This is the huge tower in the Piazza del Campo. The name is derived from the nickname of the first bell-ringer who reportedly spent all his money on food. This is a mystery to me, though, as the stairwell up to the bells is extremely narrow! Maybe going up and down the stairs all day kept him slim, who knows!
The torre is 88 metres tall and there are exactly 400 steps to the top. The view from above is beautiful, of course. One can see for miles and the view of the Duomo is a lovely reciprocation of the view of the tower from the Duomo’s panorama yesterday.
Climbing the tower was one of my punch-list items to do before I leave Siena.
Similar to the panorama at the Duomo, you need to be on line early! They only allow 25 people up at a time and they will only let you take your camera but there are few little (free) lockers where you can store your stuff.
Not Quite a Mid-Life Gap Year 