Tag Archives: Siena

Siena, a picturesque city revered for its art and beauty

Tuscandream 26/02/2015

Although it is a relatively small city of fifty-two thousand people Siena is a cultural behemoth and rightfully has earned its place as a Unesco World Heritage Site. This picturesque hill town  has played a huge role in western civilization. Originally settled by the Etruscans, Siena rose to prominence when the Lombards conquered the city and built the Via Francigena, linking Rome with what is now France in the sixth century.   The city became…

Gaiole in Chianti

Tuscandream 12/02/2015

If a Hollywood set designer was asked to create the Tuscany of our dreams, chances are good that they would erect a model of the medieval town of Gaiole in Chianti, the small vineyard dominated village nestled fifteen kilometers north of the provincial capital of Siena and only forty kilometers southeast of Florence. In 1215, Gaiole became the central market town for the small villages of Radda, Castellina in Chianti and the nearby castles of…