ROMA AETERNA: Day 11 - Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, St. Dominic, Torre del Mangia

Day 11 was a free day in Siena. Originally, some of us wanted to head into Florence on our free day to take advantage of the time to do shopping or fit in side trips that would have been difficult to plan otherwise. We all decided, however, that we had lots to see in Siena and missing them would have been a shame.

Before heading out, we had an impromptu class on the steps of one of the nearby churches just to get in some information before we fell behind. After 30 minutes or so, an older Italian gentleman who spoke no English started speaking to us. After a minute I realized that he was saying that, if we wanted to, we could go onto the terrace accessible through the church. We agreed, and it was beautiful! We were shaded by a big tree and sat around a table just outside the church. The kind man sat nearby, obviously not understanding a word of the lecture, but seemed to enjoy the company of students. Too bad we can't have class there every time!

Afterwards, Fr. Paris and Prof. Coolman led a group of us on an expedition to the Cathedral ("Duomo") of Siena, Santa Maria of the Assumption. Based on our location in the city, we came upon the church from the backside. A short walk brought us to the front.

Rear of the duomo

Something that you don't see in Rome (except for Santa Maria sopra Minerva, a church I will visit soon) is Gothic architecture. Both Siena and Florence are filled with Gothic churches and structures, and the Siena Cathedral is no different. The colors and the different aspects invite the eyes to look upwards to the heavens.

Somewhat similar to the Basilica of Paul outside the Walls, this cathedral has a list of popes - this time, however, the popes have carved busts instead of portraits. The busts do not continue all the way through to the current pope, but there are quite a few of them in number, all different.

The Piccolomini family is one of the more important historical families of Siena and their influence is found all over in Siena. One place in particular is the Piccolomini Library off to the side of the cathedral. Here is kept a collection of liturgical music written exquisitely in large volumes in a room with vaulted ceilings. The entire space is covered in magnificent artwork. One of the members of the Piccolomini family went on to become the pope following the death of the Borgia pope, Alexander VI. He lived for only a month following his coronation.

High Altar

Among the busts of the popes is a particular phenomenon which is often overlooked. The pope shown in the middle of the picture below, John VIII, never was factually pope, nor did this person even exist as far as we know. This "Pope John VIII" is better known by "her" name "Pope Joan". The story of Pope Joan is a myth constructed during the corrupted years of the papacy in which it was commonly believed that one of the popes was actually a woman pretending to be a man, taking the name "John". This story has been fairly well ruled out as a fiction, but the bust of the pope was made long before that.

We left Prof. Coolman and Fr. Paris at the duomo and continued on to St. Dominic. Along the way, we found some rather unique dining locations on some very steep hills. Rather than stopping to eat, we took a quick picture.

We finally came up to St. Dominic. One of the goals of our Siena trip, given to us by Prof. Coolman, was to learn something or see something important regarding the life of St. Catherine of Siena. Our trip to St. Dominic was made because we knew that the church held something of importance to Catherine - her head. Upon entering the church (which was huge but completely barren - almost nothing inside of note and pretty bland architecturally) we found a small chapel in the middle of the church off to one side. At the center of this chapel, above the high altar, was a reliquary holding the head of St. Catherine of Siena, still wearing the habit of the Dominicans. She was remarkably preserved, especially for the age. When Catherine passed away, she was originally interred in Rome due to her influence there in the ending of the Avignon Papacy and the Babylonian Captivity. Followers of her's, however, thought that at least some part of her should reside in Siena. As the story goes, they removed her head and placed it in a sack. When guards came to search the bag, they found not a head but what appeared to be just a pile of rose petals. The followers then returned to Siena and in the bag was once again the head of the saint. The head has since resided in St. Dominic and has become a pilgrim site. Unfortunately I could not take pictures inside. Upon thinking about it, I decided that it would be more respectful anyway if I were to refrain from taking pictures of the severed head of a saint.

When we exited the church, the skies opened up. We ran inside of a nearby caffe for a quick lunch to escape the showers. When we finished, we saw another photo opportunity.

We did some shopping around the city after our lunch. Not much was purchased - the prices were insane. Three of us decided then to go the Piazza del Campo and the Torre del Mangia.

Palazzo Pubblico on the Piazza del Campo

After seeing the tower, the "Torre del Mangia", on the first day, a number of us decided that we would climb to the top before our time in Siena was over. We made a quick bet at the bottom over how long it would take to climb all the way to the top. I guessed 10 minutes, which won after we clocked in at about 7 minutes.

The top of the Torre del Mangia

What we didn't realize is that the tower looks a lot wider from the ground. The actual space in which you climb stairs was very very very very very small, tight, and slippery. Anyone with claustrophobia would have had a panic attack just stepping into the first section of the climb.

The exit at the top

Finally coming out of the stairs, we instantly knew that the climb was well worth the effort (and the 6 euro entrance fee). The Torre del Mangia is the third tallest secular tower in Italy (being the most tall secular tower in Italy when built) and the view from the top sure proves it.