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Car Hire in Siena
Siena
For more than 400 years, Siena was in direct competition with Florence, with its banks, textile merchants and wool traders, but the city suffered during the Black Death of 1348, setting it back and putting it forever in the shadow of that other cultural city. Today, Siena has remained one of the largest of the Tuscan cities to retain its medieval atmosphere, with its steep and winding stone alleys mixed with the old buildings of brick and tiled roofs. The Duomo (cathedral) is a Gothic building with a Romanesque feel to it - look for the mosaic flooring created from 59 etched and inlaid marble panels, and the octagonal Cappella Chigi which houses a fragmentary 13th-century painting of Madonna del Voto. The Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana, housed in the walled-up right aisle of the Duomo's new nave, contains all the works removed from the façade for conservation. The luminous marble tondo of the "Madonna and Child" here is recognised by most scholars as the work of Donatello. Enoteca Italiana is a public park. Its courtyard is an open-air theatre and one can enjoy strolls along the ramparts. The vaults are filled with Italy's national wine museum. To the northwest of Siena is situated San Gimignano-Monteriggioni, one of the most perfectly preserved fortified villages in all of Italy. All 14 of the defensive towers have survived, while the sleepy little village is a great place for a stroll and a spot of lunch.