Siena is a wonderful Tuscan town to visit, and is not too far from Florence. While being surrounded by yellow & green hills of olive groves and vineyards, Siena is an extremely well-preserved medieval city and was a major city in the 1100's & 1200's, controlling most of southern Tuscany, dominating the trade routes between France and Rome and had Italy's richest banks before the Medici's.

However, after 1260, a defeat against the Florentine army made Siena succomb down to Florence with the battle of ... (more)