Italy

Tuscany Tour: San Gmignano

How's your weekend going? For the third installment of the Tuscany Tour, I would like to share with you the beautiful San Gmignano . This is a part of the Best of Tuscany Tour from my previous posts organized by Walkabout Florence.

Below is a map courtesy of Knowital.com illustrating the whole of Tuscany. As you can see, for the Twilight fans, this is quite close to Volterra, the popular land of the Volturi in the vampire saga. In comparison to Volterra, San Gmignano has a more welcoming vibe.

San Gmignano is a walled medieval town sitting on the hill over the valley of River Elsa in the province of Siena in North-Central Italy. It is approximately 56 km from Florence. Renowned for its 15 historic towers visible from the surrounding Etruscan countryside, the architecture is well preserved. It somehow reminds me of Mont St. Michel upon entering the walled village, but having a friendlier atmosphere without the dark abbeys and demonstrations of medieval torture shows.

Sunday Market in the village

I couldn't help taking a snapshot of these lovelies.

I found this beautiful gallery a few meters away from the weekend market stalls. I love the way the wooden door on the left balances the composition of the glass entrance archway of the gallery and the displayed artworks .

Relaxing by this cafe for a nice cappuccino or espresso is perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I love the way this tree provides extra shade at the entrance of the coffee shop. There are lots of coffee shops and restaurants within this walled town.

Centre of San Gmignano

Below is the central fountain found at the heart of San Gmignano

Historic Centre of San Gmignano

Check out the small arched glass doors on the left hand side of the above photo with queues of people outside. The tourists are lined up to get a taste of the award winning gelato from that shop. I had the opportunity to try it. I took the pistachio & chocolate flavor. Absolutely yummy!

Eating one of the best gelatos in the world. Had to hurry, it's melting.

I definitely enjoyed my time there. I can't wait to go back one day and spend some more flexible time comfortably exploring with lots of eating. That gelato shop is definitely on the list.

Have a great Saturday!