Day trip to Siena

View from Pope Pius' second story loggia
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We started the day off pretty early this time, leaving the Villa around 7:30 after packing ourselves a sack lunch. We loaded the bus and headed to Pienza, our first stop of the day. It is a pretty small town that is quite cute. There we toured the Palazzo of Pope Pius II who was Pope for a very short time, but had enough time to put Pienza on the map and make the town Piazza quite beautiful.

His Palazzo was filled with art work and his family crest appeared on just about everything that he owned from fireplace mantles to frescoes on the ceiling. The tour was pretty interesting beings that Pienza takes great pride in having Pope Pius' Palazzo there. I guess they like having the tour groups like us come through and see the history of their little town. Actually, the view from Pius' second story loggia was to die for and I was a little jealous looking out from under the arches. You could see for miles, especially if you went on a day that wasn't full of fog it would be stunning.

Church at Montepulciano
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From there we went on to a little church set up on the top of a medium-sized hill in the town of Montepulciano. It was quite beautiful inside the church. It was filled with art as all Italian churches are and had several altars where one could pray or light a candle for a small donation and say a prayer.

After a few minutes of taking in the view outside the church we were back on the bus on the way to Siena. This city is amazing. It is picturesque and cute and full of wonderful architecture. Most of the streets in Siena slope to give it a natural drainage system that has been in use for ages.

View of Siena's main catherdal
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While we were there we were able to tour the main Palazzo and the cathedral there. Both of which were amazing (again) and filled with wonderful frescoes and other works of art.

The cathedral was my favorite part of the trip to Siena. Inside it was filled with carvings in wood and stone. It also housed a choral library which was lined with choral music books and featured walls adorned with vibrant frescoes depicting Pope Pius and other religious figures. The dome in the cathedral was gorgeous! It was my favorite part of the cathedral. Unfortunately my picture is a little blurry, but I still enjoy it.

Cathedral
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After about 45 minutes of free time to shop or grab a quick gelato we headed back onto the bus for an hour ride home to the Villa. I definitley recommend Siena to anyone who goes to Italy.