The story of this place
Perched on a Tuscan hilltop, San Gimignano is famous for its skyline of tall stone towers—14 survive of an original 72. In the prosperous 12th and 13th centuries, feuding patrician families raced to build ever-taller tower-houses as status symbols and fortified refuges during factional street wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines; the tallest still standing, the Torre Grossa, reaches 54 metres. The town grew rich on saffron and on Vernaccia wine, and lay on the pilgrim route to Rome. When the Black Death struck in 1348 and the town later submitted to Florence, its economy froze—accidentally preserving the medieval townscape almost intact. It is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Italy.