On another urban ohio thread there was a discussion of a survey from the Project for Public Places about Cleveland's Public Square's appearances on the groups list of worst US squares. The website also has a list of the world's best squares http://www.pps.org/info/newsletter/december2005/international_squares?referrer=newsletter_contents One the squares on that list is Piazza del Campo, or just Il Campo, in Siena, Italy. Thought you might enjoy a few pics (from a vacation this past September).

 

This is my first post of pics, and I can't figure out how to put comments in between the pics (anyone want to educate me?), so here's an index for you:

1) General shot.  Notice the grey pavement to the right outside of the posts.  This rings the entire scallop-shaped square and actually serves a purpose: it's the track on which the Palio is run twice a year.  The Palio is this crazy horse race between 10 of the 17 neighborhoods in the city.  The square (both inside the posts and along the outside) is packed with people and the horses run 3 laps, after being blessed inside the neighborhood churches.  First horse to finish, with or without its rider, wins glory for their neighborhood.  Notice the image on the building right in the middle: it's of a rider on a horse, celebrating the Palio.  Also, b/c of the d-shape of the square, some of the turns are really tight.  Normally a horse or two ends up in the stands, after missing one...

 

2) Another shot of the square - about the same number of people as in Public Square on your average Sunday night...

 

3) Gives a good look at the brickwork

 

4) View of Il Campo from above from Siena's Duomo (Cathedral), some of the rooftops of the city and the surrounding Tuscan hills.  Tall building in the shot is Siena's City Hall (more shots of that in 5 & 6)

 

5) First shot of City Hall

 

6) Another shot of City Hall (one of my faves).  Notice statue on lower right of a wolf on a pedestal.  It depicts the she-wolf that nursed Romulus and Remus (who are somehow linked to Siena's creation) and is the symbol of the city.  It's even depicted on the floor of the Cathedral and is the nickname for the city's soccer team (Robur).

 

7) We stumbled on this street parade.  These are all folks from the neighborhood that one the last Palio, which was their first win in something like 40+ years (at 2 a year and 17 neighborhoods, that's a pretty long drought although they didn't have anything on Cleveland's sports teams)  Once a nieghborhood wins they have parades over the next year until the next palio, complete with drummers, flag-wavers, and singing.  Notice the little bandanas around their necks - they're the flag of their nieghborhood (each has its own flag) and are tied around a pacifier, symbolizing their rebirth through the victory in the Palio.

 

Hope you enjoy!

well i like that square. nice shots. yeah wow that'll work for me.

One of the best urban spaces in the world, no doubt.

No seating spaces, no water elements, no trees for shade, no public art, little programming besides the Palio.  Why does this space work?  Because the Italians don't all live 20 miles from their centro storico and don't spend their evenings mowing lawns and watching "American Idol"!  Culture is the main ingredient in the success of any public space.

^ Actually there is a water element -- a fountain in the middle.

 

I spent five days in Siena a few years ago and have some of the same shots. It's a stunningly beautiful place, and one of the most magical places in which to get lost ... which on the twisty, narrow streets was very easy.

looks very...cozy.  i could only wish urban ohio was similar to this and didnt cater to the automobile.

I heard Il Campo was modeled after Boston's Government Center.