"San Gimignano, with beautiful towers and beautiful bells, ugly men and women of peace" is an ancient Florentine proverb that summarizes the envy of other Tuscan cities to this extraordinary village.
San Gimignano is located in the province of Siena and is a must in Tuscany.
In fact, San Gimignano has maintained its medieval appearance, it is well cared for and organized for the tourist visit, full of restaurants and souvenir shops.
THE TOWERS
The fourteenth-century appearance of the city, remained almost intact from the urban and architectural point of view, is characterized by the presence of 15 of the 72 original towers, some of which can be visited.
The Rocca dominates all of them, destroyed by the Florentines in 1555 and now a place of exhibition for wandering artists and a viewpoint over the city and the surrounding hills.
The importance and beauty of San Gimignano, declared a world heritage site, comes from the fact that it was located along the route of the Via Francigena, the main European road axis that also served for connections with the nearby towns of Colle Val d'Elsa and Poggibonsi.
WHAT TO SEE
Among the architectural masterpieces to see in San Gimignano are the Piazza della Cisterna, the Cathedral of San Gimignano, the Palazzo Nuovo del Podestà (Palazzo Comunale) and the Romanesque-Gothic Church of Sant'Agostino, with his 17 frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli that illustrate the life of the Saint.
There are many museums:
- the Torre Grossa (the highest in the city), and the rooms of the Palazzo Nuovo del Podestà , with the Museo Civico, the Pinacoteca, the Spezieria di Santa Fina (the former pharmacy of the hospital), the Archaeological Museum and the Gallery of Modern Art (possible cumulative ticket of the Civic Museums).
- The interior of the Duomo and the adjacent Museum of Sacred Art.
- In the Rocca, the Museum of Wine and Vernaccia.
- the double Museum of Medieval Archaeology, with finds from the nearby Castelvecchio, and the Ornithological Museum, with a nineteenth-century collection of local birds.
- La Torre Casa Campatelli (property of the FAI).
- San Gimignano 1300, a large model representing the ancient medieval city.
FROM ALABASTER TO SAFFRON
In the city streets there are workshops of artisans exhibiting ceramics, terracotta, iron works, alabaster objects (an ornamental stone worked in nearby Volterra), while other shops offer typical products of Sienese gastronomy: from extra virgin olive oil to cured meats, saffron to spelt.
To taste the local wines such as Rosso di San Gimignano DOC and Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG, a white wine made with the homonymous vine (for at least 90%) and other vines, especially Chardonnay (up to 10%).
