San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy
San Gimignano is like a medieval Manhattan. No matter which side you approach it from, you can see San Gimignano sitting on the hilltop 334 metres (1095 feet) above sea level, surrounded by numerous towers. There are still thirteen of them today (there were seventy-two). The first towers were scattered here and there and were somewhat isolated; very different from the compact groups we see today. Perhaps even more different was the way in which people lived in the towers. There was little room inside the towers, usually about one metre by two and there were few openings to the outside. The walls however were about two metres thick and kept the inside warm in winter and cool in summer. Almost all the towers had other buildings made from wood or earth leaning against them. In the Middle Ages, a tower represented power and strength especially considering that building one of them was neither a light undertaking nor inexpensive. By the mid 12th century, no more towers were being built whereas palaces were being erected using the most up-to-date methods and according to the new tastes and styles of the time. The economic, architectural and cultural growth of San Gimignano ground to a halt in the mid 14th century when the city came under the dominion of Florence. The plague and famine of the late 1300’s and early 1400’s decimated the population. The post-medieval San Gimignano was deserted and on its last legs. The state of decay even saw the towers collapse on to the palaces and destroy them.
Size: 5100px × 3414px
Location: San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy
Photo credit: © Brenda Kean / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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