These first two pictures were taken from above the duomo walls in Siena, which gives an amazing view of the city. The first picture is facing Piazza del Campo, where you can see that the sand for the Palio has already been put down!
The second is of course, the duomo, which I thought looked even better from up high! The duomo walls are beautiful but equally spooky: they began being constructed during the medieval time period, but with the rise of the Black Plague they were actually never completed.
3. This is the ceiling of a library inside the duomo. I highly recommend going in and seeing the inside of the cathedral at least once, the inside is just as splendid as the outside.
This is the ceiling of a library inside the duomo. I highly recommend going in and seeing the inside of the cathedral at least once, the inside is just as splendid as the outside.
This was the day that the contradas running in this year’s July Palio got matched with their horses! They are picked and matched at random by the Sienese mayor, and usually the whole piazza fills up to hear who got which horse. There is always a parade out of the piazza at the end, where each contrada leads their respective horse back to their area of the city.
This was one of the last evening trials before the Palio! You can see that obviously the Sienese take the trials very seriously; even the contradas that aren’t racing will come out to see how the horses are doing and which contradas seem to have the upper hand for the race!
This photograph is of the “drappellone” aka the “palio” aka the piece of artwork painted on canvas that is the prize for winning the Palio. Each race, the city commissions the painting of a new drappellone, which must have included the 10 sigils of the contradas running, and the saint for which the race is ran, among other things. The drappellone is brought in during a parade that lasts about an hour, before the race starts.
This is a picture that I took in Innsbruck, Austria! Trento being so close to the Austrian border prompted my friends and I to take a day trip which ended up being a long but very rewarding day. This is the somewhat famous strip of shops that overlook the Inn river.
After a long day of studying and class, my Italian roommate decided that we should all reward ourselves with a pizza night! She hand made the dough, and we chose all the toppings we wanted. That night we feasted on some of the best pizza I’ve had while being here! For those who choose not to live in a homestay, do not underestimate what a blessing your Italian roommate can be!
