Siena

Visitors to the Piazza del Campo will immediately be impressed by the elegant Palazzo publico (1287-1355) with its 102 m high Torre del Mangia on the left. Its architect had to swear a solemn oath that the building would not fall down in 2000 years. Notice the one-handed clock. In those days, all clocks had only one hand. The front of the Town Hall is emblazoned with a brass "Jesus" trigram commemorating Saint Bernard's sermons here in 1427. From 2 July to 16 August each year; the Piazza del Campo is the historic setting of the renowned "Palio", a folk festival with riders, horses, flag-dancers and period costume.