"The city of Siena was a major centre of commerce in Tuscany until the city fell to invading Florentines in the fourteenth century. The Florentines immediately stopped any further building. As a result the present city centre remains little changed from that early period. It is a maze of narrow streets that focus on the main square, Piazza del Campo. This large area set in a bowl between the three hills on which Siena stands is the site of the celebrated medieval pageantry of the annual Palio horse races. Not forgetting the astonishing masterpiece which is the cathedral."

Visited in 1995, 2003