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Images of San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy

By Anita Mathias

(Roy and I were at San Gimignano, Tuscany, last month. It was a magical town. Enjoy Roy’s guest post on it)

San Gimignano, Italy’s most visited hill town is a photographer’s delight. Here are a few images to tempt you to visit if you are in Tuscany.

You enter an almost car-free zone.  Our hotel was inside the walls, so we negotiated the narrow one way streets, and piazzas full of tourists.

An entrance to San Gimignano, Tuscany.

An entrance to San Gimignano, Tuscany.

 

 

San Gimignano entrance, from the inside

 

Rival families competed to build the tallest watch tower in town.  There are towers everywhere:

Towers seen from an arch near the Duomo, San Gimignano, Tuscany.

Towers seen from an arch near the Duomo, San Gimignano, Tuscany.

 

 

San Gimignano skyline, from Piazza Sant'Agostino, showing medieval towers

San Gimignano skyline, from Piazza Sant’Agostino, showing medieval towers

Towers are everywhere, but the narrow streets make them hard to see

Piazza Duomo, San Gimignano

 

 

Piazza Cisterna, San Gimignano

Piazza Cisterna is the main square in town.  The well is a focal point for tourists.

Piazza Cisterna, San Gimignano, Tuscany.

Piazza Cisterna, San Gimignano, Tuscany.
Towers surrounding Piazza Cisterna, San Gimignano, Tuscany.

Towers surrounding Piazza Cisterna, San Gimignano, Tuscany.

 

Hotels, banks and homes, Piazza Cisterna, San Gimignano

Hotels, banks and homes, Piazza Cisterna, San Gimignano

The home of world’s best icecream, as judged in international competition, is also here

The best icecream in the world is always a draw on a hot day.

The best ice cream in the world is always a draw on a hot day.

 

Piazza Doumo, San Gimignano

Piazza Doumo, connected to Piazza Cisterna at a corner, is San Gimingano’s second central square.  The Duomo (Cathedral) is also known as the Collegiata, short for Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta.  The nave has wonderful frescoes illustrating stories from the Old and New Testaments, and history.

Bartolo di Fredi’s vision of the creation of Adam is very different from Michelangelo’s.

The creation of Adam. Duomo, San Gimignano.

The creation of Adam. Duomo, San Gimignano.

Crossing the Red Sea. Duomo, San Gimignano.

Moses Crossing the Red Sea. Duomo, San Gimignano.

Martydom of St Sebastian. Duomo, San Gimignano.

Martydom of St Sebastian. Duomo, San Gimignano.

 Sant’ Agostino, San Gimignano, Tuscany.

Sant’Agostino is an Augustinian church and monastery in a quiet location near the walls of San Gimignano.  During the summer months it accepts pilgrims on the Via Francigena pilgrimage route from Canterbury (England) to Rome.   It contains lovely frescoes.

Fresco behind altar (San Agostino church, San Gimignano)

Fresco behind altar (San Agostino church, San Gimignano)

The fresco above is a part of a wall of frescoes:

Fresoco behind altar (San Agostino church, San Gimignano)This unusual nativity scene discovered under plaster at the back of church does not get a mention in the guide books:

Nativity etching, San Agostino church, San Gimignano

Nativity etching, San Agostino church, San Gimignano

San Agostino church cloister

San Agostino church cloister

Decorative touches, San Gimignano

Historic Tuscan towns frequently have this kind of hook for hitching horses and donkeys

DSCN9038

 

Decorative torch holder. San Gimignano, Tuscany.

Decorative torch holder. San Gimignano, Tuscany.

On our way our we waved goodbye to this friendly dog:

A friendly dog. San Gimignano, Tuscany.

A friendly dog. San Gimignano, Tuscany.

 

More from my site

  • Images from our Trip to Pisa: The Leaning Tower, Duomo and BaptisteryImages from our Trip to Pisa: The Leaning Tower, Duomo and Baptistery
  • On Not Despising DeliveranceOn Not Despising Deliverance
  • On Long Walks, Spirituality and Creativity. And Images of Lucca, Tuscany, ItalyOn Long Walks, Spirituality and Creativity. And Images of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
  • Images from our visit to St. John Lateran, RomeImages from our visit to St. John Lateran, Rome
  • “One Way to Find God” : A Guest Post by Penelope Swithinbank“One Way to Find God” : A Guest Post by Penelope Swithinbank
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Filed Under: In which I Travel and Dream Tagged With: Italy, San Gimignano, tuscany

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Comments

  1. David Malnes says

    October 22, 2013 at 1:45 am

    Thank you, Anita, for taking me a place that I probably will not be able to go. I especially enjoyed the Christian art, specifically the martyrdom of St. Sebastian.

    • Anita Mathias says

      October 22, 2013 at 5:36 am

      Glad you liked it, David!

  2. Adriana says

    October 20, 2013 at 10:54 pm

    Excellent pictures! Each is magical in its own way. I especially love the details like the hook for hitching horses. And of course the dog is charming! Nice finale. 🙂

    • Anita Mathias says

      October 21, 2013 at 5:14 am

      Thanks, Adriana. He sat so still and stationary, and we thought he was stuffed. Till he finally wagged his tail!

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Instagram post 2187417055488451246_1686032450 My day: admiring a Christmas cactus that my friend Judy gave me last year, photographing winter trees from the bedroom window, lunch with Danny, coffee and food with Irene at Brown’s. Some reading, some writing, some weights, a good day.
I am trying to get back into weight-lifting. It reminds me that life is probably designed to have hard, challenging and difficult stuff to keep us strong. Muscle not used simply disappears. The body reabsorbs it! Muscle used paradoxically gets stronger and makes the tasks of our days and lives so much easier. So here’s to a spot of weights, and breathing in and out through them and life’s seasons, challenges and joys... so help us, God
Instagram post 2186714755975443652_1686032450 A sunny day in Porto and Coimbra.
Now back home, back to Yoga classes and the like.
I find if I get a spot up front near the instructor and next to someone accomplished, and follow them as bravely and gaspingly as I can, I get a thorough workout, totally break a sweat, do things I was certain I could not do, and get so much stronger in the process.
A bit like following Christ. Read what he said, take a deep breath and do it as exactly as you can, and you will slowly find yourself becoming a little bit stronger, wiser and yes, happier! My thought for the day 🙂
#porto #portugal #ilovetravel #happiness
Instagram post 2185957583540871908_1686032450 Images from our week in Porto.
Both my grandmothers, for as long as I knew them, were homebodies, spending their days in just one or two rooms.
I love travel, and excitement, and living as big and expansive life as I can.
But I too spend several hours every day in a quiet room, reading, writing, thinking, praying... And in the quiet room, one can interact the best thoughts of men and women down the ages, and more with infinity.. God, The sweet Spirit, The Lord Christ. #porto #portugal #travel #novembersun #marriage #marriedlife #beaches #portoribeira #fun
Instagram post 2180132061531496763_1686032450 Images from the Ashmolean Museum’s exhibition in Pompeii, death suddenly arriving in the middle of hectic life. Leaving in its aftermath particularly fertile volcanic soil.
When we become stuck in bitterness, when we recount the same sad story, again and again, in our own minds and to others... we forget that EVERY death has the potential for resurrection.
Have you suffered financial loss, financial injustice, completely untrue slander, deep sadness, failure? I have. Many humans have.
Give it to God. Give it to God of resurrection. Ask him to bring beauty from those sad, dead things.
The soil in the aftermath of a volcanic explosion is particularly fertile.
God can bring new life and beauty from dead things.
He calls out to sad hearts, "Come alive. Come alive!" #pompeii # Ashmolean
Instagram post 2175440736861042753_1686032450 Thoughts on avoiding the holes we habitually fall into, and BELATED images from one of my favourite active holidays https://anitamathias.com/2019/11/11/an-autobiography-in-five-chapters-and-avoiding-habitual-holes/
Instagram post 2156925313647782363_1686032450 I am inspired and moved by the story of Dirk Willems, a hero of the Reformation who lost his life to save his enemy, and have written a little book about him. 
It's on http://Amazon.co.uk  https://amzn.to/2Bk9Shl  and on http://Amazon.com  https://amzn.to/2VQOSYN 
Please do consider reading it & reviewing it. I would be immensely grateful.  Thank you!
Instagram post 2156141167803371501_1686032450 Okay, an unabashed Latergram on our first day in Iceland in Thingvellir National Park. Isn’t it dramatic.  And a short blog  https://anitamathias.com/2019/10/16/on-checking-in-before-you-fly/ #thingvellirnationalpark #iceland #travel #beauty #joy #adventure #life
Instagram post 2148813562469383835_1686032450 Family walks in assorted parks and gardens.  On my new spiritual discipline of Bible-walking, listening to and engaging with Scripture on the hoof.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/10/06/the-spiritual-practice-of-bible-walking/ #walkingandpraying #walkingwiththeword #biblewalking #walkingwiththelord
Instagram post 2134504882437551900_1686032450 I am in New York for a couple of weeks, for my niece Kristina’s wedding. We are having an amazing time, and I have taken a zillion pictures, and it is hot. So here’s a #latergram album from our trip to cool Iceland last month.  I have also blogged on experiencing deep peace in times of political turmoil.
https://anitamathias.com/2019/09/17/deep-peace-in-times-of-political-turmoil/  #iceland  #ringroad #icebergs #glaciers #glaciallagoon #beauty
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