San Gimignano rises with the profile of its towers on a hill (334m high) dominating the Elsa Valley. Seat of a small Etruscan village of the Hellenistic period (III-II century BC.), Its history began around the tenth century, taking its name from the Holy Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano, who is said to have saved the village from the barbarian hordes. Developed greatly during the Middle Ages thanks to the Via Francigena that crossed it. In fact, San Gimignano had an extraordinary flourishing of works of art to adorn the churches and monasteries. In 1199 it became a free municipality and fought against the Bishops of Volterra and the surrounding municipalities, suffered internal strife divided into two factions following the Ardinghelli (Guelphs) and the Salvucci family (Ghibellines). The May 8, 1300 Dante Alighieri ambaciatore of the Guelph League in Tuscany. The terrible plague of 1348 and the subsequent depopulation threw San Gimignano in a serious crisis. The town had therefore to submit to Florence. Degradation and abandonment of centuries after it came out only when we began to rediscover the beauty of the city, its cultural importance and the original agricultural identity.<\/p>\n
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Artistic itineraries<\/p>\n
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The Duomo or Collegiate Church, consecrated in 1148 and is adorned with valuable affereschi Sienese school: Old and New Testament (Bartolo di Fredi and the “Bottega dei Memmi”); Judgement (Taddeo di Bartolo), school works Florentine: Stories of Santa Fina (Ghirlandaio), San Sebastian (Benozzo Gozzoli), wooden statues (Jacopo della Quercia) and sculptures by Giuliano and Benedetto da Majano. All this makes the Collegiate of San Gimignano a very prestigious museum.<\/p>\n
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Town Hall Courtyard and Dante Hall with the Majesty of Lippo Memmi. Museum and Art Gallery with works by Filippino Lippi, Pinturicchio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Domenico di Michelino, Pier Francesco Fiorentino, Sebastiano Mainardi, Lorenzo di Niccol\u00f2 di Martino Coppo di Marcovaldo etc … Since museum you can visit the Torre Grossa and Podesta built in 1311, and 54 meters high.<\/p>\n
Museum of Sacred Art: Tele, planks and stone fragments from churches and convents. Silverware, choral and liturgical vestments.<\/p>\n
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St. Augustine Church: Stories of St. Agostino (Benozzo Gozzoli), remains of fourteenth century frescoes, panels and canvases by different artists (Benozzo Gozzoli, Piero del Pollaiuolo, Pier Francesco Fiorentino, Vincenzo Tamagni, Sebastiano Mainardi). Chapel of St. Bartolo (Benedetto da Majano).<\/p>\n
Smaller churches: St. Bartolo, S. James, St. Peter, St. Francis (remains), San Lorenzo in Ponte.<\/p>\n
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