Cool off in Tuscany

I was feeling lucky. That was my excuse for going to Siena in winter, when Tuscany is cold and rainy.

When my sister, Martha, came to visit, I took a gamble by planning a driving tour through southern Tuscany in the low season.

Neither of us had ever been to Siena, about 150 miles north of Rome. And I wanted to see the Tuscan countryside and hill towns, the model for paradise in paintings by 14th- and 15th-century Sienese masters. Travelling in the off season is a true tactic for saving money.

Seasonal advantages

Winter is concert, ballet and opera season. Crowds are smaller, so travellers stand a good chance of meeting locals and spending quality time at usually packed tourist attractions.

Of course, some restaurants, shops and attractions are closed in winter and you can't walk outside without 10 extra pounds of clothing.

But in my heart, I believed the deities would smile on two sisters with the temerity to toot around Tuscany in February.

Once we drove out of town on to the A1 Autostrada heading north, I pointed out pines along the ridges around Rome, marshes by the Tiber River and snowcapped mountains to the east.

In an hour, we crossed from Lazio to Umbria and then into Tuscany, which occupies the fairest part of the Italian peninsula, south of Florence and west of the Apennine Mountains. But the hills of Tuscany were shrouded in storm clouds.

Heritage preserved

Siena was the first European city to ban cars and mandate a colour-scheme consonant with architectural tradition, preserving the historic centre, now a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Siena is one of the most splendidly intact Gothic cities in Europe. It is a red-brick beehive built across three steep hills. Martha and I checked into Palazzo Ravizza, a small hotel above city walls.

In spitting rain, Martha and I climbed to the cathedral. The famous western facade of black and white marble was encrusted with saints and angels.

Other Gothic churches I had admired in Europe — Westminster Abbey and Chartres Cathedral — seemed barnyard ducks next to this Sienese swan.

Wandering into town, we emerged into Siena's shell-shaped “campo''. It's paved in brick and native son Jacopo della Quercia's carved 15th-century Fountain of Joy is embedded near the crest of the slope, facing the campanile of the Palazzo Pubblico.

We had tea and panforte, a Sienese fruitcake, at a café on the campo. With the campo almost empty and boots ringing eerily on slick stones, we visited the museum in the Palazzo Pubblico. It was built around 1300 and decorated by Italy's best Gothic painters.

We had the gallery to ourselves, including its prize, Simone Martini's Maesta, a group portrait of the Virgin Mary surrounded by saints.

The Madonna is much more than Siena's patroness — she is its protector and divine governor.

Nine wonders

Next door, in the meeting room of the Council of Nine, a group of oligarchs who governed the city in its heyday, from 1289 to 1355, we found Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Allegories of Good and Bad Government, three walls of paintings that portray how a city-state prospers or descends into chaos, depending on its rulers.

There are vivid and absorbing details of life in the Middle Ages.

Both mornings at our hotel, I jumped out of bed, ran to the window and threw open the curtains. But a winter rain overshadowed Siena.

However, foul weather sometimes has benefits, in this case focusing our attention on the artistic treasures in Siena's museums.

We spent hours in the medieval pilgrims' hospice Santa Maria della Scala, the Pinacoteca art museum, the Duomo Museum and, of course, the Duomo itself, a cathedral and artistic repository that rivals the Sistine Chapel.

Once you get past the west facade, 52 marble paving stones designed by great artists between the 14th and 16th centuries tell biblical stories.

Nicola Pisano's 13th-century pulpit, supported by stone lions that clutch lambs in their teeth, is near the high altar.

On the left side of the nave, a door leads into Piccolomini Library, which has 16th-century frescoes by the Perugian master Pinturicchio.

Soaps and scents

Late in the afternoon, as we stumbled out of the baptistery at the rear of the cathedral, Martha spied a store called Erboristeria Amaranthus.

The shop specialises in Tuscan scents, soaps and cosmetics. I bought a bar of pomegranate soap, Catherine de' Medici's favourite.

We also sampled Siena's rich winter cuisine, which featured onion-flavoured cipollata soup and skeins of pici pasta.

Although many restaurants were closed for the off season, we found Papei, a trattoria behind Palazzo Pubblico, where we attacked bowls of minestrone and let the house refreshments flow.

Martha had rabbit stew and I ordered a guinea fowl roasted with pine nuts and white beans. Dessert seemed out of the question until the waitress indulged us with vin santo, a dessert refreshment.

We sat for a long time dunking biscotti into the dark nectar, discussing Siena in winter. There had been nothing pleasant about wandering around the cold, wet town.

Little joys

But no summer day-tripper can experience the art of Siena as intimately as we did or linger after dinner in a restaurant, not worrying about monopolising the table. And we saved money by travelling in the off season.

Then something happened that reaffirmed the virtues of off-season travel.

On the way back to Rome, we stopped overnight at Locanda San Francesco, in the hill town of Montepulciano about 50 miles southeast of Siena, where the weather deteriorated even more.

When I woke up in the morning, I saw a thick fog around the town's tiled roofs, the tops of distant hills poking out like Tuscan islands in a viscous sea.

For a moment, I stood silent before the landscape's transfiguration, a gift that could be given only in winter.

Go there . . . Siena . . . From the UAE

From Dubai

Florence is the closest airport.

Air France flies daily via Paris.
Fare from Dh2,800

Austrian Airways flies daily via Vienna.
Fare from Dh3,840

— Information courtesy: The Holiday Lounge by Dnata.
Ph: 04 4298576

Where to stay

Where to eat

Website

Visit Siena Tourist Information at www.terresiena.it