San Gimignano

San Gimignano is famous for its towers. As you approach this small, walled town, the fourteen towers dating from the 13th century – there were once seventy-two – demand your attention; if you were an attacking warrior in the middle ages they would definitely have made you think twice about attacking this hilltop town. Perhaps this is why the charming town has survived in such good shape, even though the plague wiped out so much of its wealthy population in 1348 it was forced to surrender to the rule of nearby Florence.

Within the walls you can explore on foot, beginning at the interconnecting main squares Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Cisterna. One of the main drawcards of the town is its wonderful religious art from the Medieval and Renaissance periods adorning the walls of marvellous churches such as the 12th century Romanesque Basilica in the Collegiata (the Duomo), and collected in the Pinacoteca (picture gallery) in the Palazzo Comunale.

But San Gimignano is not suspended in the past: there is a modern art museum and also a Museo del Vino, a wine museum, and whilst wine is meant to age its certainly going to be younger than the art and architecture you’ve spent the rest of the day exploring.