Visit to Siena and San Gimignano

Our day  started with a ride out of Florence as we headed to Siena. On the way Lana gave more background on the Jewish experience in Tuscany.

Similar to what occurred in Florence, the bus needed to register at a parking area in order to drive into the city of Siena. We then went to Sienna and met our local guide Titsyanna (sp?). We walked up to hill past external walls and a park to a lovely overlook towards the city and the cathedral. After being given an overview of the city we took a group photo before heading into the center of town. We passed a few historical sites (hard to remember all the details, before entering the Plaza de Campo. We did stop at a church dedicated to Ste. Catherine of Siena which contained relics of both her skull and a finger.

The plaza is where the different districts of the town race horses around the plaza in the Palio Horse Race. This is a major event and it includes such activities as blessing the horses in district churches before the race. The plaza is an oblong/ sea shell shape where the 10 selected horses run around the plaza 3 times. The race is held once in July and once in August. The plaza itself is a lovely place to visit, surrounded by numerous restaurants, Gelaterias, and shops. We returned later for lunch.

From there we went to the area where the ghetto once existed to visit the synagogue. On the outer wall there are two plaques, one commemorating those who were killed during the holocaust and a second one to commemorate a pogrom in 1799, by the Via Maria gang.

Anna, who was our docent in the synagogue was a delightful individual. Although the community is quite small the did have High Holy Day services and celebrate Shabbat about twice a month. She told me that there is only one more Bar Mitzvah boy in the entire community. 

The sanctuary had a vaulted ceiling and was painted in greens and white. She spoke of the anti-Semitism and deportations by Italians and not just Germans. She also said that any Italian Jew who was saved had the help of righteous gentiles. At the conclusion of the visit Lana suggeted to me that we sing something and since the words were on the wall we sang Ma Tovu. 

As we walked through the streets to the Plaza for lunch we passed the beautiful cathedral. Before we departed the plaza most of us made our usual gelato stop.

Our next stop was the walled medieval town of San Gimignano. We did have a small problem of the A/C on the bus not functioning. It created discomfort for us. At San Gimignano when we departed the bus and walked up to the walls of the city we had some breathtaking vistas. The town was famous for its many towers. The region also was famous for saffron and the first DOCG for a white wine, Vernaccia. The town was charming but many of the group were quite tired so we broke for free time when many had gelato or did a bit of shopping. Jan and I had some coffee.

The final destination for the day was the winery of Fattoria San Donato. We waited in the charming entrance courtyard for the owner Umberto. We went into the small cellar where he had both steel tanks and oak barrels. He told us quickly about his different wines, the top of the line being Vernaccia.  He also explained the difference between virgin, extra virgin, and plain olive oil. Virgin and extra virgin differ in acidity, ph. There is only one pressing he said. What is not acceptable to the standards is sent to big factories and mixed with a clear fat liquid, 5% oil and 95% other. We then went to a small room where tables were set up with glass pitchers of red and white wine, that he simply mentioned were vernaccia and chianti. There was bread toasted with olive oil and garlic, olives and peppers.  He left with no guidance in tasting the wine and the wines, while drinkable were nothing special.

The ride back to Florence was about an hour plus traffic in the streets of the city. Most were too tired to go to dinner. Some had a light bite across the street. Tomorrow to Rome.