SIENA'S FOOD AND ARTISAN CHRISTMAS MARKET 2013

Program of the 2013 Christmas market in Piazza del Campo, Siena

2013 program of Christmas market and wine tasting in Siena

Dreading the Christmas shopping? Not sure where to start?

Siena's artisan and foodie market on Piazza del Campo is a fabulous alternative to jammed up and overheated shopping malls (read the 2012 Christmas shopping post for more information on the market's Renaissance vibe).

Once you've got the gifts join the wine tasting at the Santa Maria della Scala museum (from 5.30 pm) or visit restaurant Le Logge's wine and music bar Un Tubo for a culinary treat. On Saturday night, the club hosts a buffet dinner and wine tasting with Montalcino's prime vineyard Poggio di Sotto. The organically run estate belongs to the best rated Brunello producers (25€ only on booking
+39 0577 271 312).

IL MERCATO NEL CAMPO - Christmas market in SIENA
Saturday 30th of November and 1st of December, 2013.
Best options to park your car on the busy weekend are car park Duomo and Il Campo.

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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