In Vacanza

We are back to our normal weekly schedule, after a two-week spring (Easter) break. On the front end of that break we visited Paris (see posts below), in the middle we were here in Rome (Holy Week/Triduum), and last week we took a three day excursion into Tuscany.

Tuscany is one of Italy's twenty regions. It lies immediately north and west of Lazio, which is where Rome lies. It's capital is Florence. The region is perhaps best known for its many medieval hill towns, and its good wine (Chianti, Montalcino, Montepulciano, among others).

Because it is the home of Florence, which was the center of the Italian Renaissance (ca. 1350-1540), Tuscany boasts an impressive amount of art (painting, sculpture, architecture) and has at least six sites which have been declared "World Heritage sites." We were fortunate to be able to visit three: Siena, Florence, and San Gimignano.

For this excursion we rented a van, a relatively easy process through Hertz. Our vehicle was a seven passenger Fiat diesel minivan with manual transmission. Paul was the only authorized driver (he went to pick up the van at Rome's central train station) so he did all the driving. The hardest part about driving was getting around, out of, and back into Rome. Suffice it to say, Rome is not the place for timid drivers, or those whose pacemakers have a limited high-end.

Once out of the city, however, travel was relatively easy. We left Rome early Tuesday (April 6) morning, and arrived at our destination, about 5 km west of Siena, about three hours later. We stayed in a converted farmhouse that we had reserved, one of many "Agriturismo" sites that are available throughout Italy. An "Agriturismo" is usually a working farm (grapes, olives, wheat, etc.) that supplements its income by renting such accommodations to travellers.

Our first afternoon we drove to Siena and walked through this beautiful town, stopping for a later afternoon ("molto Italiano") lunch on Siena's famous central Piazza. (In late July and early August there is a famous horse race-the "Palio"--around this square.) The highlights of Siena, however, were the Church of San Dominico, the Duomo (or Cathedral Church), and St. Catherine's home.

Siena is, of course, the hometown of St. Catherine of Siena, b. 1347- d. 1380. The Church of San Damiano has some important relics: her head (yes, her head!), and her thumb, all quite visibly displayed ("No pictures, please!"). (The rest of St. Catherine's body is in Rome, entombed within the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.)