SAN GIMIGNANO

San Gimignano rose from an ancient etruscan settlement around a seventh century parish and a castle gave to the Volterra’s episcope in 929; during the XII century became a city-republic.
Its first walls were born in 998, when San Gimignano became a business centre along the Francigena Way.

The families, enriched with the commerce, ordered 72 towers to be built
(but, as the law forbade, everyone could not exceed in height the Commune tower, called Rognosa).
Further to the continuous infighting between Guelfi and Ghibellini factions (in 1300 also Dante Alighieri stopped there few days as Guelfi’s league ambassador) and to the conflict with Volterra, in 1343 was subordinated to the duke of Athens and in 1353 was subdued to Florence, following later the rule of Grand Duchy of Tuscany till 1860.

The Urban structure and the numerosity of civil and religious buildings, almost intact, preserve the medievale fascination; nowdays remain only 15 of the 72 towers, unbroken or cropped, but they are enough to give an unmistakable mark to the town.

Sacred Art Museum
Piazza pecori, 1
Tel : +39 0577 942226
April – October 9.30 –19.30
November – March 9.30 17.00
It was founded in 1930 to preserve the materials came from the dome and the territory’s churches, the museum has works from XII to XIX century: paintings, sculptures, terracotta ornaments, funeral monuments and precious materials (drapers and silverware).
Most important are the works of Bartolo di Fredi, Benetto da Maiano e Francesco Valdambrino.

Etruscan Museum
Pecori Place
It collects restored and classified nearby finds, especially from Ranza and Cellole.
In addition to the common objects (dishes, vases, necklaces) ,there are interesting Volterra’s cinerary urns.
Santa Fina grocery
Archaeological Museum
Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery
Via Folgore, 11
+39 0577 940348
March - December 11.00 - 18.00
January - February 11.00 - 18.00 ( open only week-end ).
The Archaeological Museum makes an etruscan-roman and medieval collection.
Santa Fina grocery exposes ceramic objects, original medicinal glasses and chemists’ shop documents, active from 1253 to 1900.
The Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery Raffaele De Grada preserves a rich collection belongs to the Town Hall and organizes artistical events

In those times people used to go in pilgrimage to Rome to meet the Pope. It was a long journey especially for those poorer, which went by feet. To reach Rome one could choose different directions and paths, but they all met in a road called francigena because it was starting in France. People, of course, needed inns and hostels where to sleep, shops where to buy stuff, cowsheds and blacksmiths for the animals, places where have breakfast or dinner. The pilgrims going to Rome and stopping in San Gimignano had to cross the village from Saint Matthew gate to Saint John gate, facing the Cathedral and crossing through Cisterna square; as everybody does nowadays for a pleasant walk in the village. In those times it was full of shops and hospitals, blacksmiths and inns. They had so much income from all this that the village became very rich and many towers appeared. In those times who had money get the towers as today they get the villas. All this income finished as it started when the pilgrims decided (who knows why?) that it was easier going through Poggibonsi at the end of Elsa valley instead of crossing the hill. San Gimignano remained with a dry mouth and stopped to built towers. The villagers had neither the money nor the will to destroy them. If you go there early in the morning, when none is around, perhaps you could have an idea of what it was once upon a time, how it had seemed to those who travelling all the day through the countryside reached these pretty streets and found all that goodness!