Siena lost the Renaissance and never recovered. Florence won — politically, commercially, culturally — and Siena was left behind, frozen somewhere in the thirteenth century, preserved by its own defeat. This turns out to have been extraordinarily fortunate. While Florence was busy becoming a modern city, Siena stayed medieval. The Piazza del Campo is still the most beautiful public square in Italy. The Palio still runs twice a year with a violence and pageantry that hasn't changed in four centuries. The city still divides itself into seventeen contrade — neighbourhoods with their own flags, churches, and loyalties — and takes the whole thing completely seriously.

The Crete Senesi begins south of the city where the vineyards end and something stranger takes over. Pale clay hills, deeply eroded, almost lunar in the midday light. Isolated farmhouses. Abbeys that appear without warning on hilltops. The landscape looks post-apocalyptic and achingly beautiful at the same time.

Most visitors see Siena in a day trip from Florence. They see the piazza, the cathedral, and the queue for the museum. They miss everything else. Give it two nights minimum and walk into the contrade after dark when the city belongs to itself again.