30 Oct

How is Siena, Siena and not anywhere else?

Every city has its landmarks. Il Duomo, San Domenico, Piazza del Campo, and the Torre del Mangia are just some of the well-known landmarks that would clearly mark Siena as Siena. But what is unique about this place is not simply the landmarks, but the way in which the town was developed. As I walked through the town for the first time, despite my lack of a map, I already felt I knew where I was headed. The streets were not straight or formed in a grid like most cities, but they curved in a way in which you were practically being led to where you needed to go. There was a noticeable yet gradual slope that naturally pulled me down and through the city. After following these streets for a little while, the roads suddenly opened up to a very large, gradually sloped piazza with many people dining, relaxing and casually strolling along. This was clearly the center of town with roads branching in from every direction and continually feeding the piazza with activity. Later, after having looked at a map of the city I realized even more how strongly all of the cities roads seemed to develop from and around Piazza del Campo. This clearly was not a piazza that was added as a side note after the fact, but a space that addressed the needs and the flow of the entire town. There are different versions of piazze all over Italy and throughout the world, but it is not common to see one that has been so well integrated into the town that it seems to draw people in through nearly unconscious means.