Discover San Gimignano

San Gimignano is a walled hill town of 7,780 people in the province of Siena, in central Tuscany, and it has the most recognisable medieval skyline in Europe. Fourteen tower-houses still stand of the seventy-two the town had at the end of the Middle Ages, and they are the reason to come.

The towers were not defensive in any useful sense. They were a competition. Thirteenth-century San Gimignano was rich from the Via Francigena — the pilgrim road to Rome ran through it — and its families built upward against each other until the skyline looked like a small Manhattan. Then, in 1348, the plague killed about half the town, and the survivors submitted to Florence. The building stopped. What froze in place is what you see.

UNESCO inscribed the historic centre in 1990 under criteria (i), (iii) and (iv) — an area of just 13.88 hectares. Inside it: the Collegiata, whose walls carry fresco cycles of the 14th and 15th centuries and whose Chapel of Santa Fina was painted by Ghirlandaio; the Palazzo Comunale with its picture gallery and the Torre Grossa, the one tower you can climb; and Piazza della Cisterna, named for a cistern of 1287, with a well of 1346 and paving partly of the 13th century.

There is one more claim worth knowing. Vernaccia di San Gimignano, the white wine grown on these hills, became a DOC on 3 March 1966 — and was the first wine in Italy to hold the title. The whole Italian system of controlled appellations starts here.

Why are there towers, and how many are left?

Fourteen survive of seventy-two. They were tower-houses — fortified residences, strongrooms and status claims — built upward by competing families in a town made rich by the Via Francigena pilgrim road. Height was rank.

Why did they survive here and nowhere else?

Because the town failed. The 1348 plague killed about half the population, San Gimignano submitted to Florence, and it was never again rich or important enough to rebuild itself. The skyline is partly a monument to decline.

Can I climb a tower?

One: the Torre Grossa, entered through the Palazzo Comunale, which also holds the Pinacoteca. It is narrow medieval stairs with no lift. From the top you see the other towers as a group, which you cannot do from the street.

What does the ticket cost?

There are two. The civic museums ticket is €10 full and €8 reduced, valid one day with a €1 booking fee, covering the Palazzo Comunale with the Pinacoteca and the Torre Grossa, the Complesso di Santa Chiara and the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Ponte. The Complesso della Collegiata is separate at €7 full, €6 for groups of twenty or more and €4 reduced. Entry is free for the youngest children, disabled visitors and their companions, residents and authorised guides. The civic museums open 10:00–19:30 from 1 April to 31 October and 11:00–17:30 from 1 November to 31 March, and are closed on 25 December.

When should I come to avoid the crowds?

Before 10:00 or after 16:00. The coaches from Florence and Siena arrive late morning and leave by late afternoon, and in between the two main streets are packed. This is the most useful thing to know about visiting San Gimignano, and it costs nothing to act on.

Is it worth staying the night?

Yes, more than almost anywhere else in Tuscany — because the day visitors leave and you get a UNESCO-inscribed medieval town to yourself at dusk and at breakfast.

What is Vernaccia, and is the "first DOC" claim real?

It is the local white wine, and yes. Vernaccia di San Gimignano was approved as a DOC on 3 March 1966 and its consortium states it was the first wine in Italy to hold the title; it became a DOCG in 1993. It may legally be grown only on hill land inside this one commune.

Where is San Gimignano exactly?

In the province of Siena, in central Tuscany — roughly between Florence and Siena, about an hour from each. (An older version of this page placed it "at Siena" in "the northern province of Italy". It is in neither.)