Here is a photo on top of the Torre del Mangia, the bell tower of the Palazzo Publico in the Piazza del Campo in Siena. This is a shell-shaped plaza, site of the twice-yearly run Palio. The Palio has been running for centuries and is a race pitted between horses representing the 17 Contrade of Siena. Each Contrade has its own flag and symbolic animal. To climb this tower takes 306 steps. I've been very fortunate in my life. As a child, I read about this place in a book, Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio, by Marguerite Henry. Then in 2002, I went to Siena and stood in the Piazza and climbed all the narrow steps up the tower to look out over the place where the Palio has run for centuries and out onto the Italian countryside. It was a mind-blowing experience! You can learn more about this historically significant race and the details of the lovely neighborhoods at: