San Gimignano

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Comune di San Gimignano
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Siena (SI)
Mayor	Marco Lisi (since June 2004)

Elevation	324 m
Area	138 km²
Population
- Total (as of December 31, 2005)	7,105
- Density	51/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	43°28′N, 11°03′E
Gentilic	Sangimignanesi
Dialing code	0577
Postal code	53037

Patron	St. Geminianus
- Day	January 31
Website: www.comune.sangimignano.si.it

**Historic Centre of San Gimignano**^a
**UNESCO World Heritage Site**

State Party	Italy
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, iii, iv
Identification	#550
Region^b	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	1990 14th Session
a Name as officially inscribed on the WH List b As classified officially by UNESCO

San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hilltop town in Tuscany, Italy, about a 35-minute drive northwest of Siena or southwest of Florence. It is mainly famous for its medieval architecture, especially its towers, which can be seen several miles outside the town.

San Gimignano.

The town is also known for the white wine grown in the area, Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Culture
4 External links

[edit] History

San Gimignano was founded as a small village in the 3rd century BC by the Etruscans. The city's documented history begins in the 10th century AD, when it took the name of the bishop, Saint Geminianus, who had defended it from Attila's Huns.

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. The city's development was also boosted by the trade of agriculture products from the fertile neighbouring hills. In 1199, during the period of its highest splendour, the city made itself independent from the bishops of Volterra. Divisions between Guelph and Ghibellines parties troubled the inner life of the commune, which still managed to embellish itself with artworks and architectures.

On May 8, 1300, San Gimignano hosted Dante Alighieri in his role of ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany.

The city flourished until 1348, when the plague that hit all Europe compelled it to submit to Florence. San Gimignano became a secondary centre until the 19th century, when its status of touristic and artistic resort began to be recognized.

[edit] Main sights

In Italian medieval walled towns, rich families competed in the erection of high towers, that served as lodgings, fortresses and prestige symbols. While in other cities like Bologna or Florence, most or all of the towers have been brought down due to wars, catastrophes or urban renewal, San Gimignano managed to conserve 13 towers of varying height which are its international symbol.

The towers of San Gimignano.

There are many churches in the town: the two main ones are the Collegiata (former cathedral) and Sant'Agostino, housing a wide series of artworks from some of the main Italian renaissance artists. The Communal Palace, once seat of the podestà, is currently home of the Town Gallery, with works by Pinturicchio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippino Lippi, Domenico di Michelino, Pier Francesco Fiorentino and others. From the palace the Dante's Hall can be accessed, with a Majesty fresco by Lippo Lemmi, as well as the Torre del Podestà (or Torre Grossa, 1311), standing 54 m high.

The heart of the town is the four squares. Piazza della Cisterna, Piazza Duomo (where is the Collegiata), Piazza Pecori and Piazza delle Erbe. The main streets are Via San Matteo e Via San Giovanni, crossing the city from north to south.

[edit] Culture

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

A fictionalised version of San Gimignano features in E.M. Forster's 1905 novel Where Angels Fear to Tread as Monteriano.

It is thought that the towers are the inspiration for the design of the campus of the University of Essex and of the residential colleges of Ezra Stiles and Morse at Yale University.

M.C. Escher's 1923 woodcut San Gimignano[1] depicts the celebrated towers.

Tea with Mussolini, a 1999 drama about the plight of English and American expatriates in Italy during World War II, was in part filmed in San Gimignano.