San Gimignano

After a couple of days in Florence last week battling not only huge crowds, but also the filming of the new Dan Brown movie (coyly entitled "Headache" during production-under-wraps, which proved prophetic for anyone on foot), I went down a nostalgic path and visited a place I haven’t seen for 26 years – the medieval town of San Gimignano.  Situated a few kilometres from Siena, San Gimignano appears a modern city from a distance, complete with multi-storey towers:

As you get closer you realise these towers are of weathered grey stone and at least 800 years old.

 

In the middle-ages, when fortifications were necessary for survival in the endless fighting between the Guelfs (pro-Pope) and Ghibellines (pro-Emperor), up to 70 towers stood in San Gimignano.  Today, a dozen towers remain, along with two very beautiful piazzas, narrow streets, and medieval and renaissance artworks in both the Palace of the Podesta and the Church of the Collegiata.

Frescoes in the Palace of the Podesta.  The lower right
plaque commemorates Dante's visit in 1300.

Of particular beauty is this fresco of the Annunciation by Domenico Ghirlandaio:

And in the Collegiata, fresco cycles line both sides of the church and the nave with stories from the Old and New Testaments.  The vaulted ceilings are painted lapis lazuli blue, with glittering gold stars.   It’s unbelievably lovely, and easy to spend several hours trying to decipher the stories of the Creation and The Life of Christ.

Taking pictures inside the Collegiata and the Palace is impossible.  The guardians are incredibly strict about this and will hunt you down and harangue you at length.  I’m not certain of their reasoning, and it’s particularly strange after being able to freely photograph in the Uffizi gallery in Florence!  These below are from the internet.

Creation of Adam, Bartolo di Fredi

 

Jesus Enters Jerusalem, Lippo Memmi

With entry to the Palace anyone can climb the highest tower remaining in San Gimignano today, the Torre Grossa.  It's 177 feet up, and a lot of steps!  The last part is via a ladder, with little head-space.  But the views over Tuscany are superb:

From the top of the Torre Grossa, pretending heights don't bother me

At dusk I headed out for dinner and a glass of the wonderful Brunello red, which cost almost as much as my steak.  By now the town was quiet – there are a lot of day visitors here from Florence and Siena.  But at 9pm, the piazzas were almost deserted.