Il bel piccione si gode l'antica Fonte Gaia in Piazza del Campo Siena
"The beautiful pigeon enjoys the ancient Fonte Gaia in Piazza del Campo Siena"...
The Piazza del Campo is a magnificent encapsulated brick gathering center surrounded by Siena’s ancient sienna colored buildings. The sloping piazza has been Siena's civic and social center since the ruling Consiglio dei Nove in the mid-12th century. Built on the site of a Roman marketplace, its paving is divided into nine sectors representing the number of members of the consiglio. The cafes around the perimeter are the most popular coffee and aperitivi spots in town. The site revolutionized the idea of the medieval Italian piazza, having no spatial restrictions or conventional shape nor any symbolic balance of secular or religious power. The Palio di Siena is run twice yearly, in July and August, dirt and sand are brought in and laid around the edges of the Piazza del Campo to transform it into a horse racing track. This traditional race, which has ancient roots, still showcases the fierce rivalry which still remains between the 17 wards of the city. The magnificent Fonte Gaia fountain, designed by Jacopo della Quercia around 1419, adorns the higher part of Piazza del Campo. The fountain we see today stands on the exact spot occupied by a previously existing fountain in 1346. The water that feeds the fountain travels from a spring in the nearby countryside through 16 miles of underground passages known as Bottini, built in the Middle Ages. Fonte Gaia acquired its name after great celebrations took place when the inhabitants of Siena saw the water gushing from the fountain. A large, altar-like rectangular basin is surrounded on three sides by a high parapet. The sides are decorated with reliefs of The Creation of Adam and The Flight from the Garden of Eden. The long section of the fountain is adorned at the center with a Madonna and Child, surrounded by allegories of the Virtues. I found Siena to be one of the most pleasing and still authentic Italian of my travels.
- Copyright
- Dino Carbetta
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- 3839x5759 / 126.5MB
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italy, architecture, clouds, drama, dramatic, heavenly, heaven, countryside, buildings, culture, antiquity, fine art, artistic, landscape, ancient, middle ages, basilica, church, chiesa, duomo, vertical, horizontal, color, age, colour, cathedral, tree, cross, crucifix, monastery, convent, assisi, stairs, staircase, santa maria, mary, jesus, saint clare, christ, cristo, lord, savior, mother mary, blue, evening crepuscolo, sera, mosaic, vista, panorama, pano, mosaico, fresco, rain, rainy, wet, acqua, angel, piccolo, campanile, angelo, rainbow, heaven, skies, sky, rooftop, doppio, arcobaleno, dio, risplende, san rufino, santa chiara, god, tuscany, toscana, dome, beautiful, bellissimo, bello, fiori, azure, blue, azzuri, etruscan, saint francis, san francesco, olives, olive trees, sun, sunlight, dusk, dawn, evening, grandeur, wine, vino, window, door, vernazza, italian, faith, madonna, boats, piazza, mountains, giotto, franciscan, dino, carbetta, italian, fine, art, photography, siena
- Contained in galleries
- Portfolio Parte II
