San Gimignano

After spending the morning in Pisa we drove to San Gimignano.  It is a walled medieval village on a mountain height.  Think of all the pictures you have seen of the Tuscan area and it was better than that everywhere we looked.  Even in the rain.  The countryside is luscious and green.  The fields are lovely and we were in the clouds above them. 

The streets were narrow and steep and lined with amazing ceramics shops, wild boar markets, clothing, and world class gelato.  Really, we had gelato at a shop that was world champions of ice cream making for six years.  It was so good!  Of course I had my favorites - coconut and sour cherry (amerana).
 

A water spigot that works

The streets are very narrow but cars make it.  We watched as a man drove backwards up the steep incline, he almost hit a woman and he yelled at her to get out of his way.  Then later we saw him do it again.  No one seemed surprised but us. 

Tuscany is noted for its leather goods.  There were shops all over the place smelling of new leather.
 

This the central square near the top of the city.  It was so pretty on all sides. We were as drenched as everyone but who cares since we are in the loveliest city we have been in so far.  It is constantly amazing that we live here now.

San Gimignano is known as the city of towers.  At one time there were seventy two towers in the city.  The feudal lord started it and built a tower and ordered that no one else could build a bigger one.  So of course, everyone  had to have one too.  Fourteen towers remain today.  Like most Italian towns, each building was built next to another and over time, you can see the architectural changes in buildings. Although in this city as in many fairly untouched cities, these homes seem to have been built during the same time frame.  There is a newer part of the city, but it is outside the walled city.  Parking is outside the city. 

The cathedral in San Gimignano

You can see that the original building was shorter and at some time another tenant built a "tower" on it.

Here a house that was built between two towers

This is so amazing to see how people lived in the past.  Obviously Italy has modernized and these buildings  have electricity now but the doors and homes have changed very little.

 

We ate in this restaurant and it was lovely. 

This a lovely courtyard of a small hotel.

 

You can see how the building has been changed over time, with bricked up arches and brickwork repairs.

Italy appears to have discovered Halloween!  We are anxious to see if they dress up too.  We have tried their Halloween cookies called bones of the dead and favors of the dead.  They were good but different.

Is this gorgeous or what 

 

Being in the clouds was lovely.  It was like being a fairy tale.

 

This is an old whipping post for horses.  Details like this are everywhere and are preserved. Near us in Milano, we saw a part of a archway in a field surrounded by grass and just left to be seen by all.

You can see the Tuscan country side behind this building.  Very beautiful!

The entrance to the city and the ramparts of the fortified walls.  On the drive up here and the drive down, we passed through the clouds and rain and it was still breath taking on all sides. 

We were just stunned by the beauty of this town and countryside.  The rain and fog seemed to enhance the atmosphere.  It was just amazing!