The hill on which the now stands city di San Gimignano it has been inhabited since the times of the Etruscan. Extraordinary example of city organization, the village was included in the UNESCO heritage in 1990. Equipped with 72 tower or turreted houses in the medieval period (now there are only fourteen left), it was nicknamed the Manhattan of the Middle Ages. The village is also famous for the production of Vernaccia, the first Italian wine to receive the Controlled Designation of Origin mark in 1966, from saffron, andoil.
The golden age of the village and the Cathedral
According to legend, the name of San Gimignano was given to the town when the eponymous bishop appeared on the city walls and chased away the hordes of barbarians. The village today looks like a small town that has barely been inhabited seven thousand people, but which keeps the fourteenth-century atmosphere intact, as if time had stopped.
The turning point in the city's history came when the local authorities decided to enact a very peculiar law. This, in fact, prevented the demolition of the old houses, if not for build richer and more beautiful ones.
That was how the period of great splendor of the city, where its most famous buildings were born. One of the beauties to admire, although prior to the law, is certainly the Duomo, which dates back to the XNUMXth century. Divided into three naves, it contains the masterpieces of art geniuses such as Benozzo Gozzoli, Simone Martini and Bartolo di Fredi. Furthermore, the XNUMXth century wooden crucifix, in excellent condition. In addition, the extraordinary church is present in the church Chapel of Santa Fina. The frescoes made by Ghilandaio inside they tell the life of the saint who, after the death of her mother, decided to spend the rest of her life lying on a wooden table.
The 72 towers of San Gimignano
The extraordinary urban organization of San Gimignano, as mentioned, is one of the characterizing elements of the village, whose symbol is certainly the square where the aforementioned cathedral stands. Here also arise the People's Palace, the Palazzo Comunale and the Loggia del Comune, in addition to the civic Museum. In this last building he stayed none other than Dante Alighieri, when he sided with the Guelphs. In the room dedicated to him there is also the most important work of the museum, the Majesty by Lippo Memmi.
San Gimignano, as mentioned, was very famous for its 72 towers, of which now only 14 remained intact. The oldest is the Torre Mangy, erected at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, while the highest is the Torre Thick (or Torre del Podestà) with its 54 meters of height. Very famous is also the Devil's Tower, so called because, according to the legend, the ancient owner found it higher when returning from a trip. This property is located in the famous Piazza della Cisterna, so named because of a octagonal well which is located in the center. It was built on the orders of Fr.odestà Guccio dei Malavolti and contains in its perimeter other important buildings such as the tower of the Pucci, Ridolfi palace, and the Ardinghelli palace with its two towers.
The village in a famous video game
The fame of San Gimignano also owes its fame to a very fascinating, but decidedly more macabre place: the Torture Museum. Here, in fact, there is a vast collection of instruments of torture capable of causing physical and psychological violence in the condemned. The majority of them they also date back to the XNUMXth century, and were used mainly during the Holy Inquisition to torture or kill heretics.
For its unmistakably medieval atmosphere, San Gimignano was also chosen as location for the famous Assassin's Creed II video game. The protagonist Ezio Auditore, in fact, he will find himself in a tomb that in the game is located in the Torre Thick to kill the members of the Conspiracy. Furthermore, the protagonist first assassinates the friar Antonio Maffei on one of the highest towers in the village, and then the friar Stefano da Bagnone in a villa outside the walls belonged to the archbishop of Pisa Francesco Salviati. Finally, in one of the final parts of the game, Ezio finds himself following Jacopo de 'Pazzi at the church of Santa Maria dell'Assunta, to then kill him atancient Roman theater, outside the city walls.
