Piazza del Campo

Resembling a colossal, medieval bathroom sink, the sloping Piazza del Campo has been Siena's civic and social centre ever since it was staked out by the Council of Nine in the mid-14th century.

The piazza was the site of a former Roman marketplace, and its pie-piece paving design is divided into nine sectors to represent the number of members of the ruling council. This is the city's primary gathering point - locals sun themselves and gossip here, while tourists parade through, awestruck, often stopping for a good sit-down and a beverage at a terrace table. If you find the piazza irksomely congested at lunch time on a summer day, you'll need a powerful sedative to cope with the running of the Palio, when the astonishing crush and vigour of revellers will alarm all but the most fearless.