Trekking: Siena residents explore community's namesake

Thousands of miles from Las Vegas, amid the rolling hills of central Italy, lies the namesake of a Sunrise Colony Co. development in Summerlin: Siena.

Residents of the age-qualified community recently got a taste of Italy during a 10-day trek across its central and northern provinces, with stops in Rome, Pisa, Montecatini, Florence, San Gimignano, Venice, and, of course, Siena.

Siena has a population of about 65,000 and is adorned with Gothic palaces, cobblestone streets and a medieval flair -- different from the Summerlin village which adopted its name. Despite the differences, travelers noticed some similarities, particularly in the style of architecture, according to activities manager Kristyne Blake, who escorted the 11-member group across the Atlantic Ocean.

"I enjoyed seeing where the idea of Siena, Las Vegas, came from. It was neat to see that their colors matched the colors of our houses exactly, and what we call `Siena yellow' was all over in Italy. We use the same shades of yellow, burnt orange and raw sienna in our Siena. Other similarities are the arches of the buildings and the cobblestone streets," Blake said.

"Siena is a very quaint town. I got the sense when talking to the tour guide and store owners that family is very important in Siena like it is here. Many of the stores are `mom-and-pop' type stores. They are also very proud of their history and of the time years ago when it was a very powerful city competing with Florence," she said.

"They are constantly trying to restore their buildings in Siena, so there were a lot of cranes and construction projects going on. It's not like Las Vegas, where we blow up buildings when they get old. They take pride in restoring their city, which they consider part of their history."

Liz LeVasseur, a 20-year Las Vegas Valley resident who moved to the Sunrise Colony community last year, enjoyed learning about Siena's history during her first trip to Europe. She was accompanied by her daughter, Nicole Togliatti.

"I had always wanted to go to Europe. I had been to the Far East, but not Europe. When the folks of Siena were planning this trip, it was something that I couldn't pass up. Italy was fabulous. It was everything that I expected and more," LeVasseur said. "Siena was very interesting and historical. I had no idea that it started out as a huge banking center. It was very interesting to see the architecture and the nobles. It was like a piece of history.

"The Tuscan architecture that we have in Siena, Las Vegas, is very noticeable in Italy. The same shapes have been incorporated in the building. Certainly our community center building replicates this style. I think we do capture Siena in Las Vegas in a very small way."

LeVasseur was taken aback by the grandeur of the architecture and the Italian countryside.

"It felt like we were on a movie set, but it was really real," she said. "The buildings there were very ornate, from Gothic to Byzantine, and every home that isn't a cottage is considered a palazzo. The more ornate and centrally located the palazzo in the city, the higher the social standing in the community.

"It's like a postcard -- outside of Siena, there are green, rolling hills dotted with Italian cypress. It's cultivated, but there probably were not as many grape fields as I expected. It's very beautiful.

"The trip gave us a good taste and exposure to Italy ... Each area we went to was different. Rome was different from Florence, Florence was different from Venice, and Venice was different from Siena."

Diane Maguire, who moved to the valley about a year ago from Washington state, enjoyed visiting the small towns with her husband, John.

"I was really impressed with Siena because it was a smaller city," Maguire said. "Unfortunately, it poured down rain when we were there. It's a hilly city and a little different (from) the other places we visited. I liked visiting the little towns and thought they were more fun than the big cities because they didn't have the hustle and bustle found in New York or Atlanta.

"I also loved visiting Montecatini because it was a cute town. They had all of the places to eat outside, and we could walk around easily. It was an older place, but it was lovely."

Maguire also enjoyed traveling to Italy for the first time with her friends.

"What was really nice about the trip was going with our neighbors," she said.

"Our dinners were the most enjoyable part because we went out to eat together. Some dinners were arranged by the travel agency, but we really enjoyed the ones that we found on our own. Discovering the `holes in the walls' was really enjoyable."

LeVasseur was appreciative of the Siena activities center staff who arranged the trip.

"I thought it was pretty amazing for (them) to organize this trip. And I was personally delighted that they went through the effort to do this because I probably would have never prioritized what I wanted to see enough to actually plan a trip and go to Italy myself," she said.

In addition to organizing excursions, the Las Vegas community offers its residents a variety of social, fitness, dining and golfing opportunities.

All homes within the community are single-story designs, and are available in the Milan, Como, Trieste, Florence and Verona collections.

Floor plans measure from 1,200 to 3,100 square feet and are priced starting from the $160,000s to more than $650,000.

To visit the model village, take Sahara Avenue, or Interstate 215, to Town Center Drive and go south.

The sales office is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

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