Tuscany trip with ESN Roma 3
Sindromo di Stendhal
After visiting the church, we hopped back onto the bus and drove into Montepulciano to take part in a wine tasting. We got to learn more about their DOCG wine, the Vino Nobile, which was the first Italian wine to get this denomination. We got to taste three very different wines: a 6-month-old Vino Nobile, a 24-month-old one and finally another red wine of the Crociani cantine which was 18 months old. With this very tasty wine, they served Pecorino and Salame from the region and extra-virgin olive oil from their oil manufacture.
After our Siena trip, we headed to Florence, where our hostel was. We were very surprised to discover that we had an amazing hostel just a few minutes away from the city center! The place was just perfect. We all ate together and then went to the botellon on the piazza where the Fontana del Porcellino is (their version of the Roma Fontana di Trevi), near to Ponte Vecchio.
Sadly our last day began with a rainy greeting. However this didn't stop us, and we were very lucky to arrive in Pisa where the sun was shining. As always, we first got to visit the city with the ESNers from Pisa. They showed us Piazza Dei Miracoli, with its Duomo, Batistero and of course the leaning tower. Apparently, Piazza Dei Miracoli is also a place where Tuscany's students come together once a year to fulfill a ritual like a party. They set challenges and have to overcome them in order to have good luck and pass all of their exams. Another saying says, that students shouldn't climb the leaning tower, or they'll never graduate.
From the Piazza Dei Miracoli, we walked to the Piazza Dei Cavalieri, where 6 (anciently 7) roads cross in front of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, one of Italy’s most reputed universities.
This trip was, as always, amazing! The food, the people, and the cities were fabulous and my next trip to Tuscany is already planned with my friends! Thank you ESN Roma 3 for all the effort that you put in organizing all of this!
I hope you enjoyed reading about this trip!
See you soon,
Alla prossima,
Anastasia
« J’étais arrivé à ce point d’émotion où se rencontrent les sensations célestes données par les Beaux Arts et les sentiments passionnés. En sortant de Santa Croce, j’avais un battement de cœur, la vie était épuisée chez moi, je marchais avec la crainte de tomber. »
— Rome, Naples et Florence, éditions Delaunay, Paris - 1826, tome II, p. 102
Yet again, I took the opportunity to go on a trip with ESN Roma 3. This time we got to visit the beautiful region that is Tuscany, with stops in Montepulciano, Siena, Firenze, and Pisa.
Day 1: Montepulciano e Siena
Just like last time, we had our meeting point at Piramide metro station and for once we weren't late! So we started our journey up North, leaving the Lazio region behind us for Tuscany!
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| Chiesa di San Biagio |
The first stop on our list: Montepulciano. This small town south of Florence is known as the "heart of the Renaissance". Most symbolic monument for this is the church of San Biagio on top of a hill near the city center. The construction of the church started in 1518, so at the very beginning of the Italian Renaissance, and to this day still has his very distinct classical (Greek and Roman-inspired) architecture.
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| Columns on the belltower in the 3 classical order: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian |
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| Foggy view on top of a hill |
After visiting the church, we hopped back onto the bus and drove into Montepulciano to take part in a wine tasting. We got to learn more about their DOCG wine, the Vino Nobile, which was the first Italian wine to get this denomination. We got to taste three very different wines: a 6-month-old Vino Nobile, a 24-month-old one and finally another red wine of the Crociani cantine which was 18 months old. With this very tasty wine, they served Pecorino and Salame from the region and extra-virgin olive oil from their oil manufacture.
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| Another beautiful view |
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| View from Montepulciano |
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| Tuscany's hills |
After exploring Montepulciano, we drove up North to discover the medieval city that is Siena! The city is best known for its Palio that takes place on the Piazza del Campo, in front of the city hall. During the Palio the "contrade" that make up the city race each other on horses with the aim to win and bring fame to their neighborhood. The Palio traditionally takes place twice a year, in June and in August. Siena is also the city where the first bank was founded in 1472 and still works today. In fact on the Piazza del Campo, you can notice that the city hall faces one of the buildings that used to belong to the bank. In Renaissance times, it came to a conflict of interest that was materialized by the hight of the building. In fact, the bank was in a higher building than the city council. For that reason, the mayor decided to add the third floor to the city hall "regaining" the political power over the city. Finally, Siena has some of the most beautiful churches in Tuscany. Two of which are on neutral territory, meaning they don't belong to any "contrada". They both carry a very important historic and cultural value. The church of San Domenico, which hosts the Orthodox and Catholic community, holds the relics of Santa Caterina, the patron saint of Siena. The other church is best known by the name "Duomo di Siena" and is the place where, after a Palio, the winning neighborhood gets the blessing from the priest for the next year to come.
After our Siena trip, we headed to Florence, where our hostel was. We were very surprised to discover that we had an amazing hostel just a few minutes away from the city center! The place was just perfect. We all ate together and then went to the botellon on the piazza where the Fontana del Porcellino is (their version of the Roma Fontana di Trevi), near to Ponte Vecchio.
Day 2: Firenze
On day 2 we discovered the city of Florence, the gem of Tuscany. We started the day with a tour organized by ESN Firenze. We got to see the marvelous Duomo that is built in three parts (the Batistero, the church, and the belltower) all of which are in white, green and pink marble. From there we made our way, from piazza to piazza into the very center of the city and the Piazza della Signoria, which might be one of the best-known places in Florence for its duplicate of the Davide from Michelangelo.
We passed the Ponte Vecchio bridge to admire the Chiesa di Santa Croce, a church that hosts the graves of many known artists, writers and influent people starting from the Middle-Age. We then made our way a little back to see the house of the Medici family, the very famous Florentine aristocratic family. We then had free time to eat something and the plan was to meet about 2 hours later to visit the Uffizi, Florence biggest museum and home to the Venus from Botticelli.
However, with three other friends, we decided to skip it in order to enjoy a traditional Bistecca alla Fiorentina. We found a small trattoria, a little outside of the city center, with, so it seemed, only local guests. And we still don't know if it was the food, the atmosphere, the people or everything together, but after our first bite, we looked at each other and cry-laughed for a good couple of minutes! We then got back to the city center, where we enjoyed a good glass of wine on a rooftop terrace with view on the Duomo before heading up on Piazza Michelangelo to admire the city skyline of Florence.
On that night, we had our botellon in front of the Santa Croce church before going to a club nearby. We had an awful lot of fun and enjoyed every minute of it!
Day 3: Pisa
On day 2 we discovered the city of Florence, the gem of Tuscany. We started the day with a tour organized by ESN Firenze. We got to see the marvelous Duomo that is built in three parts (the Batistero, the church, and the belltower) all of which are in white, green and pink marble. From there we made our way, from piazza to piazza into the very center of the city and the Piazza della Signoria, which might be one of the best-known places in Florence for its duplicate of the Davide from Michelangelo.
We passed the Ponte Vecchio bridge to admire the Chiesa di Santa Croce, a church that hosts the graves of many known artists, writers and influent people starting from the Middle-Age. We then made our way a little back to see the house of the Medici family, the very famous Florentine aristocratic family. We then had free time to eat something and the plan was to meet about 2 hours later to visit the Uffizi, Florence biggest museum and home to the Venus from Botticelli.
However, with three other friends, we decided to skip it in order to enjoy a traditional Bistecca alla Fiorentina. We found a small trattoria, a little outside of the city center, with, so it seemed, only local guests. And we still don't know if it was the food, the atmosphere, the people or everything together, but after our first bite, we looked at each other and cry-laughed for a good couple of minutes! We then got back to the city center, where we enjoyed a good glass of wine on a rooftop terrace with view on the Duomo before heading up on Piazza Michelangelo to admire the city skyline of Florence.
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| Bistecca alla Fiorentina |
On that night, we had our botellon in front of the Santa Croce church before going to a club nearby. We had an awful lot of fun and enjoyed every minute of it!
Day 3: Pisa
Sadly our last day began with a rainy greeting. However this didn't stop us, and we were very lucky to arrive in Pisa where the sun was shining. As always, we first got to visit the city with the ESNers from Pisa. They showed us Piazza Dei Miracoli, with its Duomo, Batistero and of course the leaning tower. Apparently, Piazza Dei Miracoli is also a place where Tuscany's students come together once a year to fulfill a ritual like a party. They set challenges and have to overcome them in order to have good luck and pass all of their exams. Another saying says, that students shouldn't climb the leaning tower, or they'll never graduate.
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| Batistero |
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| Piazza Dei Miracoli |
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| Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa |
From the Piazza Dei Miracoli, we walked to the Piazza Dei Cavalieri, where 6 (anciently 7) roads cross in front of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, one of Italy’s most reputed universities.
After the tour we had some free time to explore the little town that is Pisa on our own; so yet again we went on the lookout for a nice little restaurant to settle and have lunch. We found a lovely little place where we had a very good meal and a bottle of wine before heading back to Rome.
This trip was, as always, amazing! The food, the people, and the cities were fabulous and my next trip to Tuscany is already planned with my friends! Thank you ESN Roma 3 for all the effort that you put in organizing all of this!
I hope you enjoyed reading about this trip!
See you soon,
Alla prossima,
Anastasia
Je signe où les droits à l'image ? Ahahahah
ReplyDeleteMerci d'immortaliser ce beau moment florentin ;)
Dans mon carnet? ;P haha
DeleteBisous