Medieval Towns
Sightseeing
FROM THE TOP OF A GENTLE HILL NEAR SIENA, THIS SPLENDID MEDIEVAL VILLAGE TRANSPORTS YOU INTO THE DISTANT PAST.
Monteriggioni shines from the top of a hill with its stone crown. One of the oldest, most memorable and recognizable villages in all of Italy, it seems that it has been inhabited since the eighth century BC. A true mirage for those who want to dive into the Middle Ages, the town is even mentioned by the Supreme Poet Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy: Inferno, Canto XXXI.
It’s a place that has remained incredibly intact as if time has never passed, even though it was built by the Sienese between 1213 and 1219 for defensive purposes. The village dominates the territory from the top of a hill overlooking the Via Cassia, a strategic position from which to control the Valdelsa territory.
Monteriggioni has obtained the Orange Flag quality mark given by the Touring Club.
What to see in Monteriggioni
The greatest point of interest is certainly Monteriggioni Castle, founded in the 1220s by the Republic of Siena with the aim of creating a defensive outpost against Florence. Monteriggioni preserves most of the 13th century structures, such as the city walls that embrace the top of the hill for a length of about 570 meters. It’s also equipped with 14 imposing towers that allow you to enjoy the spectacular panorama of Siena.
Inside the walls, the Church of Santa Maria Assunta overlooks the large square. Here, you can find the best preserved traces of the town’s medieval origins.
Don’t miss the “Monteriggioni in Arme” educational route which features faithful reproductions of medieval and Renaissance weapons and armor.
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Monteriggioni
FROM THE TOP OF A GENTLE HILL NEAR SIENA, THIS SPLENDID MEDIEVAL VILLAGE TRANSPORTS YOU INTO THE DISTANT PAST.
Monteriggioni shines from the top of a hill with its stone crown. One of the oldest, most memorable and recognizable villages in all of Italy, it seems that it has been inhabited since the eighth century BC. A true mirage for those who want to dive into the Middle Ages, the town is even mentioned by the Supreme Poet Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy: Inferno, Canto XXXI.
It’s a place that has remained incredibly intact as if time has never passed, even though it was built by the Sienese between 1213 and 1219 for defensive purposes. The village dominates the territory from the top of a hill overlooking the Via Cassia, a strategic position from which to control the Valdelsa territory.
Monteriggioni has obtained the Orange Flag quality mark given by the Touring Club.
What to see in Monteriggioni
The greatest point of interest is certainly Monteriggioni Castle, founded in the 1220s by the Republic of Siena with the aim of creating a defensive outpost against Florence. Monteriggioni preserves most of the 13th century structures, such as the city walls that embrace the top of the hill for a length of about 570 meters. It’s also equipped with 14 imposing towers that allow you to enjoy the spectacular panorama of Siena.
Inside the walls, the Church of Santa Maria Assunta overlooks the large square. Here, you can find the best preserved traces of the town’s medieval origins.
Don’t miss the “Monteriggioni in Arme” educational route which features faithful reproductions of medieval and Renaissance weapons and armor.
THE MANHATTAN OF THE MIDDLE AGES, FROM ART TO GOOD WINES
With its forest of towers spiking the horizon, San Gimignano is one of the most recognisable and iconic destinations in all of Tuscany. In every part of the world there is someone dreaming about this ancient hilltown in the Val d’Elsa, for to be there is to dive into an image of medieval times. A World Heritage Site since 1990, San Gimignano (known also as the “Medieval Manhattan“) owes its name to the incredible number of towers that loom up over the town rooftops: 65 of them, no less, when the city was at its height.
Thirteen of these magnificent towers survive today, and they still shape a skyline that is without a doubt unique.
What to see in San Gimignano
A visit to San Gimignano doesn’t end by just looking upwards. The Cathedral, completed in 1148, is also a must-see, considered one of Tuscany’s most precious. Built around three naves, this cathedral is a true anthology of frescos from the Florentine school: from Benozzo Gozzoli’s San Sebastiano to Domenico Ghirlandaio’s Episodes from the life of Santa Fina, to the wooden statues by Jacopo della Quercia.
Also of interest is the Palazzo Comunale, which today is home to the town museum and art gallery, where you can admire the works of artists like Pinturicchio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippino Lippi, Domenico di Michelino and Pier Francesco Fiorentino. You can also visit the palazzo’s sala di Dante (Dante’s room), which contains a Maestà by Lippo Memmi, and climb the Torre del Podestà (or Torre Grossa, meaning ‘fat tower’), whose 54 metres have made it San Gimignano’s tallest tower ever since it was built in 1311. But there’s much more besides. At the Torture Museum you will find an unusual collection of instruments dating back to the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
You simply must stop at the Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Experience – La Rocca, the tasting and documentation centre for wine and local produce. This place has a tasting table and a multimedia trail, through which you can learn about wine history through images, lights, sounds, voices, videos, holograms and 360-degree vision headsets.
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San Gimignano
Piazza Sant'AgostinoTHE MANHATTAN OF THE MIDDLE AGES, FROM ART TO GOOD WINES
With its forest of towers spiking the horizon, San Gimignano is one of the most recognisable and iconic destinations in all of Tuscany. In every part of the world there is someone dreaming about this ancient hilltown in the Val d’Elsa, for to be there is to dive into an image of medieval times. A World Heritage Site since 1990, San Gimignano (known also as the “Medieval Manhattan“) owes its name to the incredible number of towers that loom up over the town rooftops: 65 of them, no less, when the city was at its height.
Thirteen of these magnificent towers survive today, and they still shape a skyline that is without a doubt unique.
What to see in San Gimignano
A visit to San Gimignano doesn’t end by just looking upwards. The Cathedral, completed in 1148, is also a must-see, considered one of Tuscany’s most precious. Built around three naves, this cathedral is a true anthology of frescos from the Florentine school: from Benozzo Gozzoli’s San Sebastiano to Domenico Ghirlandaio’s Episodes from the life of Santa Fina, to the wooden statues by Jacopo della Quercia.
Also of interest is the Palazzo Comunale, which today is home to the town museum and art gallery, where you can admire the works of artists like Pinturicchio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippino Lippi, Domenico di Michelino and Pier Francesco Fiorentino. You can also visit the palazzo’s sala di Dante (Dante’s room), which contains a Maestà by Lippo Memmi, and climb the Torre del Podestà (or Torre Grossa, meaning ‘fat tower’), whose 54 metres have made it San Gimignano’s tallest tower ever since it was built in 1311. But there’s much more besides. At the Torture Museum you will find an unusual collection of instruments dating back to the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
You simply must stop at the Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Experience – La Rocca, the tasting and documentation centre for wine and local produce. This place has a tasting table and a multimedia trail, through which you can learn about wine history through images, lights, sounds, voices, videos, holograms and 360-degree vision headsets.
TRAVEL TO THE MEDIEVAL CITY OF ALABASTER, WITH AN ETRUSCAN HEART
Volterra is a village built on a hill between the Era and Cecina valleys. With its double walls, both Etruscan and from the thirteenth-century, it’s a medieval-looking city, where you can still enjoy the atmosphere of a historic village.
Volterra (in Etruscan Veláthri), was one of the main city-states of ancient Etruria and during the Middle Ages it was the seat of an important episcopal lordship. The village has been known for centuries for the manufacture of alabaster whose artifacts are some of the most important products of Italian craftsmanship.
What to see in Volterra
Volterra is rich in artistic heritage that can be admired while walking through the streets of the historic center and visiting the city’s museums which include the Etruscan museum, the Pinacoteca, the Museum of Sacred Art, or the Eco-museum of Alabaster.
The walk continues towards the artistic and religious heart of the city: Piazza San Giovanni with the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and the Baptistery of San Giovanni, important examples of local medieval architecture. Adjacent to the cathedral, the Palazzo dei Priori rises in the square which bears its own name. The building, started in 1208, is the oldest municipal building in Tuscany.
The beauty continues even outside the historic center where you can admire the splendid Roman theater, as well as the ruins of the Etruscan Acropolis. At this point, the traveler can then enjoy the unspoiled landscape all around them before discovering the secrets of a rare artisan production: alabaster.
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Volterra
TRAVEL TO THE MEDIEVAL CITY OF ALABASTER, WITH AN ETRUSCAN HEART
Volterra is a village built on a hill between the Era and Cecina valleys. With its double walls, both Etruscan and from the thirteenth-century, it’s a medieval-looking city, where you can still enjoy the atmosphere of a historic village.
Volterra (in Etruscan Veláthri), was one of the main city-states of ancient Etruria and during the Middle Ages it was the seat of an important episcopal lordship. The village has been known for centuries for the manufacture of alabaster whose artifacts are some of the most important products of Italian craftsmanship.
What to see in Volterra
Volterra is rich in artistic heritage that can be admired while walking through the streets of the historic center and visiting the city’s museums which include the Etruscan museum, the Pinacoteca, the Museum of Sacred Art, or the Eco-museum of Alabaster.
The walk continues towards the artistic and religious heart of the city: Piazza San Giovanni with the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and the Baptistery of San Giovanni, important examples of local medieval architecture. Adjacent to the cathedral, the Palazzo dei Priori rises in the square which bears its own name. The building, started in 1208, is the oldest municipal building in Tuscany.
The beauty continues even outside the historic center where you can admire the splendid Roman theater, as well as the ruins of the Etruscan Acropolis. At this point, the traveler can then enjoy the unspoiled landscape all around them before discovering the secrets of a rare artisan production: alabaster.