A peninsula in the middle of the Mediterranean, Italy has been the prize of some of history's greatest civilizations, including the Etruscans, Greeks, and Romans. Siena, a tranquil hill-town in the heart of Tuscany, is intimate in size, culturally approachable, and cosmopolitan. Fiercely independent and proud, the Sienese remember their heyday, when in 1260, at the battle of Montaperti, they conquered the Florentines. Today, Siena is best known for the Palio, the Renaissance horse race that, twice a year, brings the various neighborhoods, or contrade, of Siena to frenzied passion
