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City Guide - Florence - Excursions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Excursions For a Half Day Fiesole: Sooner or later everybody needs a break from Florence. The surfeit of culture can leave the visitor footsore and light-headed. The English poet Laurie Lee fled to the Tuscan hills exclaiming, 'I'd had my fill of Florence ... my eyes were choked with pictures and frescoes ... their colours running. I began to long for those cool uplands, that country air...". Visitors in search of those 'cool uplands' should head for the lush olive groves and valleys of Fiesole. Situated eight kilometres (five miles) from Florence, it is just a short bus ride away (no 7 from Piazza del Duomo). Formerly an Etruscan settlement founded in the seventh century BC, Fiesole grew in importance under the Romans who left behind a 3000-seat amphitheatre that is still used for outdoors concerts in the summer. The Archaeological Park also features Roman baths, a Roman temple and an Etruscan temple, set against Etruscan city walls. In the town, it is difficult for any man-made attraction to compete with the glorious views over Florence. Besides, the Florentines left visitors little choice when they ransacked the town in 1125, leaving only the Cathedral and Bishop's Palace standing. Today, a smattering of shops and trattorie surround the Cathedral, which contains some of the best works of the local sculptor Mino da Fiesole. Gluttons for punishment can visit the Museo Bandini (tel: (055) 59061; open: daily 1000-1800; admission: L3000) for a crash course in Tuscany's lesser known Renaissance artists. On the way home, those travelling by car should take the SS65 for a look at some of the opulent Medici Villas now fighting to survive the encroaching suburban sprawl. More information can be obtained from the Fiesole tourist office (tel: (055) 598 720; fax: (055) 598 822; web site: www.commune.fiesole.fi.it). For a Whole Day Siena: Medieval Siena is often seen as the female counterfoil to Renaissance Florence. At her heart lies the magnificent shell-like piazza, Il Campo, scene of the famous bareback horse race, Il Palio, which whips the town into a frenzy twice a year. One day is not long enough to appreciate all that the tiny walled city has to offer. Must-sees include the humbug-striped Cathedral decried by Ruskin as 'a piece of costly confectionery' and the majestic Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) topped by the soaring Torre del Mangia. Named after the medieval bell-ringer, the tower should be climbed for magnificent views of the city and hills beyond. Inside the town hall is the Museo Civico where tourists flock to see Simone Martini's Guidoriccio - the famous Sienese captain and standard-bearer of the city, and Lorenzetti's Effects of Good and Bad Government - a vivid allegory painted against the backdrop of fourteenth-century Siena. The city's best-loved work, Duccio's Maesta, lies in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The devotional picture of the Madonna, enthroned among saints and angels, once graced the Cathedral altar, her blue robes setting off the church's starry vaults. No visit is complete without a wander through Siena's cool, warren-like streets which wind around Il Campo, like arteries feeding the city's pulsating heart. Visitors can drop into one of the city's pasticceria for a slice of Sienese panforte or mingle with the students seeping up the sun in the Campo over a slice of freshly baked pizza. From Florence, Siena is best reached by bus. No cars are allowed in the city and the Siena's train station is on a branch line, making it necessary to change. Coaches depart from the station on Via Santa Caterina every hour. The journey takes approximately one hour. The tourist office is located at Piazza del Campo 56 (tel: (0577) 280 551; fax: (0577) 270 676; e-mail: aptsiena@siena.turismo.toscana.it; web site: www.siena.turismo.toscana.it). |
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