Journey to Tuscany : Fascinating San Gimignano

Hello, my dear Steemians :)

I was an exchange student in Italy for one semester. It was a one fine day in May 2017 when I got a chance to visit an ancient village not so far from Florence.

San Gimignano is a pretty medieval walled city in Tuscany, dominating the surrounding landscape. There’re 14 towers with various heights rising up like skyscrapers in the medieval age. The history of the city can be dated back to the 3rd century when it was established by the Etruscans. The Etruscans, known as pre-Roman civilization, were the first superpower of the Western Mediterranean who, alongside the Greeks, developed the earliest cities in Europe. In fact, many important cities in Modern Tuscany like Florence, Pisa, and Siena to name a few were first established by them. It was Etruscan that has a great influence on ancient Roman cultural and artistic traditions. Nevertheless, their civilization remains mysterious and enigmatic since none of their histories or literature survives.

During the Middle Ages, it served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling to or from Rome. Towers were a symbol of power because of the costs and hardships that their instruction involves such as mining, logistics so building a tower was very expensive activities. It is said that there used to have 72 tower-houses in the 13th century, one for each patrician family or upper middle-class merchants who were rich enough to build to show their wealth and prosper.

Completely mesmerized by its feudal atmosphere and appearance, especially in the evening when most of the tourist gradually disappeared from the site, at some moment, I was staring at the endless lyrical landscapes imagining I was a different person. At the same time, I was totally enchanted and somehow scared by the unknown empty corner and silence.

...Fascinating San Gimignano

Love,
Zawadi