Mapping SIENA

Together with another five Italian cities Siena has made it into the final round of ECoC 2019 , a competition which will bring forth the Italian city entitled to be one of the two European Capitals of Culture in 2019 (the other one is being elected in Bulgaria).  Siena's bid book has been Italy's best kept secret during the initial stage of the competition (read  here  why), but at last the   salient points of the dossier have been presented to the city's population this January (more public events are in planning for the 19th of each month to come).  Waiting for #Siena2019 From what I have gathered so far, the dossier of Siena 2019 focuses on ten projects which intend to feature Siena and Tuscany's rich cultural heritage not as a showcase of the past, but as a  fertile ground for inspiring art projects, innovative entrepreneurism  and forward thinking  social politics in the 21st century.   Cultural Emergency Room is the ...

I'm planning to write about Siena's National Museum (the Pinacoteca Nazionale) in detail in 2014, but before the old year is on its way out a quick reminder to visit the treasure trove of Sienese art in case you happen to be in Siena during the Christmas holidays. Especially if you travel on a tight budget. Italy's ministry of culture has decided to offer free access to the country's state museums on the 28th of December as a Christmas gift to art loving Italian citizens and travelers.  Apart of the extensive collection of Sienese art, the museum also offers some great views over the city and a well heated environment (just in case your hotel isn't).  The view from the first floor of the Pinacoteca Nazionale If you're after free folklore not art, visit Siena's San Francesco church instead. The cloister of the former monastery exhibits 50 presepi, Italy's famous Christmas cribs displaying the nativity scene (free entrance, daily from 3.30 pm- 7...

Nina Burleigh is an American journalist (The New  York Observer, Time and The New  York Times among others) and au thor of five books. She has traveled widely and lived with her family in Perugia for a year whilst working on  The Fatal Gift of Beauty ,   a book about the trial of  Amanda Knox .  Considering Nina's accomplished curriculum the last thing I'd expected from our  meeting in Siena was  for her to arrive on top of a b icycle. Tourists walk and l ocals ride  - if anything - a Vespa through the up and downs of Tuscany's hill t owns. But hopefully, Nina Burleigh's three autumn  weeks spent  whizzing t hrough Siena on a b ike  will have changed this forever. What brought you to Siena? And was it just wine or food or were you working too? The Siena Art Institute and American artist Amy Yoes, who was curating a project involving expeditions with Mark Dion, and creating a major art installation at the Museum ...

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 pa...

Siena is in!   On the 15th November 2013, Italy's ministry of Culture has announced Siena as one of the six finalist cities of ECoC 2019. Out of the 21 Italian competitors in the first round, the bid books of Siena, Perugia/Assisi, Ravenna, Lecce/Brindisi, Cagliari and Matera have been the most convincing to the jury. The six finalists have worked on their proposal for years and will have to meticulously fine-tune their cultural and economic projects during the next 12 months.   Welcome to Siena. One of the six official candidate cities for ECoC2019 The jury of ECoC 2019 is made up of six Italian and seven European members. The 13 jurors have spent the last two months looking through the bid books and are going to provide each candidate city with a specific list of areas to work on.  The second and last round of the European contest is going to be an extremely competitive one. The bid books of the participants are all highly interesting and a lot is at st...

Whilst the media keeps highlighting Italy's dwindling economy and the need for thorough budget cuts, it's heartening to see that Siena's autumn event calendar looks more exciting than ever. A few months ago Pier Luigi Sacco - the head of Siena 2019 - mentioned in our interview , that a (financial) crisis can be the ideal turf for change. It looks like he may be right.   November in Siena normally means a massive drop in number of tourists combined with an utter lack of things to see and do. For a change the  start of low season coincides, yes,  with the end of the  tour group assault, but for once doesn't ring in  the end of the  cultural season in town.  Don't you worry about the weather. There's plenty to do in Siena in November. ABOVE AND BELOW GROUND The ever busy SIENA ART INSTITUTE just opened ABOVE / BELOW GROUND , an exhibition at the natural history museum, which is a joint venture between artists Mark Dion, Amy Yoes and their stu...

The November  Tuesday talks of  the  StARTers series at the Siena Art Institute open with an encounter  with  Nina Burleigh. The American writer and journalist will  present her book Unholy Business - A True Tale of Faith, Greed and F orgery in the Holy Land .  Siena - as the rest of Italy - is a fabulous place if you have a soft spot for relics. Gruesome bones - most famously Saint Catherine's skull at the San Domenico church - are admired daily by pilgrims and tourists alike. And strange mystique objects like the treasure of the Santa Maria della Scala museum - precious medieval ob jects designed around a collection of relics from Constantinople  - testify to centuries of catholic worship.  The treasure of the Santa Maria della Scala museum was acquired via a Florentine merchant,   w ho had bought the relics  from the empress in Constantinople in 1359. The  treasure may have been sold to remedy  financial p...

The Urban Trekking movement started in Siena 10 years ago and managed to spread to over 40 Italian cities in the last decade. A reason to celebrate the round anniversary with 10 days filled to the brim with events focusing on slow travel in Siena.  The cultural highlight of the festival are the guided visits to some of the rooms of Palazzo Pubblico in piazza del Campo (11€ per person), which have always been off limits to the general public. A more adventurous take on Siena are the early morning balloon flights over the city of the Palio (180€ per person). Both events are on reservation only.  Discovering a lesser known Siena during the Urban Trekking Days  Looking for a freebie? Join a free guided visit to the Museo dell'Acqua and discover the history of Siena's 'bottini', the meandering underground tunnels, which during the Middle Ages were dig into the hills of the city for the daily supply of drinking water. Or walk along with the night time guided visi...

No better way to explore a city than by meeting its inhabitan ts. This interview with Lisa Jane Cappannini is the first one of a series of articles with Siena tips and insight by people who live here or who have a special connection to the city of the Palio.  Are you from Siena? Or when did you fall in love with Siena? I was born in England but at the age of 2 my parents moved to Siena, which is where my father is from. I grew up and went to school in Siena and I lived there till I was 24. My parents still live in the same house inside the historical centre, while I live in Montalcino, 50 minutes south of Siena. What are your must sees in Siena, for people who only have a day or two in town: the Duomo, the cathedral, which is not just beautiful from the outside, it’s also so rich inside. The marble floors are unique in the entire world, and if you happen to visit the Duomo between mid August and mid October, you’ll be lucky enough to see the floors completely uncovered . Fr...

The race is on.  Italy's department of culture in Rome requests a ll Italian cities wanting to compete  for the title of European Capital of Culture  (ECoC) in 2019  to hand in their bid b ook by the 20th September 2013 .    There is no official number yet,  but about  20 Italian cities are expected to  take part in the competition, and  it's likely that no more than three to six  of them  will make it through the first round. The shortlisted cities will then have another  year of time to fine-t une their bid  book for the final round of  ECoC 2019.  Being desi gnated as future  European Capital of Culture isn't just a question of pride. The winning cities  receive m ajor investments and undergo profound change  in their  socio-cultural setup. Siena2019 has its headquarters in the Santa Maria della  Scala museum and the tension must be high right now,  as the team has worked...