September 5 - San Gimignano, Tenuta Torciano Vineyard, and Volterra

Our weather luck is holding out.  Today was another beautiful one.  We had a passing sprinkle as we went in for lunch and then it cleared off again.

As we disembarked this morning in Livorno our wonderful guide and driver Heliana Vogli was waiting for us.  We sped off on our way to our first stop San Gimignano.  Last year this was our last stop on our tour and we didn’t have nearly enough time so we decided to go back.

San Gimignano is a walled medieval city whose earliest history dates back to the 3^rd century BC and the Etruscans.  The earliest records date to the 10^th century AD when the city defended itself against the Huns after the fall of the Roman Empire.  There was a colorful history during the time that the Guelphs  and Ghibelinos  of Florence were fighting and the conflict spilled over to San Gimignano.

The city is known for its towers.  At one time it had as many as 72 which could be seem from several kms away.  They were built as families tried to show people their wealth and surpass their neighbors.  Today about 14 remain.  Today the city which is enclosed by its walls has lovely streets with shops and cafes and many interesting architectural features.  It is a microcosm of styles from the surrounding cities and these are reflected in the shape of the windows and other architectural features.  The influences of Pisa and Florence can be seen. It's also noted for the wild boar in the area so many stores sell prosciutto, salame, and sausage made from the wild boar.

A fine fellow in the doorway of a butcher shop

A few of the towers of San Gimignano

Al and Heliana on the new ramparts of San Gimignano built after the arrival of cannon and gunpowder

After several lovely hours exploring this city we left to go to the Tenuta Torciana winery which we had visited last year.  The patriarch of the family, Pier Luigi, greeted us and ushered us into a room filled with casks of olive oil.  We  had the room to ourselves and we proceeded to have a fantastic lunch and wine-tasting.  They presented 10 wines ranging from the white unique to the area Vernaccia and several chiantis, a brunello de Montepulciano and three super Tuscans.  They were all wonderful.  Despite the fact that we usually don’t like dessert wines, the one we tasted with almond biscotti dipped in it was fantastic!

A fabulous wine-tasting and lunch at Tenuta Torciano  

After lunch we could have used a siesta, but it was time to drive to our next stop Volterra.  This is another walled city even older than San Gimignano.  It sits atop a high hill and excavations have found remnants of a neolitihic settlement predating even the Etruscan town of  Velathri.. In the Roman era it was occupied and after the decline of the Roman Empire it eventually came under the influence of the Florentines.  Once again we had too little time, but we now have another place to return to on our next visit to the area.

A municipal building in Volterra with many different shapes of windows reflective of the influence of surrounding towns and cities

Heliana provided us with so much information.  We learned a great deal about the history of the area of Tuscany in addition to its art and architecture.  I cannot recommend highly enough the value of someone with her knowledge guiding us on our visit. For example, as we sat in the Baptistery outside the Duomo in Volterra she explained the function of a baptistery to us.  In medieval times, people who were not baptized into the Catholic Church were not supposed to go into the church.  Hence, the Baptistery was apart from the church and after people were fully immersed and baptized they could go into the nearby church.  Baptisteries are usually octagonal because a circle is supposed to represent the perfection of God and an octagon is as close to a circle as one could get without being one.  Also, according to Scripture God created the heavens and the Earth in six days, rested on the seventh and on the eight humankind began their lives, another connection to the 8 - sided building where people were baptized and began their new lives.

After a too brief visit, we’re off to Civitavecchia and Rome tomorrow.  Ciao for now!