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The square is the heart of every Italian city. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, many are created following very original projects. But some squares hide secrets in their own structure and their own name. Their form is shaped directly on the oldest buildings or on the pre-existing spaces, still preserved below. We literally walk over history,...

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The palio is a form of entertainment dating back to medieval times. Even today, competitions between the districts are celebrated in the folkloristic festivals of the towns of Italy. In addition to the Palio di Siena, the most famous, in our peninsula we find various events that bring us back to the traditional challenges of the past. In Italy the...

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Upon arriving in Siena, Italy, we traveled first across the winding sidewalks which led us to the Campo, the public square. Before us, kiosks of various vendors dotted the wide-open area stretched out in front of the impressive Palazzo Pubblico and its tower. Around the outer edge of the square, a wooden barrier was being installed in anticipation...

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Thursday, November 5th • 7:00-9:00pm edt. Organized by Casa Belvedere. Register Here. With religious roots as old as the dawn of modern civilization, Italy teems with churches central to the identities of cities that built them. Naturally, visitors flock to St. Peter’s in Rome, St. Mark’s in Venice and Florence’s Duomo which defined Italian Renaiss...

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Siena has unveiled the extraordinary inlaid marble mosaic floors of its cathedral in as part of an eagerly-awaited annual event. The magnificent marble floor, covered with masonite sheeting for the rest of the year, can be visited from today until 7 October. Visitors, who will be obliged to follow precautions to contain the spread of covid-19, will...

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August 12 at 7:30pm. Presented by Carla Gambescia. $10. Click here for more info & to register. Il Palio di Siena, a four-day cultural sporting extravaganza, culminates in the world’s most thrilling horse race and takes place twice every summer — on July 2 and August 16. Though canceled this year, you can experience its colorful pageantry virtually...

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It is safe to say that American writer John Fante is better known to the European audience than to his native audience. His succinct prose is easily translatable and his countless stories like Ask The Dust, recounting the son of an Italian immigrant’s quest for literary fame are full of irony and wit. I am not sure that Fante actually spent any tim...

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After a three-month closure due to the nationwide lockdown, the Cathedral of Siena along with the Opera Museum have reopened to the public. Access will be free until July 31; visitors may opt to make a donation, and any collected sum will serve to fund a study for the next conservation projects for the Duomo complex. The Cathedral and the museum ar...

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“Siena is the embodiment of a medieval city,” writes Unesco, which inscribed it into its World Heritage list in 1995. “The whole city of Siena, built around the Piazza del Campo, was devised as a work of art that blends into the surrounding landscape.” The buildings were designed to fit into the overall planned urban fabric and also to form a whole...

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The Palio of Siena, often described as the toughest horse race in the world, will not be run this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the mayor of the Tuscan city said on Thursday. The bareback race, where riders and horses have to charge three times around Siena’s main, mediaeval square, is held twice a year, on July 2 and Aug. 16. It was la...

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