Animals and art: exploring Siena with kids
The porcupine is the sworn enemy of the wolf. Meanwhile the snails and tortoises don’t see eye to eye. But happily the caterpillars and giraffes officially stopped their fighting back in 1996…
Stepping into Siena’s twisting medieval streets feels like a fairytale at any age, but discovering the stories of the city’s 17 different areas – or contrada – and their symbolic animals makes Siena a fascinating place to discover for kids.
It might be smaller than neighbouring Florence – though ancient rivalry continues there with the Sienese convinced of their own city’s superiority – but that makes it less overwhelming to wander around Siena with kids too.
You need to pay close attention though, or a good guide. Happily Margarita, our guide from Arianna & Friends, was there to lead us through the maze of alleyways and point out statues whose outstretched arms would guide us back afterwards, so we didn’t miss a detail.
On this trip, I was wandering child-free – along with 12 other family travel bloggers on a trip courtesy of Bookings For You, staying in the Tuscan countryside at villa Country Relais & Spa Le Capanne.
But I know my five-year-old would have both the sharp eyes to spot the symbols dotted around, and plenty of enthusiasm for an animal-themed treasure hunt – plus it was so much fun, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it all again on another visit to Siena with kids.
At its height in around 1300, Siena was home to 50,000 inhabitants, with a network of aqueducts transporting water to the city, before the population was ravaged by the Black Death.
The 17 districts date back to those times, organised for the city’s defence – although these days, the ancient rivalries are only really remembered during the famous Palio horse race.
High on the walls you’ll spot the emblems, each with their own colours as well as a different animal or symbol: the caterpillars mark the area where silk was made, the eagles represented the lawyers, the porcupines symbolised the district where arms were produced.
The dragons, meanwhile, were the emblem of the bankers and you can still see the world’s oldest bank here, the Monte dei Paschi di Siena which dates back to 1472.
For centuries, the city’s importance meant it lay on a major pilgrim route, the Via Francigena, which led from Canterbury to Rome – and our own tour started at one key stop, the The Basilica of San Domenico, also known as Basilica Cateriniana.
Less decorative than the spectacular Duomo 10 minutes away, it’s still the final resting place of Siena’s most famous saint, Catherine. Or of part of her, at least.
Born in the city in the 14th century, the youngest of 24 children, she defied convention to live as a Dominican nun, drawing pilgrims (and providing an impressive source of income for her order) as well as dictating the story of her visions – plus a little light involvement in politics on the side, persuading the pope living at Avignon to return to Rome.
While the medieval mindset seems very far from ours, it’s a fascinating tale of a woman at a time when most had no power, one who went on to be one of the patron saints of Italy and Europe.
After dying in Rome, Siena was reluctant to relinquish its famous daughter, so two of her relics still remain in the basilica – her head (hidden behind a mask) and her finger.
I couldn’t decide whether my daughter would find it entirely gruesome or be ghoulishly intrigued.
Walking through the city, past the Piazza del Campo, past medieval toilets suspended from the side of houses, we spotted yet more animals on our way to the Duomo. Perched on top of columns were wolves suckling a baby or babies, another legend to discover on our way.
While the story of Romulus and Remus is familiar to anyone who has visited Rome, the twins fed by a she-wolf before growing up to found the Eternal City, I had never heard the next part of the tale; Remus had two sons himself, who fled after their own father’s death at their uncle’s hands and were also fed by a wolf, before going on to found Siena.
Another part of the legend tells that they rode to Siena on one white and one black horse, still the city’s colours today (how they did that while still being young enough to be fed by a wolf I’m not sure, but let’s not nitpick a good myth).
You’ll see the contrast on flags and shields, and most striking of all, on the cathedral’s belltower (even if it’s actually dark green rather than black) and inside on the columns of the Duomo.
After a cloudy start to our visit, the sun came out as we reached the cathedral, lighting the pinks and whites of the marble, gold glinting.
If the outside seems impressive, that’s nothing to the inside though. The floor is covered in tales from the Bible intricately carved in marble – most stay protected and hidden throughout the year, except for a couple of months after the Palio when they’re uncovered.
But even if you can’t see those, there’s the gilded side chapel with the bluest star-painted circle at the heart of its golden dome, decorative candles with those animal symbols again, and the spectacular Piccolomini library dedicated to 15th century Pope Pius II (built by his nephew, who went on to become Pius III).
The paintings of the walls tell tales of his life, but it’s the ceiling which your eyes are drawn to as your jaw drops. Colours so bright they almost outshine the gold – I could have stared for hours.
And if you are visiting Siena with kids with much shorter attention spans, there’s one last item to spot on this treasure hunt – dotted around the room, you can spy the symbol of the Piccolomini family, the crescent moon.
As we weaved back down Siena’s steep hills, past shops displaying scoops of gelato and piles of panforte, I had just one question left. Which really would win, in a fight between a porcupine and a wolf?
For more ideas of places to visit in Tuscany with kids, check out this post
PIN FOR LATER: SIENA WITH KIDS
Disclosure: My stay in Tuscany was free for the purposes of review. I paid for my share of the guided tour. All opinions and deliberations about battling porcupines are my own.
Images copyright MummyTravels
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Who would of thought it would be so interesting, my boys would love to be searching for the animals. What. Great experience in such a colourful city.
Such a fascinating city isn’t it – really tempted to take my daughter back as I know she’d love it
I think you’re absolutely right- kids will love touring a city with a fun animal hunt to be had! I’m sure my boys would really enjoy it, I’d love to take them one day soon.
You definitely need to look up to ensure you don’t miss out on all the hidden art around Siena! I loved the stories and insights our guide shared.
You definitely do – so much detail.
A great recap of a beautiful and interesting city
Thank you!
It was all so interesting I love how the animals are very much a feature of everyday life. I just adored the History of Siena what an incredible day x
Great post! I just pinned it to make a little animal chart for my toddler for when we visit!
Thanks! Love that idea.
love Siena !it’s by far my favourite Tuscan city:)
It really won me over too – would have loved to wander even more
Wow! I’d love to see those gorgeous carved floors! The photos are stunning, so I can only imagine what they must be like in person. I’ve always wanted to visit Sienna, but would maybe try to avoid tourist season. How lovely for you that you visited on a group trip, that must have been fun. I can see my younger son loving the hunt for the different animals from district to district! #citytripping
It would be amazing to see them all uncovered, even a taste was astonishing – and definitely somewhere that’s easier to appreciate outside peak season I think. It would be interesting to see the Palio but I can only imagine how crowded Siena gets!
Siena looks wonderful and with such rich history. I love the creature symbols! Wilbur #citytripping
The symbols were definitely a bit special, so unusual.
I haven’t heard the second part of the legend of Romulous and the twins either but awesome to learn it continues on in Siena! I’ve been dying to visit Siena for years now! I had hoped to make it this summer but it will have to wait! #CityTripping
I hope you get there! So many stories to uncover – I learned a lot that day…
I’ve been to Florence a couple times but have never been to Siena. Judging by your photos, I need to make a stop there the next time I’m in Italy.
#CityTripping
Florence is gorgeous and definitely has its own attractions, but I loved Siena – smaller and easier to navigate as well.
Another one for the European city bucketlist!
#citytripping
Absolutely – somewhere I’d happily go back to
Wow, the cathedral is beautiful inside!! Now I not to skip it, if in Siena. I have a tendency to not go inside churches anymore 🙂 #citytripping
You can definitely get churched out in Italy but Siena’s Duomo is definitely one not to miss!
What a great tour / I’d love to return to Siena with my little #citytripping
It was such a good way to visit – I wonder how Siena would be with a buggy (lots of hills!) although as your little has conquered the great wall, that’s probably not so much of an issue 😀
Oh, I love this post! Such lovely photos. I have been getting ‘into’ exploring Italy, since husband and I spent a couple of days in Bologna last year. Sienna is ón my list now!
#CityTripping
Thanks! Bologna is somewhere I really want to see too, but I’d definitely recommend Siena.
What a gorgeous place, totally on my Italy list now. love all that history bets it’s amazing! #CityTripping
I love it too – lots of old stories keeps me very happy
It’s incredible that all the colours remain so vivid, after all these years. And I never knew that Remus’ sons were also fed by wolves. I think this would be a fascinating tour, for children and grown-ups alike. #citytripping
The colours in the Duomo were just astonishing – the whole building is a work of art. And such a fascinating city to explore
The story of Saint Catherine gave me chills. Maybe just the relic part though. Were you glad that you had a tour guide? I’ve been to Florence a couple of times and kept getting woefully turned around and hopelessly lost so I think I would have liked to have someone lead the way. Siena looks like a beautiful place, and since it’s home of the saint that I’m named for, I should probably visit one day 😉 #CityTripping
It is such an unusual story, isn’t it – I’m really glad we had a guide for our visit, as we only had the afternoon in the city, it meant we could discover so much in a relatively short space of time. It’s somewhere I’d have loved to have spent longer wandering around. And I’m named for the other St Catherine, but I have a proprietorial feeling towards them all 😀
That first picture though! I loooove old cities like that. So pretty! #CityTripping
Isn’t it 🙂
What a fun way to explore the city. We recently did an animal in art hunt at a local museum and the kids were totally enthralled. My kids would love finding all the animals while we enjoyed strolling the streets of such a lovely city. #CityTripping
Thanks! We’ve done a few animals hunts in museums too and they always go down really well – the idea of doing one across a city is so fun with kids
I love this post! I went to Siena briefly as part of a tour, and while there was a walking tour with a local guide, it was POURING when we went, and I could barely here her unfortunately. I’ve pegged it as a place that I need to go back to, and your post solidifies that! Thank you for sharing the history and stories that I likely missed from the guide!
Thank you! What a shame – we didn’t have the best weather but at least it stayed dry. So many stories to hear too, definitely one to go back to if you can.
Amazing photos and what a fantastic trip. I loved the pictures of Duomo and the biblical stories. The best part I enjoyed was the animal emblems. Thank you so much for sharing this.#citytripping
Thank you! The animals fascinated me too
I visited Siena with my husband in 1995! We didn’t have a guided tour and now I see what we missed – I had no idea about most of these fascinating facts.
I have an Atlas Obscura day-to-day calendar on my desk. On Tuesday, when you posted this for City Tripping, St Catherine of Sienna’s severed head was the bizarre picture of the day!
#citytripping
What a coincidence! Although we mostly saw mask (thankfully, I think!)
I love Sienna and have visited a couple of times but we’ve never had a guided tour. It’s lovely to be able to wander around by yourself but I think it’s worth going on a guided tour as well as you get to discover so much more. Maybe next time when we visit we’ll take a tour. #citytripping
I think when you’ve got limited time, as we did, it really helps to see all the highlights in a few hours – I do love wandering around at my own pace too though
That’s a beautiful story about a beautiful city 🙂 Siena is one of the places that I would like to add my travel list as I didn’t get the chance to explore this wonderful medieval city the last time I was in Italy. Fantastic post! #Citytripping
Thank you – it is a stunning place, a lot more manageable to wander around than some too.
Spectacular photos! I had never heard the story of how Romulus and Remus related to the founding of Sienna. Interesting. Sienna is towards the top of my bucket list. We’re thinking of returning to Italy in 2019. I’m pinning this for travel planning!
Thank you! That was new to me as well, I had only heard the original part of the story – love learning things like this when I travel. And I’d definitely recommend Siena for your next trip.