Riding along the sandstone trail
Riding on sandstone used in paving roads in the historic centre of Siena will be a unique experience.
Slopes that put your breath and legs to the test, a pleasant effort compensated by a sequence of unexpected surprises and by the changing urban environment: narrow alleys, small squares and wide-ranging openings on glimpses of the city with lots of houses, dotted with bell towers and vegetable gardens. A path through art and history to be completed with cultural and gourmet stops.
Departure from near the Medici Fortress, where the Sienese people walk and play sports and cultural events are held in fine weather. From the ramparts you can enjoy a 360-degree panorama that goes beyond the walls to the north and sweeps over the surrounding hills, while facing the hill in the Terzo di Città district on the other side, along with the imposing Duomo overlooking the houses leaning against each other, to cover the entire surface of roofs, bricks, windows, roof terraces: the perception of a ‘pine cone’ with splashes of colours, without empty roads.
Then the route crosses the entire centre, never arriving at the Gates and outside the ancient walls. In addition to touching water sources, grazing vegetable gardens and basilicas, the route will also allow you to stop in the magnificent setting of Piazza del Campo with its pinkish shell shape which are overlooked by elegant palaces and the Torre del Mangia stands out and in Piazza del Duomo where the polychromy of marbles glitters in the sunlight on clear days. If you want you can decide to devote time to works of art entering for a visit inside churches and museums.
They are indispensable for those who take things slow or reward themselves with one or more stops for a delicious tasting of local products by fatigue at the end of the route.
A pedal trip in the heart of Siena that will fill your eyes with beauty and it will do you good not only for your legs and body, but especially for your soul
Crossed areas
Many have written about Siena and its harmonious beauty, in all times, and it is difficult to invent new words to describe its charm, especially if you are not poets. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1995.
José Saramago, a Portuguese writer and Nobel Prize winner, was in love with the city and dedicated words that describe it with brushstrokes of deep emotion and passion.
“And here is Siena, the beloved, the city where my heart is truly pleased”. “The three hills on which it is built make it a city where there are no two equal roads, all contrary to submit to any geometry”. “This wonderful color, the color of the body browned by the sun, but that is also the color of the crust of the corn bread, this wonderful color goes from the stones to the road and to the roofs, softens the sunlight and erases the anxieties and fears from the face”.
“There can be nothing more beautiful than this city”. Piazza del Campo “a square inclined and curved like a shell, which the builders did not want to pave and remained so, as if it were a lap”.
“I look at the old palaces of Siena, ancient houses where I wish I could live one day, with a window of my own, overlooking the clay-colored roofs, the green shutters of the windows, as in the attempt to decipher where this secret comes from that Siena murmurs and that I will continue to hear, although I do not understand it, until the end of life”.