Riding on pietra serena (blue-gray sandstone): the historic town center of Siena by bike

The itinerary crosses the entire historic town center of Siena without ever leaving its gates and its city walls and you may decide to spend some time visiting the museums and the churches.

It is a short itinerary but that you should not underestimate, for the sudden steep stretches in the streets of the old town (but you can get off and walk over the hardest stretches).

We recommend bikes with agile gear ratios and wheels that are not too narrow to better find your way amid the narrow alleys and paved stones.

We start from the heart of the city, namely Piazza del Campo, moving in an easterly direction, where we will immediately encounter the Logge del Papa, whose construction was finished in 1462, alongside the Baroque facade of the Church of San Martino.

We pass through the territory of the Contrada della Torre and arrive at the Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi for a beautiful scenic view of the city. Just beyond it is Porta Romana, one of the city's oldest and most important gateways, from which the historic route of the Via Cassia starts.

Without exiting the gate we turn back northward to reach the territory of the Contrada del Nicchio. At Via dell'Oliviera we take a right-end turn to reach the Church of San Gaetano di Thiene, the oratory of the Nobile Contrada del Nicchio. Once we reach Via Pispini, before turning left we go further to admire the beautiful Fonte dei Pispini.

Turning left around the oratory, we come to Piazza Santo Spirito, with its 14th-century church of the same name.

We continue our itinerary through the Contrada del Leocorno until we reach the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria in Provenzano, where the image of the Madonna di Provenzano is kept, worshipped under the name of "Advocata Nostra" and in whose honor the Palio is held every year on July 2.

Soon after we will be in Piazza San Francesco with the splendid, homonymous Basilica, erected in the 13th century, which preserves inside the Eucharistic miracle of the pyx with the Sacre Particole (Sacred Particles).

We continue moving northward to the northern entrance of the city, the ancient Porta Camollia, and from there, still remaining within the walls, we head toward the Fortezza Medicea, a fort erected in 1561 and today a public park that is popular among the people of Siena who walk and play sports, the scene in fine weather of cultural events. From the top of the ramparts we can admire a 360-degree view that sweeps up to the hills to the north while, on the other side, it faces the hill with the mass of the Duomo dominating the surface of roofs, bricks and terraces.

We exit onto the Contrada del Drago, passing by the Basilica Cateriniana di San Domenico built in the 13th century; inside is preserved the head-relic of St. Catherine of Siena, in a splendid Renaissance chapel frescoed by great artists, including Sodoma.

We descend as far as the Contrada della Selva and reach the Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St. John), built in 1382 and preceding the great Cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, a treasure trove of works of art and a metropolitan cathedral in the Italian Romanesque-Gothic style whose construction began in the 13th century. The famous marble inlay floor is marvelous. Nearby is the Museo dell'Opera of Siena, which holds absolute masterpieces, such as the Maestà by Duccio di Boninsegna. From the museum you can climb onto the so-called Facciatone, to enjoy a panoramic experience and beauty like few others.

We finish the itinerary riding through the contrade (districts) in the eastern part of the city (Pantera, Chiocciola and Onda) to return to the starting point in Piazza del Campo.

Itinerary curated by stradedisiena.it