Tuscany is a frequently and widely sung holiday and wine region. It is a of Italy's grandest wine regions and has stunning scenery. We report us for this column in Siena, a city in Tuscany built on three hills.
TEXT CHARLOTTE VAN ZUMMEREN
Siena, early July. It is boiling hot and dozens of people are lining the streets around the Piazza del Campo. Behind us a looms a horse, accompanied by hundreds of dead silent people. 'The horse must not be disturbed,' people hiss. It is improbably crowded in the medieval town in one of the world's most popular regions. When you say Tuscany - because that is what we are talking about - you say Siena, also written as Sienna and Siena. The city, like most Italian cities, is of Roman origin and was long under the rule of an aristocratic government in the past. Today, it is a tourist hotspot. Siena has grown enormously. In 2003 the city had just over 50,000 inhabitants, today there are over 250,000. Of course, not all of these live in the historic city centre. Today we are here on the eve of the Palio. Siena has the oldest horse race in Italy, namely the Palio of Provenzano since 2 July 1656.
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