If you remember nothing else after a visit to the Tuscan town of Siena, you remember the color...
Historically made from a pigment derived from clay earth near its namesake city, sienna in its raw mustardy brownish-yellow or burnt reddish-brown orange state is the color of choice in this heavily touristed city, with its many brick buildings and medieval Piazza del Campo, one of the most beautiful public squares on earth.
Like salmon-colored Marrakesh, the single tone has a mesmerizing effect, by turns soothing and mildly claustrophobic. Like gray Paris, Siena's identity is linked with a dominant hue that gives it a singular character, offering a lesson in the effects of making bold color choices.
- Kristin Hohenadel blogging from rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, France. She can be reached at kristinh @ apartmenttherapy . com
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Comments (11)
wouldn't mind being there RIGHT NOW!
LOVE LOVE LOVE Siena -- much more wonderful than overrated and overrun Florence!
Dang, now I am so hungry.
@Frank - its not a competition tho' is it. They're close enough to enjoy both... (perhaps at a different time of year?) Do you really not like Florence?
Lovely photos - v true - and also interesting in the way they make me look up - whereas in Sienna I think I must look at the floor mostly.
Lesley, I agree, I adore Florence, although it is crowded (and hot) during the busy summer months.
I very much enjoy Siena, and Lucca, as well.
Great photographs.
Kristin,
As always, beautiful photos and narration.
Mid-C Frank, you should see Arezzo, near 90 km from Siena... I love it much more than usual touristic Siena and Firenze!
arry
I've lived for a year in Siena and I know I'll miss it forever! It's like living on a Fairytale. I've been inside several Senese palazzos and they're as charming as you see outside.
Old stuff rules.
Ditto Jon_B, ditto
I have nothing but great memories of the beauties of Siena. Not even the auto accident we had on our approach to the city has tarnished these memories. My favorite thing about Siena and other very old cities is the juxtaposition of the most contemporary of home goods in the store windows that are in these very old buildings.