Today we got to take one of our first group day trips- to Siena! Siena is about an hour's drive from Arezzo and two hours by train, located in the Tuscany region. It was a nice short drive, and we were there! Siena is best known for a horse race in the summer, the Palio. Corsa del Palio, "Palio race" has medieval origins; it happens annually and is best known to visitors as the Palio of Siena. This race goes around Piazza del Campo (Siena’s main and astonishing square where one can admire the “Mangia tower” - the civic tower of the Town Hall. It is among the tallest ancient Italian towers, reaching 88 meters at the height of the last battlements). There are two races each year, each neighborhood in Siena (17) has a horse; there are only 13 horses who compete in the major one in the summer; the four horses who had not been included take part in the second race during the year - so all neighborhoods can be included.   

The first thing we did when we got off the bus in Siena was talk about the town's history; the legend goes that Siena was founded by the brothers Senius and Aschius, the sons of Remus and nephew of Romulus, whom Rome was founded by. After their father's murder by Romulus, the duo fled to Rome, taking the she-wolf statue. Throughout Siena, it is common to see figures of she-wolfs and some with she-wolfs suckling the infants (the two brothers).   

As we walked into the city, we stopped by the Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico, where we talked about Saint Catherine, her story of sainthood, and saw her relic. For most of the class, this was their first time seeing a relic, and it began conversations about the importance of saints to Italian cities.   

After we walked father into the city and saw our first glimpse of Piazza del Campo, we walked to Duomo di Siena and Siena Opera della Metropolitana. The Duomo di Siena is one of my favorite churches in Italy; each time I visit Siena, it is magnificent and reminds me how big churches can feel so small and intimate when in towns like Siena. The Siena Opera della Metropolitana was a fascinating museum where we talked about different art pieces and got to see an incredible view of the city from up above an ancient facade, built in XIV century to expand the Cathedral and make it one of the biggest in Italy, then stopped because of the plague and never started again.   

While in Siena, we also visited the town hall and the University of Siena with two of our OUA (OU in Arezzo) interns, Azzurra and Silvia, who attend the University of Siena at Arezzo. It was neat to see them excited to see their "home" campus, along with getting to see what a college here looks like!   

Overall, we all enjoyed the day trip to Siena, and some of us want to go back again! It is such a pretty town that reminded us of home as Arezzo does!