On a strong suggestion from Roberto (il mio padre di casa), I'm heading south to la piccola città di San Gimignano.
From Wikipedia: San Gimignano is a small, walled, medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, in north-central Italy. Known as the "Town of Fine Towers", San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls form "an unforgettable skyline". Check out the information on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano
It's also known for the Vernaccia di San Gimignano wine. From Wikipedia: Vernaccia is a white Italian wine, made from the Vernaccia grape, produced in and around the Italian hill town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. Since the Renaissance, it has been considered one of Italy's finest white wines. I brought one bottle back and we polished it off at supper!
To get to San Gimignano, I must first go to Poggibonsi, which I did by bus. It was a long, bumpy ride and once I got there, I discovered I could have taken the train. Another life lesson! Below is the station at Poggibonsi.
From Wikipedia: San Gimignano is a small, walled, medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, in north-central Italy. Known as the "Town of Fine Towers", San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls form "an unforgettable skyline". Check out the information on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano
It's also known for the Vernaccia di San Gimignano wine. From Wikipedia: Vernaccia is a white Italian wine, made from the Vernaccia grape, produced in and around the Italian hill town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. Since the Renaissance, it has been considered one of Italy's finest white wines. I brought one bottle back and we polished it off at supper!
To get to San Gimignano, I must first go to Poggibonsi, which I did by bus. It was a long, bumpy ride and once I got there, I discovered I could have taken the train. Another life lesson! Below is the station at Poggibonsi.
I had about 45 minutes to burn so I checked out the farmer's market.
Let's have seafood for supper!!
Another example of high fashion!
Once inside, I get my first glimpse of the city. Many of the streets look like this.
This is the Church of San Francesco. Another reason for San Gimignano being an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
You can see a magnificent tower simply by looking in any direction!
A view of the Duomo di San Gimignano Catholic Church, lined with colorful frescoes (up the stairs) from the 14th century.
Looking across Piazza del Duomo, we see the Teatro dei Leggieri (Performing Arts Theater).
And many more towers! I heard it said that San Gimignano is called the "Manhattan of Tuscany".
And where ever you walk, it seems like it is uphill!
The gate at Via San Metteo.
Close up...
The view of the country side is amazing!
I noticed the sun dial on the side of the church. I took this picture at 1:34PM. Is the sundial accurate?
Another view of the country side.
Looking back at the towers of the city...
I spotted my first wine window!! It's just above the bench, to the right of the door. To supplement their income, many people produced wine and sold it through their wine windows. The 'customer' would hand in some money and hopefully some wine would be returned.
Here we see a few people lined up to experience the World Champion Gelato from the Gelateria Dondoli. Meraviglioso!!
Bravo Roberto!! This was a great experience!
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