financial nightmare. The Monte dei Paschi bank - founded in 1472 it is the world's oldest continually operating bank - turned from prodigy into Italy's problem child (more about this here ), and with the bank's debacle, the free concerts on Piazza del Campo had lost their main sponsor. Nina may not be a world-star, but she's definitely one of th...

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