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Human live sculpture on Via dei Pellegrini. This one with his gentiluomo approach to female tourists gained their appreciation and rewards.

Gift shops near Duomo. There are plenty of them in Siena ( Gift Shop #5 is one of them), and ceramic art they sell is very popular among tourists. From this point we start moving from Piazza del Duomo to Piazza del Campo. In reality, both squares are located within a couple of minutes of walking.

Via del Poggio - one of medieval streets winding around Duomo. There is nothing special about this street, but it certainly adds to the atmosphere of the place.

View from Roxy Bar on Via del Poggio - this bar is as uneventful as the Via del Poggio where it's located. What you can find inside is the same what you can find in thousands and thousands Italian bars in any other city. But I thought it would be interesting to capture the view from this bar onto walls of another building across the narrow street. That's what inhabitants of such buildings usually see.

Via del Poggio - this is not Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), but we are not in Venice either

One of many restaurants on Via di Città

A jewelry shop on Via dei Pellegrini

Via di Città (formerly known as Via Galgaria because of many shoemakers on it) is often considered the most elegant and stately street of Siena. Indeed, during Middle Ages there were well developed quarters where Palazzo Patrizi and Palazzo Chigi-Saracini are located. However, as you can judge looking at this photo, parts of this street are not that glamorous.

Lateria on Via di Città - gelato on window display. One of the most stupid things I heard about Italy was that Italian gelato is a "tourist trap" (also because it's softer than American ice-cream). Just try it!

Handbag store on via dei Pellegrini. Opposite to many tourist stories, prices in many stores like this are not that high. Some of them offer an original quality and affordable merchandise by local designers.

Palazzo Chigi-Saracini on Via di Città. This palace with long history currently houses the Accademia Musicale Chigiana

The inner court of Palazzo Chigi-Saracini. The place occupied now by Palazzo Chigi-Saracini was originally owned by noble Marescotti family where in 12th century they built a tower still standing today at one end of the palace.

The inner court of Palazzo Chigi-Saracini.  In 1506 the tower was purchased by Piccolomini Mandòli family ( one of the most important families of Siena), who undertook considerable modifications in its structure and gave the palace a Renaissance look still present in some parts.

The inner court of Palazzo Chigi-Saracini.  In 1770 the palace became the property of Marcantonio and Bernardino Saracini. They began a major remodelling project completed in 1824 by Marcantonio's son Galgano. The façade, although maintaining its original Gothic style, was considerably enlarged, stretching along the curve of the street. The palace was enriched with a significant art collection.

Palazzo Chigi-Saracini, a detail of loggia ceiling decorations. In 1877 the line of Saracini family stopped, and the Chigi family inherited the the entire estate including the palace and the Saracini name. Guido Chigi Saracini, the nephew of Fabio Chigi (the first of the new owners) became in 1907 the heir of the estate.

Palazzo Chigi-Saracini, a detail of inner court wall. Count Guido Chigi Saracini who had the palace as his residence was the last owner of Palazzo Chigi-Saracini. When he died in 1965, the palace was inherited by Accademia Musicale Chigiana Foundation which was founded by Guido. During his years as an owner of the palace, Guido undertook major restoration projects both, inside and outside. The current look of the palace is the result of these projects.

It's about time to take a peek at Piazza del Campo - it's very close to Via di Città

Piazza del Campo as seen when you enter the square - it has a shell shape with two curves (Curva di San Martino and Curva del Casato) joined by a straight line.

Siena, panorama on Piazza del Campo (photo courtesy of Wikipedia, Massimo Catarinella, licensed under CC Attribution ShareAlike 3.0). The original town center was located a bit higher uphill; whereas the area of the current square was used to drain the water after heavy rains as well as a space of the town market.

The Northern part of Piazza del Campo host many of palazzi signorili housing the families of Sansedoni, Piccolomini, Saracini, etc.

Fonte Gaia (Fountain of Joy)> The original fountain was completed in the middle of the 14th century as a part of the system to drain to the surrounding fields. The current fountain was finished in 1419 as an endpoint of water supply system to the center of Siena. Well, perhaps this systems needs desperately repairs -we found no water in it.

Fonte Gaia, details. The present fountain has a rectangular basin that is adorned on three sides with many bas-reliefs with the Madonna surrounded by the Classical and the Christian Virtues. The fountain was built by Jacopo della Quercia. Bas-reliefs were replaced by copies in the 19th century and are now on display in Museum Santa Maria della Scala.

There are many bars, cafes and restaurants on Piazza del Campo.

Restaurant 'Spadaforte' on Piazza del Mercato. I am sure you will be able to get a decent food at this place (advertised as typical Tuscan abd Senese cuisine). But as a rule of thumb, avoid places on Piazza del Campo if you want to enjoy the food. On the other hand, go there if all you want is to enjoy the views on Piazza del Campo. But to do this, you have to take a table outside and that may be not pleasant on a hot summer day.

Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) - an example of Italian medieval architecture with Gothic influences. The facade of the palace is curved inwards the find a balance with the slight convex shape of the Piazza del Campo.

Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico, a detail. The lower level of the palace is made of stone; the upper stories are made of brick. You can see Siena black and white coat of arms above the window.

Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico, courtyard of the Podestà. On the right side of the photo you can see a line to climb the campanile (bell tower), Torre del Mangia,

View on the Palazzo Pubblico campanile (bell tower), Torre del Mangia from inside the palace courtyard.

The courtyard of the Palazzo Pubblico with its crowds of visitors is a good place to promote things

Palazzo Pubblico, courtyard of the Podestà - ancient statue

Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico, courtyard of the Podestà - Rhea Silvia with Romulus and Remus born after she fell in love with Mars (the God of War). This image of a she-wolf suckling the young twins can be seen all over the city of Siena Siena: according to legend, Siena was founded by Senius, son of Remus.

One of the building of the University of Siena founded in 1240 and know for its faculties of law and medicine

Passage from Via di Salicotto to Piazza del Mercato (market square). All I can say - it's not pleasant. But think: this spot is less than 300 ft from Piazza del Campo. In fact, before the Palazzo Pubblico was build, Piazza del Mercato and Piazza del Campo was just one large space.

Siena, Piazza del Mercato - this square is located SE from Piazza del Campo behind Palazzo Pubblico. But it's not very popular among tourist and serves as a parking lot for cars with permits to enter the town center.

Siena, Piazza del Mercato - view on the back side of Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia. The roof covering large part of the square is called tartarugone (from tartaruga or turtle)

Back of the Palazzo Pubblico with its elegant loggias

Ample coved space on Piazza del Mercato - This place has no glamour at all; nevertheless it played an important role in town life as its market square. The huge warehouses of salt, the precious commodity of the time, were accessed from this piazza.

It looks like a water well or fountain, but I am not sure if the water is good for drinking.

Off tourist tracks Siena - If you just look at this photo, can you tell what century this is?

View from Piazza del Mercato to the East (via del Sole)

View from Piazza del Mercato to the West (via Giovanni Dupré)