The duomo in Siena is majestic. From the exterior it is striking black and white and seems to soar above the rest of the city.
Where we were standing when I took this picture was supposed to be the nave. The NAVE! The cathedral is huge, and yet they wanted to make it larger. Arguing architects, not enough money, lack of supplies, and the plague got in the way.
Ingenious Siennese have built homes in the upright parts of the ruins and you can park on the stones that mark where the support columns would have been.As you approach, the black and white don't seem so startling, because the baroque statuary begins to take over.
If the cathedral were an article, the exterior would be the precise. I know, that's what good architecture should do, lead the participant inside without any jarring differences.
Over-sized, black & white, stories of God's people...and the guilt. I mean gilt!
