Siena

Our first Tuscany trip was to Siena, on whose outskirts we are staying. It's a lovely quite medieval city - mostly flat, which will prove to be quite a contrast with the other towns in the region.

As usual, we made several church stops to check out all the medieval and Renaissance artworks. Our quota of ugly Madonna and Child paintings has gone through the roof!

Duomo - the main cathedral in Siena, decorated with sculptures by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano (a father and son team), Donatello's St John, frescoes by Pinturrichio and a mosaic by Perugino.

Battistero - the adjacent baptistery has an incomparable font, starring Donatello's peerless Feast of Herod, a brass bas-relief with pioneering achievements in perspective and a lot of action. There are also reliefs by Ghiberti, and more weather-beaten statues by Giovanni Pisaro.

Museo dell'Opera - houses an important Duccio collection, as well as works by Donatello, Nicola/Giovanni Pisano and Jacopo della Quercia. I still think Duccio is a little on the ugly side (green babies?), but his work is a lot more impressive in person.

Had a nice dip in the swiming pool - COLD!