Pizza dough with a little sauce.....
....and some prosciutto and cheese.....
a few more topings.....
Fresh out of the oven!
This evening after Reed headed off to work, I took Ollie for a walk around Siena. I came across this sign for happy hour:
This was the first time that I have seen anything about sushi since we got here. Judging from the way all the fish smells around here, it is not that fresh. The ironic thing is that the place having the above mentioned happy hour, Nannini, is more of a pastry shop known for it's panforte, not a sushi-type place. Oh well.
Walking around it is starting to see like Christmas here. They have begun to hang Christmas lights on the streets (although they are not lit yet) and a lot of stores already have Christmas decorations up.
They have also been putting up new light fixtures all along the streets, like the one pictured below. All these decorations make Siena really look beautiful. We have been told that they also put up a giant Christmas tree (possibly with yellow and green lights?!?!)!
I was finally able to take some nice pictures at night so I thought I would post them up here as well. Below is Piazza Salimbeni (Reed's favorite building(s) here in Siena). The piazza is formed by three palazzi (only 2 are really visible in this picture) and has been the headquarters for the Monte dei Paschi di Siena since 1472 (Monte dei Paschi di Siena is likely the oldest bank in the world!).
The bank grew from the practice of charging shepherds to graze their sheep on the pastures (paschi) in the Maremma region of Toscana (Southern Tuscany). The money the bank earned from charging the shepherds was then used to make loans.
Banking was integral to medieval Sienese wealth, in part because Siena was able to capitalize on it's position on the Via Francigena, the "French Road," between Rome and northwest Europe (also between Rome, Florence, and Bologna). The Via Francigena brought thousands of visitors to Siena, increasing the banking trade even more. A lot of the banks and moneylenders charged high interest, but Monte dei Paschi charged less, and therefore was more popular.
Monte dei Paschi was originally established in 1472 as a lending and charitable institution. Under Medici rule (16th century), it's role was consolidated and the bank began to focus solely on banking activities. In the 20th century, it merged with other Tuscan and Umbrian banks to form one of the key financial institutions in all of Italy.
The first Italian bankers worked from a bench (banco) in the street. If the city decided to stop them from trading, the bench was broken (rotto); hence the Italian for bankrupt (bancarotta).
I was also able to take a few nice pictures of the Campo at night:
Up Next: We head to Verona tomorrow, the city of Romeo and Juliet. I read something yesterday that said that the play Romeo and Juliet was originally set in Siena, not Verona. Hmmm. We also booked train tickets into Venice for Sunday, since Reed has never been. We are hoping to go on a Gondola ride and do a little sightseeing too!
When we are back in Siena next week I hope to take a few more pictures of some of the highlights here so that I can post about them!
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