San Domenico, San Francesco and Terzo di Camollia
Rural monasteries dominated until the beginning of the thirteenth century., when the idea of leaving the world for meditation was replaced by the establishment of preaching orders. In just a few decades, each of the orders founded monasteries on the outskirts of major Italian cities.. The two largest religious orders are located in Siena, Dominicans and Franciscans, at the western and eastern ends of the city, respectively.
San Domenico, monastery founded in 1125., is closely related to St.. Catherine of Siena. To the right of the entrance there is a kind of chapel, with a portrait of Catherine by her friend, Andrei Vanni; below are the stairs and niche, in which she received the stigmata. The chapel in the southern part of the church contains frescoes (by Sodom) depicting the saints in ecstasy and the reliquary with her skull.
Family house of St.. Catherine, where she lived as a Dominican nun, is located not far to the south, near Fontebranda on via Santa Caterina. Entrance to Casa Sanctuario di Santa Caterina (codz. 9.00-12.30 i 15.30-18.30; 1500 L) is on via Benincasa, from the back. The building has been largely transformed and includes a Renaissance loggia and a number of chapels — one at the site of the saint's cell — as befits the house of the patron saint of Italy. (and the first woman canonized). Catherine's life abounding in countless miracles, it was also unusual in the secular sense: it reconciled the feuding Italian cities and convinced Pope Gregory XI to return from Avignon to Rome..
Catherine died in 1380 r., the year of the birth of Saint Bernard, who began his activity as a preacher in the monastery church of San Francesco, on the other side of the city, in the east. His chapel (you have to ring the doorbell), with the upper part covered with frescoes of Sodom, stands next to the main church, which, just like Dominican, is huge, Gothic and raw.
Between these two sacred places lies the financial center of Siena.. Near Piazza Matteotti, on Banchi di Sopra, is Palazzo Salimbeni, having served as the headquarters of Monte dei Paschi di Siena since the company's inception. Behind the façade there is a perennial according to the avant-garde design of Pierluga Spadolini, but to see it, it is necessary to convince the doorkeeper of architectural interests.
North of Piazza Matteotti begins a less historic district, Terzi di Camollia, with the shopping street via Montanini and rarely frequented by tourists bars and restaurants. The Church of San Stefano overlooks one of the nicest contrade squares in the city, on which Istrici is located, or porcupines. To the west are the gardens of La Lizza, reaching the walls of Forte di Santa Barbara, built by the Medici on foundations, founded by Charles V, and housing Enoteca Italiana (look down).
After Florence, Siena impresses with a decidedly provincial city. Usually the main event of the evening here is the passeggiata from Piazza Matteotti along the Banchi di Sopra do Campo, and the later nightlife is poor. However, a lot of people gather in Campo, and thanks to the presence of university students, you can have some fun in bars and in a handful of cheaper trattorias existing next to expensive restaurants for tourists.
All events are displayed around Piazza Matteotti and on a stepped street connecting Piazza del Mercato with via di Salicotto. The local Communist Party arranges a series of concerts (mainly rock and jazz) forming part of the local Festa dellUnita, and Monte dei Paschi and the Accademia Chigiana organize excellent classical music concerts all year round.