We Poles have long gazed towards Italy. That fascination has fluctuated, ebbing and flowing into periods of ardour and chillier times too, yet it has always made an impression on our culture.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not only about holidays in Italy and drawing from the beauty of the Italian sun and seaside. We travel to Italy in pursuit of beauty. To feast on the unique atmosphere of its charming little towns. The sheer plethora of built heritage and everyday life among all those monuments makes us want to keep coming back, for the cup we drink from is inexhaustible, and our thirst unquenchable.<\/p>\n
My first encounter with Italy was as a tourist. That is how most affections for the country begin. Captivated by the landscapes, I came back, and then kept returning to look, to absorb the atmosphere, and later also to do business.<\/p>\n
I enjoy Italian cuisine, valuing its simplicity, which champions flavour, freshness, and wholesomeness. I have also grown to love celebrating meals, which is proof of the art of celebrating life itself. Enjoy the sun, the earth, and the sea \u2013 breathe deep and taste the flavour of freedom.<\/p>\n
This Italian sense of freedom takes a long time to learn, true. And nor is getting used to it a short process. However, once you\u2019ve grasped its sense and circumstances, you no longer find it unsettling. I\u2019ll say more \u2013 you become part of that liberty, and begin to appreciate the blessings of such a lifestyle.<\/p>\n
Among all the loveliest spots on the map of Italy, Siena holds a particularly cherished place in my heart. Today I can call myself a Sienese, although for an outsider, becoming a true citizen of the city is a near-impossible feat.
\nAnd yet I made it.<\/p>\n
This came about thanks to my friendship with a true man of Siena, Stefano, and his Polish wife. And even more so in the wake of a certain victory in the city\u2019s ancient horse race \u2013 the Palio di Siena. This is where you should start if you wish to understand Siena: the Palio is a true rite, eagerly awaited twice a year by the citizens of the contrade<\/i> (districts), the reason for fierce pride and equally fierce disputes between those districts. It is the truest love and passion, not merely written into the calendar of events, but also indelibly etched into the heart and mind.<\/p>\n
Once day, my phone rang. It was Stefano, urging me to visit Siena for the Palio. I agreed, but on the condition, made in jest, that this time it would be his contrada<\/i> that would win the race. When that did happen, my arrival was hailed as un segno di Dio<\/i> \u2013 a sign from God, as it had been well over a decade since their last triumph. Now I was regarded not only as a friend but also as a harbinger and bringer of good fortune \u2013 a story I recount in greater detail in my book, Janusz Bielecki od A do Z<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n I walked the streets of the victorious contrada<\/i> with my friends, watching the Sienese revel and rejoice in the jubilant celebrations. The joy was so profound and beautiful that its expression could not simply be contained in one day. With an abundance of shows and parades, the fiesta continued for several weeks \u2013 inconceivable for a visitor from the North like me.<\/p>\n Yet once even I felt that euphoria, that life-giving force instilling a sense of happiness, the path to becoming a true Sienese opened before me.<\/p>\n Some time later, I became the owner of a palazzo in the historical heart of Siena. I purchased the historical mansion from an ancient Sienese family, whose ties to the city spanned centuries. For me, for you, for all of us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We Poles have long gazed towards Italy. That fascination has fluctuated, ebbing and flowing into periods of ardour and chillier times too, yet it has always made an impression on our culture. It\u2019s not only about holidays in Italy and drawing from the beauty of the Italian sun and seaside. We travel to Italy in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-columns"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1056"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1067,"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1056\/revisions\/1067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/januszbielecki.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nYears of experience in restoring architectural heritage have taught me how demanding a task that is. It calls for more than just money and time, as it also requires the skill of navigating among the thicket of legislation, and among those who craft and enforce such rules. City authorities, heritage officers\u2026 Had I viewed it purely from a business perspective, I might well have turned my back on it altogether. Yet such an undertaking sprang from a need of the heart and passion. Granted, I endeavour to put it into some more or less business-like form. Yet first and foremost I am aware that I am saving something that deserves to be saved.<\/p>\n