On our last visit to Siena, my new-found focus on photography paid off in that I finally ended up with superior material to do justice to the city, something that was beyond my reach when I made this entry about a year ago in my “favorite sights” series.
For instance, I made a point of taking several dozen photographs of the incredible Piazza del Campo from all different angles. This is my favorite result.
Siena’s topography puts the city core high atop a hill, but because it is considerably bigger than an average hilltop village, it extends well into surrounding valleys. Approaching the central parts from Basilica di San Domenico affords you views such as the next one.
I took a variety of perspectives of the splendid Siena Cathedral complex up close. It is a certain must-see attraction.
There are a couple of available vantage points to observe the city from up high. In high tourist season they require some patience to get to, but the payoff is quite worthwhile. The view below is one of the shots taken while on Panorama del Facciatone, accessed through Museo dell’Opera, towards Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi and the Tuscan countryside beyond.
And of course, the street lamps in contrade colors are among my favorite subjects. One of these days, I will set aside time to visit all 17 districts, but this time I had to limit myself to just a few central ones. Here is a lamp in the Panther district.
And this one belongs to the She-Wolf contrada.
These and other pictures of Siena can be found in this Flickr photoset.