Secret Siena: Bottini - the Diana - Omiccioli and Fuggisoli
Why? Because you are going to visit the most secret corners of Siena! That is, the part of the town that stretches under Piazza del Campo and the contrade, which is unlikely described in traditional travel guides and brochures. You are going to visit the bottini looking for the Diana, the omiccioli and the fuggisoli!
The bottini, as the Sienese call them, are a series of channels dug between the 13th and the 15th centuries that stretch under the town for about 25 kilometres. During the digging works the guerchi - that is, the men who dug the bottini - reported of having seen strange beings living in the underground (the so-called omiccioli and fuggisoli) and of having heard a legendary river flow (the Diana), which no-one has ever seen.
These incredible and fascinating galleries are rich in stalactites and stalagmites and the niches in their walls are often decorated with terracotta statues representing the Madonna or rudimentary reproductions of sacred symbols.
Today, thanks to a group of devotees of Siena underground waterworks who have founded an association, part of the bottini are open to visitors.
During your holiday in Siena wear suitable clothes and visit this less-renowned part of the town: it will be like being Indiana Jones... searching for the lost Diana.
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