ITALY ~ San Gimignano - Tuscany - UNESCO ~

... Nice illustrated view of a beautiful town surrounded by 13th century walls perchesd high on a 300m steep hill... even from afar, you can tell what makes San Gimignano so special... the 14 majestic towers rise above its palaces up into the sky... they really look like skyscrapers, but almost without any windows... for this reason, the city carries the nickname "the Manhattan of the Middle Ages"... the two main churches contain a series of masterpieces of 14th and 15th-century Italian Renaissance art in their original architectural settings... the Torre Grossa (meaning ‘big tower’) stands at 54 meters and is the tallest tower in San Gimignano... it can be climbed and provides a 360-degree view of San Gimignano and the stunning surrounding valley... Thanks a lot Ben en Loes! (✿◠‿◠) 

San Gimignano was originally an Etruscan and then Roman settlemen. In time, it became a feudal domain of the bishops of Volterra and gained independence in 1199. The city is named after Saint Geminianus, who defended it from Attila the Hun in the mid 5th century.

In the 14th century, the noble families and upper middle-class merchants began building many fortified tower houses (probably as many as 72) to show their wealth and power. 

San Gimignano has been a UNESCO site since 1990.

 

Stamp: 

Toscana