Thursday is market day for one of the gems of Tuscany: San Gimignano. This city is on everyone’s tour package because its walled city is perhaps the best preserved of any medieval towns. At its peak, San Gimi had 72 tall towers forming pillars along its walls, of which 14 still remain. It has a beautiful collegiate church which is a basilica (not a Duomo because there is no bishop - thus no cathedral).
San Gimignano is a little more than an hour away, so Chris and I got out early in the morning to make it for market, which ends at noon. Market consists of many vendors who set up tents and booths to sell all kinds of items from clothing to knick-knacks, to food and fine jewelry. Each morning the market moves to a different village. When we arrived, San Gimi was packed. We picked up a couple items for our grandkids at market, then headed for the church and museum of art. The basilica was beautiful, filled with frescos detailing the life of Christ and then local saints. The many towers are very interesting, especially as we heard about one of the primary reasons. They were built so families could be protected as they dropped boiling oil on invading armies. San Gimi is also home to a museum of torture. While I got a picture there, I declined the tour.
San Gimi is also home to Gelateria della Cisterna, which has won the world championships several years running for the best gelato. I had to try it! We also were introduced by a friend to Vin Santo - the “wine of the saints”. Much of it is made there so we bought a bottle of this dessert wine and tried it tonight. The saints did well.
On to Volterra which had a huge baptistry, held in its own building that is almost as large as Old Donation. We could line up a lot of baptisms for Easter Vigil if we used that place!
Back home for supper and you can see the sunset. After eating, Chris and I sat in some chairs at the pool and watched the sun go down. What a life!
Ciao. Chris and Bob
What a life indeed!
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