Credit: Sipa Press / Rex Features Siena's Palio, the most famous of several historic horse races held in Italy, takes place twice a year – on July 2 and Aug 16. Tens of thousands of spectators ...

Siena's secret is that people still live in the centre. It may look dreamy, but nothing changes if you pinch yourself. Italy has no shortage of marvellous cathedrals but Siena's multi-level treat ...

Siena takes some beating. In the Campo, its central piazza, it possesses Europe’s finest medieval square, scene of the Palio horse race, Italy’s most dramatic historical spectacle. Its cathedr ...