Mapping SIENA

Siena's Palazzo Pubblico during the Palio This October Siena is offering a few freebies. No, sadly not free wine for everybody, but at least some fine events which are part of this month's Festival Contemporaneamente Barocco Siena .  FCBS is  in its 4th year, thanks also to the generous financial help of Monte dei Paschi di Siena. MPS is also known as the world's oldest bank (founded in 1472) and the bank's  Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation  is one of the main sponsors of anything cultural happening around here.  This on a side note, as I've read a lot this week about a great  exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence called   Money and Beauty. Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities . Read  Artrav's  and the  Telegraph's  review on it. From my humble experience I'd say that at least Southern Tuscany's cultural life in the  21st century is as dependent form the region's main bank as it was during Rena...

World famous conductor  Daniel Barenboim  and the Scala Orchestra live in Siena is such an incredible event - that obviously the concert has been sold out for ages. Luckily there is a way to still get a foot in. Barenboim has been the principal guest conductor at the  Scala in Milan  since the world famous orchestra voted to give  Ricardo Muti  the shoe. Listen to fellow conductor  Itay Talgam's  explanation of why Muti had to go.

For once let's start right at the end. The video of the final horse race of Siena's Palio says more than a thousand words about this incredible event. An event some English speakers still call 'the Polio of Siena'. No worries guys. Siena's Palio is indeed infectious, but I can assure you it's no disease.  Impressive isn't it? And to think that th e whole thing lasts for just over a minute; albeit a spectacular minute. Now here's a confession: I've been living in Tuscany for the last 12 years without ever making it to Siena's Palio - until last Saturday that is.