(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.
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.
San Gimignano skyline, from Piazza Sant’Agostino, showing medieval towers
Towers are everywhere, but the narrow streets make them hard to see
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.
Towers surrounding Piazza Cisterna, San Gimignano, Tuscany.
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 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.
Moses Crossing the Red Sea. 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)
The fresco above is a part of a wall of frescoes:
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
San Agostino church cloister
Decorative touches, San Gimignano
Historic Tuscan towns frequently have this kind of hook for hitching horses and donkeys
Decorative torch holder. San Gimignano, Tuscany.
On our way our we waved goodbye to this friendly dog:
A friendly dog. San Gimignano, Tuscany.
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.
Glad you liked it, David!
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. 🙂
Thanks, Adriana. He sat so still and stationary, and we thought he was stuffed. Till he finally wagged his tail!