Siena - Ring outside the walls

The itinerary runs largely along the walls that encircle the historic town center of Siena, touching on all the Porte (Doors).

Leaving Piazza del Campo, you ride eastward immediately finding the Logge del Papa (Lodges of the Pope), built in 1462 next to the church of San Martino, with its typical Baroque facade. Going ahead we reach Porta Romana, erected in 1327, through which we find ourselves on the ancient Via Cassia for a short distance.

Making a left-hand turn you arrive at Porta Pispini, erected in 1326. Skirting the walls for over a kilometer, you reenter from Porta Ovile, built in 1246; Going up the road you come across the 14th-century Fonte Nuova, one of the city's oldest water reservoirs.

Riding up a gentle slope, you exit the city walls again from the Barriera di San Lorenzo and find Porta Camollia, the northern entrance to the city, topped by the famous inscription «Cor magis tibi Sena pandit» (Siena opens in you a bigger heart … than the door you walking through).

Descending for about a kilometer, you reach the picnic area in Pescaia, where you can take a break, refuel with water and, if you wish, engage in some exercise with the public gym equipment. You then ride for about four kilometers to reach a very scenic part of the route and re-enter the historic town center through Porta San Marco which dates back to 1325. After a few hundred meters of slight ascent, you find the ancient paved streets of the city again to return to Piazza del Campo from Via del Casato.