Mia Bello Italia: My heart belongs to Siena

My first view of the city of Siena. Is it any wonder that I love this place? First, the ride through the Tuscan countryside and then this. I absolutely think that I left my heart in Siena and hope that someday I can return and spend much more time than just a few hours here. There is a magic feeling in Siena.

This is the church of St. Catherine. St. Catherine is the patron saint of Italy. She was born in Siena. When she died, her body stayed in Rome but the people of Siena stole her head and it is framed inside this church. In the middle ages, they believed that body parts of the saints brought their town good luck.

The outside of the Duomo.

This is one of 59 carved tiles in the floor of the Duomo. They sketched the pictures and then carved them and then filled them with the color. Twice a year, they take everything out of the church so that the people can come through and see the entire floor.

This is just one shot of several that I took in the library of the Duomo. These pictures are original and date back to the 1600's. They were supposed to get books from Rome to fill the library but they never came. So the library stayed sealed up and no one ever entered it. The pictures stayed preserved and pristine. They now let you enter but only in single file and they keep you moving through pretty quickly.

The piazza. Piazzas are the hub of so much activity in most cities in Italy. This is the clock tower and the next few photos are of the piazza. If you watch the opening scene of the movie "Quantum of Solace" the James Bond flick, it is filmed in this Piazza and in the streets of Siena.

The horse race that is happening in the opening scenes takes place twice a year. They pack over 200,000 people into the center of the square the horses race around the outside. Many riders fall off. Our guide told us that a horse can win without a rider but a rider can never win without the horse.