Serene Sienna

This is not fair, but my favorite city in Italy (so far) is Sienna. We spent a day in Sienna, and it was one of the most beautiful places that I have been in this country. Sienna was built in the Middle Ages. Sienna's Medieval buildings have square edges that come to sharp points. I enjoyed this day of looking at these Medieval structures, which look grand and imposing to me. Although the city might seem less welcoming, I still found it refreshing.

In the morning, we took a tour of the synagogue of Sienna, an old building which looks like an ordinary building from the outside. It is sad that there are only about 35 Jews in this city, and that a boy in their congregation who is becoming a Bar Mitzvah soon, is worried about making a minyan so that he can read the Torah. My favorite part of the synagogue was the large number of old documents kept upstairs where women used to sit. There is an entire cabinet full of old books. I do not know, nor could I probably even read, what those books, letters, and documents say, but I do know that they are important. There is no better way to imagine what went on in the Jewish past than to look at these books of writings. This is the way to piece together the story of what happened so long ago.

After our tour of the synagogue, we went to lunch at the most serene place. Down a long, dirt path surrounded by trees and brush, we made our way to a restaurant who hired mentally disabled workers; this alone made me extremely happy. Not only was the service wonderful, but the food was also delicious, and the temperature and company could not have been better. To me, that is what I always imagined Italy would be. The scene in my head would be relaxing and eating with friends around a table outside under a natural canopy, with a view of only green and forests around me. This is what I imagine when I think of Italy. Finally, after being so long surrounded only by city, we finally got to enjoy the real Tuscany which is so beautiful when we are right next to it. Of course, it is nice to view the countryside of vineyards from a high point in the city, but there is something necessary about actually stepping on the ground and being able to touch the land,
the actual life of the country.