San Gimignano

San Gimignano is a small hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy. San Gimignano is famous for the medieval towers, and for the wine, called "Vernaccia di San Gimignano".

Comune di San Gimignano
Panorama San Gimignano.jpg
CountryItaly
RegionTuscany
ProvinceSiena (SI)
Government
 • MayorAndrea Marrucci ([[List of political parties in Italy|PD]])
Area
 • Total138 km2 (53 sq mi)
Elevation
324 m (1,063 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2016)
 • Total7,780
 • Density56.38/km2 (146.0/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
53037
Patron saintSt. Geminianus Saint Fina
WebsiteOfficial website
Historic Centre of San Gimignano
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Piazza cisterna 01.jpg
CriteriaCultural: i, iii, iv
Reference550
Inscription1990 (14th Session)
Area13.88 ha

History

San Gimignano was founded as a small village in about 1300 BC by the Etruscans. The city is named after Saint Geminianus, who defended it from Attila the Hun in the mid 5th century.

In medieval and Renaissance times, it was a stopping point for pilgrims on their way to Rome and the Vatican as it sits on the medieval via Francigena.

In 1199, during the period of its highest splendour, the city made itself independent from Volterra.

Important places

There are many churches in the town: the two main ones are the Collegiata, a cathedral, and Sant'Agostino.

The Communal Palace is now the home of San Gimignano Gallery. Hhere there are works by Pinturicchio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippino Lippi, Domenico di Michelino, Pier Francesco Fiorentino, and others.

The heart of the town contains the four squares, "Piazza della Cisterna", "Piazza Duomo", "Piazza Pecori", and "Piazza delle Erbe".

Culture

San Gimignano is the birthplace of the poet Folgore da San Gimignano (1270-1332).

Tea with Mussolini, a 1999 drama about English and American women in Italy during World War II, was filmed in part at San Gimignano.

Images

 
The Piazza della Cisterna

San Gimignano Media

References