European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 9, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Italia no h ill a Tuscany slight o continued from Page 3 Quot it s better up Here Quot says Sarah one of the hoyas in residence. She leans against one of the Loggia s pillars Waits for the Breeze to catch her hair and gazes at the Valley below. Quot to get away from Florence keeps your  the Darker Side of All this pastoral idyllic Beauty greets visitors As they step off the bus in Siena. First Stop is the Church of san Domenico which contains a Chapel dedicated to St. Catherine of Siena. A native of the town the woman died a Martyr at the age of 28, after writing a series of letters to the Power brokers of the City that urged them to mend their ways. She also is one of the few saints on whose hands appeared the Stigmata Marks resembling the crucifixion wounds of Christ. In this cold and Damp Cavern hidden in a Box is the Saint s head chopped off by those Power brokers surrounded by if Sodoma frescoes that depict her life. Even More grizzly is a display Case containing her Finger which she chopped off herself and a Chain with which she beat herself a the better to understand suffering. I d suggest that the City find another place for the bus Stop. There s Little logic in placing it Here but then Little about Siena is rational. Its alleys and streets Are filed with the gothic Arches developed before the Renaissance. The City was at the height of its Power and wealth then thanks in Large part to a group of merchants known As the Chi Billene. The merchants controlled Southern Tuscany but never advanced North to Florence because of their rivals the Guelph. Given enough rope the Guelph and Chi Billene a not unlike the jets and Sharks or bloods and crips a Hung themselves allowing the Medici family of Florence to establish commercial and cultural control of Tuscany by the Early 15th Century. Development then ceased in Siena which makes the City seem Frozen in the medieval. The Green and White the rooftops of Siena s old own form a curved pattern below the Tower of the town Hall. Marble monster of a Cathedral mirrors the City at the height of its Power. But done to dismiss Siena As All gloom and doom As a Friend and i nearly did. On a cold Cloudy Day after visits to san Domenico and the Chilly Cathedral she was ready to catch the next bus out of town. On her Way she passed the City Center the Piazza Del Campo. Quot so gloomy Quot said my Friend. Quot i thought Well that s it then. Time to move on but then the Sun came out warming the bricks and bringing the people out of the shops and cafes. The City Shook its medieval Shadow. My Friend says she could picture this Large Piazza As it appears twice each summer for a horse race known As the palio. Residents of each of Siena s neighbourhoods sponsor a horse and jockey and vie for the right to wave the off Cial City Banner a As they have Tor almost 1,000 years. Quot i m not Long on imagination Quot she said. Quot but i could see the palio the horses charging around the cheering crowds. And i thought what a shame it would have been to just pass by this Lovely  i wandered the alleys of Siena waiting for the next bus out. I longed to return to the easy paths of Florence where in five Days i made one wrong turn. In five hours in Siena i must have gotten lost at least a dozen times the alleys were dark but through a passageway i saw Long shadows. At the passage i followed the shadows into the Campo bathed in warm yellow. Young men sprawled on the bricks of the Piazza sunning themselves like seals on a Rock. Shrieking kids chased the pigeons. I sat on a ledge and turned my face eyes closed to the Sun. So save the visit to the Piazza for last. The Sunshine there will fade those memories of severed fingers and whipping chains and a thousand wrong turns. And you la realize that even if you miss the bus to Florence a As i did a another will leave in an hour or two. Stipps Howard news service the rolling Hills of Tuscany stretch to the horizon. Below Siena s Cathedral built Between the 12th and 14th centuries is a mix of Plain romanesque and flamboyant italian gothic architecture. Stripes Magazine june 9. 19q4 x