IF YOU ARE AN AMERICAN TRAVELING IN TUSCANY, you won’t find a better guidebook than Rick Steve’s ITALY. And if you’ve forgotten to buy a copy, you can download tips, itineraries and even walking tours. If you are especially lucky you just might run into Rick, himself—we did!
Your $20 tour guide The real thing—Priceless
We got an early start to beat the crowds, even though it’s mid-October. Tour groups just love San Gimignano and San Gimignano loves them back, judging by the ceramics, leather goods, alabaster and other “useless things you do not need” for sale. Or as Signore Rick writes, “it’s a perfectly preserved tourist trap.”
Some of the many useless things you do not need
9th Century Well Deeply scarred
Once again I followed Connie as she conducted her version of Rick’s guided walk across town through the main piazzas to the Duomo. Some of the buildings had historical significance like the Pilgrims’ Shelter with the Knights of Malta crest and the rope-scarred well in Piazza della Cistera. Others were simply cute as heck—interesting people, cute scenes and little things we stumbled upon like wild boar in all its forms
Pilgrims's Shelter
Waiting for the Sunset
Chinghiale—anything but "boaring"
Far from the tour groups
Wood-workers shop
The most striking feature of San Gimignano is its towers. Some were actually forts for the wealthy—in times of trouble they would move to the higher floors and simply burn the outside stairways. Other towers were hollow ego boosters of the mine-is-bigger-than-yours variety. Only fourteen of the original seventy-two remain.
Four of the Remaining 14 Towers
The road ends, quite literally, at Sant’ Agostino Church with a final climb to the small tower of Rocca for more views of the San Gimignano and the countryside. San Gimignano is attractive when viewed from the countryside and offers equally wonderful views of the country from its walls.
Three Views from San Gimignano
Ignore the kitsch and don’t sweat the tour crowds. It’s worth the trip for sure.
Volterra
We pulled onto a gravel road for our first picnic lunch of the trip and it won’t be the last. I sampled some of the wild-boar sausage I bought this morning—chewy for sure, but full of flavor. Too bad I didn’t have any brunello wine—I hear it goes well with boar. Fall is in the air, the grapes are harvested and the vines are beginning to show some color.
Our first Picnic Lunch. . .
Among the Vineyards
Volterra may be the Yang to San Gimignano’s Yin, real to San G’s kitsch and deep-down Etruscan but aside from the Etruscan Porta all’ Arco and the Roman theater, I didn’t find much new or interesting. Or maybe it was the constant uphill trek that ebbed my enthusiasm. Anyway, while we’ve seen plenty of Roman theaters this is the first one that was converted into baths. More recently the Volterrani used it as a rubbish dump. Just goes to show you what they thought of those upstart Romans!
Roman Theater/Volterrani dump
Porta all'Arco, Etruscan Gate
City Hall Tower
Alabaster Workshop
Finished Product
Connie was fascinated by the alabaster shops. The workshops were all closed for lunch but we both admired the interesting artwork made from the soft, translucent limestone.
