On festival days, Piazza del Campo becomes a racetrack, with a ring of packed dirt around its perimeter.

BBC: Tuscany's medieval-style festival

The tower, built on Piazza del Campo in 1344, was at the time a remarkable engineering feat and one of the tallest nonsectarian towers in Italy (102m).

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Downstairs you will find the original panelling from Fonte Gaia, the famous fountain in Piazza del Campo, as well as a gloomy, but intriguing little chapel.

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For little more than one exhilarating minute, the 10 horses and their bareback riders tear three times around Piazza del Campo with a speed and violence that will make your hair stand on end.

BBC: Tuscany's medieval-style festival

It is advisable to book well in advance for a room, and to join the crowds in the centre of Piazza del Campo at least four hours before the start for a good view.

BBC: Tuscany's medieval-style festival

Continue towards Campo di Santa Maria del Giglio, an area just west of the Piazza San Marco, where Woody Allen stalked Julia Roberts in the light-hearted comedy Everyone Says I Love You, then turn north to the theatre Teatro La Fenice and the nearby Ponte Maria Callas bridge, dedicated to American-born Greek opera singer Maria Callas who debuted at the theatre in 1947.

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