Siena was beautifully grey today. :)
The place is packed with red/brown brick, (hence the paint color entitled 'burnt siena') small streets, even smaller cars. Very similar to most Italian cities. And just like any italian region, there is a lot of pride when it comes to your home town. Siena - home to many different clans - is no exception.
It is also the annual venue for Palio - a famous horse race that takes place in the square twice a year in the summer months. If I ever end up in Siena during summer, I'd love to see it. 10 clans enter a horse into the race....and oh is it a dirty game. It is a pretty underhanded event that EVERYONE takes extremely seriously. The rivalry between clans is intense. It takes an entire year of preparation for the race to take place. And it lasts about a minute and thirty seconds.
Today I saw Siena's Duomo, Baptistry and my favorite...the Crypt. Some of these places did not allow pictures, but here are a few of my favorites from today:
^ This is the Dominican church we visited in order to see the relics of St. Catherine. Her preserved skull and thumb were on display as well as the chains she used for self flagellation. (yikes.) People take these relics very seriously and believe that praying to St. Catherine in front of her relics will bring them grace in times to come.
Another really cool fact is that St. Catherine is from the Goose Clan. (All the clans have animal crests...ex: rhino, elephant, giraffe, eagle...even porcupine.) What's special about this is that the Goose Clan to this day does not allow women to have a say in community decisions. They aren't allowed to vote for political clan leaders...nothing. The medieval laws have been upheld right through to present time.
Amazing that such a powerful female figure such as St. Catherine - patron saint of Siena, AND patron saint of Europe - should come from clan where the social stratification between men and women is taken so seriously.
(This is the square where Palio takes place! That is the townhall.)
The Duomo was beautiful. Gothic design, painstakingly decorated. What was really special to me was the small library within the cathedral that was in pristine condition. It was preserved especially well since it had not been exposed to the fumes from burning oil or incense. It housed a breathtaking series of illuminated texts - some of the oldest hymns. Inside the room we were not allowed to speak as the humidity from our very breath could be harmful to this precariously conserved room.
^The 'library' :)
After visiting the Duomo, we hiked up a narrow, winding staircase to the top of the tower adjacent to the cathedral for some stunning shots of Siena laid out before us.
Following the tower, we went wandered town for a bit before going to see the Crypt. The Crypt sits on top of the Baptistry, but underneath the cathedral itself. For a long time the crypt was filled to the brim with dirt in order to support the weakening floors of the cathedral. What was discovered underneath all of that dirt was a crypt covered in frescoes. The dirt that had packed the small rooms so tightly acted almost like a vacuum seal and the frescoes remained in their original condition underneath. When discovered, conservationists had to hurry to preserve what they could as the exposure to oxygen quickly started to deteriorate the paintings. What they managed to save was in the crypt we saw today. No pictures were allowed inside, but it was unbelievable.
What was even more incredible than the actual frescoes to me, was the graffiti of sorts left on the walls. Not graffiti from our time - but hundreds of years before. We found little etchings of family crests, horses and knights....but the most fascinated thing we found was a little bar of music - back when there were only four lines on the musical staff. Which means that etching came from a time before St. Guido of Arezzo - who invented the musical staff using five lines.
I just saw his monument in Arezzo only a few weeks ago!
Mind. Blown.
After a bit more wandering through shops and streets, we took the bus back to Florence. And here I am now, packing my bags for a trip to ROME tomorrow morning! Wow. WOW. Just....wow.
Well, as promised a while back, I took some shots of some silly studio happenings. Lots of new projects coming up. Lots of brainstorming and paper and glue. Here is some finished and some not so finished work:
Accordion Books - 5 editions (finally assembled!). Linoleum cut/prints. Handmade book cloth, paste paper and stained paper. Xerox transfer text.
(I put my nickname for the image first, then followed it with the latin names for both animals incorporated in the print.)
All 5 editions. annnnd my messy book arts drawer.
brainnnstorm.
Chinese ink practice sheet.
I'm starting a new project in my figure drawing class where I'm hoping to start some large scale work. (Scary but exciting all at once!)
Well, this girl needs to sleep a little before a jam packed weekend begins tomorrow morning. I hope wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you are happy. :)
Love you Always,
Hayd <3
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