Our home base for this week is the Val d’Orcia region of Toscana, a tiny ancient little town called San Quirico d’Orcia that is gorgeous and surrounded by the most beautiful countryside you’ve ever seen. Rolling Tuscan hills, kissed by spring sunshine, dotted by ancient farmhouses, chapels, and cypress trees. Sigh.
Our first full day here we decided to hop in the car and take a trip to the famous towns of San Gimignano and Siena, both of which are comfortably close for a pleasant journey. First came San Gimignano, a town that legend dates back to 63 BC. Between the 11th and 13th centuries noble families and rich merchants took to building fortified tower houses to show off their wealth and power. Many of these are still standing, resulting in a charming collection of very tall, very old buildings and a few VERY tall bell towers.
In 1353 San Gimignano experienced a massive decline due to famine and plague that largely decimated the town. The dramatic decrease in population led to a loss of independence, which actually helped to preserve it as its new status under Florentine control prevented the urban renewal that transformed so many Italian historical places after the Middle Ages. Yay for preservation of cool stuff!
Piazza della Cisterna, with the big town well. Today home to 4,000 different gelaterias.
Piazza Duomo. And a few more towers.
Sitting atop the Tuscan countryside
Courtyard with ancient frescoes - varied, weird, and beautiful.
You gotta walk through the cool door. Every time.