museo civico and torre del mangia
one of our first true touristy stops in siena was at the torre del mangia , the tall tower in their main plaza, palazzo publico . the next day, we went to the museo civico , which is also housed in the city hall off the plaza. the view from the top of the torre del mangia is pretty fantastic. it has a great vantage point on the top of siena's duomo as well as the surrounding countryside. their system for climbing the tire could be expedited a bit, but it does prevent the horrible problem of tourist crossing in very narrow stairwells. this stairwell was pretty typical for stairwells built in the medieval ages/early renaissance. Siena's Duomo Palazzo Pubblico from up high the museum is in the right side of the building below. torre del mangia is at the top of the tower (obviously)! the square is pretty spectacular. the museum consists of a number of frescos and is within the old civil building on the squ...