San Gimignano is one of Tuscany's somewhat neglected gems, lying in the shadow of the more famous cities of Siena, Pisa and Florence. In fact, however, San Gimignano, with its remarkably uniform medieval buildings, is one of Italy's most interesting towns.
From afar, San Gimignano already impresses with its panorama of 15 tall medieval towers, enhanced by the fact that the historic centre is built on a plateau. Thanks to these high-rise buildings, the town is nicknamed "medieval Manhattan".
The family towers as a symbol of success
The history of San Gimignano dates back to the 4th century BC, but its golden age was from about the 10th to the 14th century. It was an important trade route from Rome to the north, which made San Gimignano one of the richest towns in the area in the Middle Ages, and even led to its independence in 1199.
The high towers built by wealthy townsmen and businessmen to reflect the success of their families were already a symbol of the town at that time. The tallest town hall tower, the Torre Grossa, is 54 metres high and still stands today. This particular town tower was not to be surpassed in height by any other family tower.
At the time of San Gimignano's greatest glory, there were up to 72 towers in the small area of the town, 15 of which have survived to the present day.
The development of the town was ended in 1348 by a plague epidemic that practically wiped out over 80% of the population, San Gimignano voluntarily joined Florence and became a mere insignificant provincial town.
Thanks to this, the original medieval architecture has been preserved to an extraordinary degree: the town has not been expanded or rebuilt and has remained so to this day. In 1991, the historic centre was inscribed on the UNESCO list.
The view from Torre Grosso
From the top of the 54-metre-high town hall tower, dating from 1283, you can admire the view of the city and the wide rolling Tuscan countryside from an open vantage point. You can visit the tower every day from 10:00 to 19:30.
Tickets to the tower cost 9 eur, However, it also includes a visit to the Town Hall, the small picture gallery, the Church of San Lorenzo and the Archaeological Museum and is valid for 2 consecutive days, during which you can visit the monuments more than once.
Accommodation San Gimignano
The town is mainly a destination for day trips on the turn from Pisa or Siena, but if you want to enjoy the medieval and very peaceful atmosphere in the evening after the tourists leave, we definitely recommend spending at least one night here.
Prices in intimate private apartments start at about 62 eur per night. We would definitely recommend an apartment Casa Milena on the outskirts of the town with views of the wide countryside and beautiful rooms.
Of the classic hotels, we recommend the stylish Hotel Da Graziano *** near the centre or the more luxurious Relais Cappuccina **** with swimming pool in the countryside about 2 km from the centre, especially suitable for car journeys.
How to get there?
San Gimignano is located about 30 km from Siena towards Florence or Pisa.
There is no railway, but you can get here by frequent bus service. Detailed timetables can be found on the at-bus.it website.
Click on the "Siena Extraurbano" tab. Look for these line numbers for lines arriving in San Gimignano:
- 31 - 3 times a day to Volterra
- 128 - 2x daily to Certaldo
- 130 - about once every two hours from Siena, more frequently to Poggibonsi, where you can change to the Siena - Empoli - Florence train
- 133 - 5 times a day to Poggibonsi, where you can change to the Siena - Empoli - Florence train
For tickets to Siena visit 6,90 eur, to Poggibonsi 2,90 eur. Tickets can be bought from the driver or on the At-Bus mobile app.
Despite the fact that San Gimignano is a small town, there are 3 lines of public transport minibuses marked SG1, SG2 and SG3. A 70-minute ticket is available at 1,30 eur.
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