A visit to Siena reveals wondrous sights

This morning the Singers took to the streets of Siena, and most were thrilled by a visit to the Duomo, the main church in town. Built between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure, the cathedral is in the form of a Latin cross with a slight projecting dome and bell tower. The exterior and interiors are decorated in white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, black and white being the symbolic colors of Siena.

Our chief correspondent today is Wilmer Henninger, who is in Europe for the first time. "There's so much to see in this church, you don't know where to look first," he reports.

Fellow basses Greg and Lee seem to agree. Here they are looking around, trying to decide what to photograph next. The most impressive and beautiful of the treasures the cathedral holds are on the floor, where the pavement is decorated with the art of mosaics (using various techniques) to create storytelling masterpieces.

Here is an example of the floor that I found on the Internet.

Another treasure within the cathedral is the Piccolomini Library of manuscripts, a popular part of the tour.

Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Bishop of Trieste in 1447 and later, the Bishop of Siena in 1450. Very popular and having achieved much success in Rome, he became cardinal in 1456 and, just two years later, was elected as Pope Pius II. The Library itself was built by his nephew -- also a cardinal who later became Pope Pius III -- in memory of his uncle and to conserve the rich collection of manuscripts Pius II had lovingly collected.

The library is very popular as you see from the line to get in.

Members of the group, the Benedicts, look carefully at Piccolomini's treasured manuscripts.

I believe Wilmer said he would like to paint the ceiling at Market Square Church like this (if they have a paint-by-number kit he could use).

Soon it was time to head over to Pistoia for the evening's concert. Here, Lee Gayman reports:

"The cathedral in Pistoia where we sang [shown below] was a bit less ostentatious than the numerous other cathedrals we've seen, but still a great place to sing. A very enthusiastic Italian tenor with limited English was our local 'host,' and his energy and enthusiasm for our music was contagious. We sang to a rather large audience that was also most appreciative."

Here flutist Molly and organist Tony, both members of the Market Square Singers, play prelude music.

"Because the organ console was behind the altar, Eric couldn't see Tony," Wilmer writes. "So our concert order was rearranged, and we sang the first three songs out of sight of the audience."

 
It must have sounded like a choir of angels to the audience!

Thank you, Wilmer and Lee, for today's entry. Your pictures make us feel like we are right there with you.

Tomorrow morning, the Market Square Singers journey to Pisa to see if the Tower is still leaning. Then on to Lucca, and finally a concert in Florence. A very busy day!

PLEASE NOTE: My apologies to those of you who left comments. I was overlooking the tiny message that told me there were comments to be reviewed. I have published them all now and will be more watchful in the future!