Siena day 2

We sleep nearly 12 hours, and are awakened by the maid, knocking on the door. I grunt. She explains some in Italian, pauses, and then says “cleaning”. I muster, “adesso, no.” But we get up. Time's a-wastin'.

We head out and end up in a caffè in the Campo called Osteria del Bigelli. Caffè doppio for Eric, cappuccino for me; then, when we can get the waitress's attention, we get some menus and order lunch. Two items to share: involtini di melanzane, which are slices of eggplant wrapped around sausage and broiled – not, as the waitress told us, raw sausage, but certainly very pink; followed by a pizza capricciosa, which had artichoke, ham, mushroom, and olives. The pizza was good, and the involtini were very good.

We wander down to the market square (though it is not market day). The view down the ravine is lovely. Then we head down one of the ridges (Siena is built on five), till we get to La Basilica de Nostra Signora dei Servi, a smallish romanesque basilica. It's pretty and very light (for a romanesque church). It also features the mummified corpse of saint, which fortunately you cannot get to close to.

We wander back, and meander here and there, looking for shopping. Everything is closed for lunch till 4, but we have some ice cream. When the stores are open again, we go to a bookstore. The hat store we'd like to visit does not open. We head out toward the fortezza.

On the way, we visit Santa Caterina. It's a simpler (but large) church, with a trussed wooden ceiling. It's also clearly been through troubles – it has nearly no original windows, and the frescoes are mostly gone. A sign confirms it: two fires, several years of military occupation, and one earthquake. In one opulent nook is a shrine to St. Catherine of Siena. Her dried, severed head sits in a reliquary, facing us. She looks remarkably good, for a dried, severed head. She wears a clean wimple like a nun.

Onward toward the fortezza, where we walk the ramparts. I take some good photos before we return to the hotel room. (On the way back, we stop at a market and buy honey.)

We go to the campo for a glass of wine, before heading to dinner. It is passagiata time, but less crowded than on Saturday.

Dinner is at L'Osteria del Ghibellino. We begin by sharing an excellent bruschetta with tomato and mozzerella. (It's the quality of the olive oil that makes it so very good.) For pasta, I have tagliatelle con tartufo nero, which is delicious, but with perhaps a bit too much truffle. Eric has pici in a dish very similar to mine from last night. Eric's main course is a stinco del maiale, a slow-cooked pork shin. It's delicious, but could have used another couple of hours, and comes served with potatoes, which are overkill after a plate of pasta. I have tagliata del Ghibellino, strips of veal seared and served rare with olive oil, toasted garlic, and rosemary; it is a truly superior dish, and I'm glad I ordered it. As a side I get a green salad, which is arugula and nothing more. I order a dessert of almond and chocolate torta; it seems in fact that the torta is just almond flavored, but that the sauce is white chocolate. In any case, it's lovely, and Eric eats some too.

Then we return to the hotel for bed.

Labels: food, italy, journal, personal

posted by Tony at 11:00 PM