Teachers' Blog
Discover Siena School for Liberal Arts staff and teachers' view on art, sustainability, the universe and everything!
Read their Tumblr blog: you will find out much about italian culture and what living in Italy really means!
Do you want to know more about them? Read their CVs and watch their presentation on our Faculty Page.
Abetone and the Garfagnana
On the weekend we went walking up in the mountains at Abetone. The lifts weren’t working to take us up to the snowless skiing peaks, so not wanting to take my parents on an uphill ski slope challenge, I...
Siena Food Innovation
What is the connection between sexual confusion and drones? Among genetic label, insects, and rural cities? All have to do with the future of food. All have to do with food innovation, which was the main...
Chianti Hiking
Since I first moved to Italy, I've enjoyed being part of Italy's hiking club, the Club Alpino Italiano, which organizes all kinds of outdoor activities across the country.
The Siena section of the cl...
UNESCO Cities and Heritage Sites Expo
From September 22nd-24th Siena will be hosting the UNESCO Cities and Heritage Sites Expo (Santa Maria della Scala, just in front of the Cathedral, free entrance), an occasion to virtually visit some of...
Luminara: June 16th Festival of Lights in...
The evening of June 16th an exciting festival of lights "Luminara" will take place in the nearby city of Pisa! It is easy to reach Pisa from Siena by train, less than 2 hours door-to-door. (find train s...
Heading to Venice!
From May 13th through November 26 2017, the massive event of the 57th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition is taking place. Venice has a great connection by high-speed train to Florence, which is...
Contemporary art exhibits on view in San...
There are three exciting exhibitions of contemporary art currently on view at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, on view now through August 28th 2017:
ANTONY GORMLEY 'Co-ordinate',
SUBODH GUPTA 'In...
An Italian summer treat: caffè shakerato
The Tuscan sun is finally beating down, giving us some warm summer days here in Siena. The start of the summer season means it's time to enjoy the cool and refreshing Italian treat of a caffè shakerato! The...
Beach Bus: From Siena to the Mediterranean...
From the end of May through Sept 10 2017 the Beach Bus is running from Siena to several points along Tuscany's coast. This convenient bus connection makes it super-easy to plan a day-trip get-away from ...
Soaking in Tuscany's Hot Springs!
The unique geology of Siena means that we are blessed with natural thermal baths in the area, and visiting these hot springs can be a great day-trip or long-weekend from the city center! What sounds ...
Exploring the Enlightenment in Siena and...
For any student of Liberal Arts, the Age of the Enlightenment is fascinating to explore. A surge of interest in the pursuit of knowledge which swept across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, it's ...
Bill Viola. Electronic Renaissance
American contemporary artist Bill Viola currently has a large retrospective exhibition on view in the nearby city of Florence through July 23 2017. I was able to see this exhibit a few weeks ago, and ...
The Rose of the Winds
In tenth grade—a little while ago—we students were required to take a wonderful History course called something like “The Origins of Western Civilization.” Great stuff! Sumer, Egypt, Greece, the Etrusca...
Studio Azzurro and the Museo Minerario of...
Abbadia San Salvatore is a small town about 1 hr drive from Siena located in the area of Monte Amiata, a region rich in cinnabar red. Etruscans lived in the surrounding area and used cinnabar red as a...
Siena's Libraries
Looking for a place where to study, there is no shortage of libraries in Siena!
If you'd like to hang out in a Renaissance cloister, go to the University of Economics library (piazza San Francesco), whereas...
To the North of Italy!!
Maybe it's because of the weather – known to be foggy and gray during more or less the whole year – or because of the people – known to be cold and introverted – but I've always preferred to take trips t...
Chiusi
I've been to Chiusi before, but just stopping at the train station to change trains. It's main stopping point for trains heading to Rome. This past weekend I had a 90-minute gap between trains, and it ...
Save the Mediterranean Diet
Although the Mediterranean diet is now acknowledged as a healthy diet, paradoxically, it has been abandoned, mainly among the young generation, in most Mediterranean countries.
Even in Italy, the Mediterranean...
The Forgotten Art of Lean-To
Funny thing is, we realized it’s been years since we last took a dip in the Mediterranean.Years—maybe ten. Once it was a regular thing, but for too many summers to count,we’ve grown used to visiting my fa...
Francigena
One of the loveliest walks in Tuscany and other parts of Italy is the Via Francigena, the ancient road and pilgrim route running from France to Rome, though it is usually considered to have its starting...
