A tour in San Gimignano in Tuscany
A tour in Tuscany in San Gimignano and Certaldo for Middle Age, beautiful villages and tasting wine lovers.
A tour in Tuscany: San Gimignano and Certaldo
A tour of San Gimignano in Tuscany is the most convenient and
fun way to combine various interests in a single day. For those
who love history during this tour, you will find very
interesting topics; those who love art can visit enchanting
places; those who love good wine and good food will not be
disappointed; those who simply love getting lost in the
boundless hilly landscapes of Tuscany can enjoy it for the
duration of the tour in San Gimignano in Tuscany.
San Gimignano is located halfway between Florence and Siena and
its visit can also be combined with other tours in the area.
Here I propose a tour in Tuscany in San Gimignano and Certaldo,
for those who love the Middle Ages, the beautiful villages and
... obviously good food and good wine.
Towers of San Gimignano
San Gimignano is one of the most beautiful and famous villages in Italy, called by many "the medieval Manhattan" because of the towers that make its panorama unique in the world. In the golden century of San Gimignano, i.e in the thirteenth century, there were about 100 towers and they were visible from afar so that pilgrims, merchants, soldiers, and attackers all passed through San Gimignano. The city got richer thanks to its strategic position in the medieval road system and Florence and Siena began to court her.
Vernaccia wine and saffron
In this way, San Gimignano was enriched with works of art by important Florentine and Sienese artists. During the tour in San Gimignano in Tuscany, I will tell you how this small village of a few thousand souls could become so rich that it was disputed by the two superpowers of the time. I give you a clue: Vernaccia and saffron. Now San Gimignano is an elegant village where many things can be done during a tour.
Art, Food, Wine
You can climb the highest tower and admire the view, you can read the Old and New Testament fresco paintings on the walls of the Collegiate, you can try the world champion gelato and then, if you are not convinced, you can also try the best ice cream in the world; you can shop in the hundreds of small shops of ceramic, leather goods, jewelry, fabrics, souvenirs, cheeses, and sausages.
Certaldo, Boccaccio’s motherland
Certaldo is a less touristy village then San Gimignano but
equally fascinating in my opinion. The visit to Certaldo can
be combined with the tour of San Gimignano in Tuscany because
the two villages are a few kilometers away. The first unusual
thing is that you can't get to Certaldo either by car or by
bus but in another very fascinating way: to get to the
historic center of the small village which is located on top
of a hill, you must get there by the funicular! Certaldo is
Boccaccio's homeland: remember the Decameron, the hundred
stories written during the plague of 1348?
In Certaldo, you can visit the house-museum dedicated to the
great Italian writer of the fourteenth century. Very
interesting is the Palazzo Pretorio visiting which I will tell
you how daily life was in a village in the Middle Ages.
The excellences of San Gimignano and Certaldo
During the tour of San Gimignano and Certaldo in Tuscany, of course, there will also be time to try the excellence of Tuscan food and wine, because you can't say you know a place well if you don't know its cuisine.
Vernaccia
There are many typical products of the area: the most famous is perhaps Vernaccia di San Gimignano, a fruity and fresh white wine. It was the favorite wine of various popes and Lorenzo il Magnifico Medici.
Carabaccia soup
A Certaldo instead produces a type of onion with which the "Carabaccia" is prepared: it is an onion soup that is served with bread and pecorino cheese. The onion soup was brought to France by Caterina de 'Medici and here it became the national dish... in short, they copied it!
Art, History, Environment
The tour of San Gimignano in Tuscany is a way to spend a day differently during your holidays, between history, art, curious anecdotes, good wine, good food and the beauty of the Tuscan hills as a backdrop.
Your holidays in Tuscany
Tuscany is not only an Italian region, it’s a place of the heart