San Gimignano - a Tuscan hill town!

This is the epitomy of a Tuscan hill town. The bus left us at the main gate called Porta San Giovanni. As we walked thru the gate we felt more inside a walled medieval town atop of a hill. We were told it's better seen it was better to see it at the twilight, so we arrived late afternoon. It's a tiny town, we were able to walk the entire town and enjoy the twilight. It has 14 medieval towers still standing (out of 72). Opposite to Siena, most of the buildings are made of stone, and if brick was used it was only an accent. 

                 

The town walls were built in the 13th century and the gates controlled who went in and out. The towers were built to protect the residents from intruders.

                      

Every street is unique with nice shops and home buildings. The streets are made of huge stone pavers and limited traffic is allowed. Only the residents can drive the streets and many streets are so narrow that a car will barely fit. Like in all Italian towns, there were was a church and a large piazza with a big fountain. Photos below.

The town has a number of beautiful shops with this type of ceramic. Just gorgeous!

         

                          

Here is the fountain in the middle of the piazza; a place to gather. During our visit the town was almost empty and I believe it's because the frequency of the buses is limited after dawn. If you want to return the same day the wait may be long and with a change of bus at some point. We had to wait over 30 minutes for the return bus.

        

Every street and every corner is well preserved. The beauty is beyond imagination.

                               

As we walked out of the walled area you can see the town skyline from all angles. Every one is like a post card.

We saw all that was to be seen as we walked the entire little town, visited the recommended sites, shops, and wandered outside the walls capturing some beautiful memories like the one above. It's a quiet and small town; just a place to dream! Leaving the area the bus goes down the hills on narrow roads that sometimes the incoming cars have to reverse direction to give room for the bus to pass. Those drivers are experts maneuvering these narrow roads. In some parts of the road I had to hold my breath thinking the bus was about to hit the wall. 

                         

San Gimignamo gave us breathtaking views and breathtaking rides!!!