SAN GIMIGNANO

The City of the Beautiful Towers
20 km from our B. & B. Del Giglio visible even in the distance from our garden
It is one of the most characteristic medieval cities in Tuscany.
Splendid by day with its 13 towers currently visible, in square stone.
In the Middle Ages, this constructive module of “Tower House” applied to all houses, was the characteristic with its height that determined the “Socio-Economic Status” of the Owners, and of the Institutions.
Magical after sunset, where you can breathe an ancient atmosphere walking in the streets, in the small squares, under the monuments, without the hordes of hikers of the day.
Most important things to see:
Piazza della Cisterna – Piazza del Duomo – Duomo or Collegiata – Palazzo del Popolo – Torre Grossa (breathtaking view) and Civic Museum – Palazzo del Potestà – Museum of Sacred Art and Etruscan Museum – Church of Sant’Agostino – San Lorenzo in Ponte – La Rocca (panoramic view of the towers).

CERTALDO ALTA

City of Boccaccio
20 km from our B. & B. Del Giglio and only 10 km from S. Gimignano
A Fortified Castle in the early Middle Ages, today a Medieval Village that has maintained a magical and historic atmosphere. It is among the most particular and evocative villages of Tuscany.
It is the birthplace of the poet Giovanni Boccaccio, author of the Decameron.
It can be reached by car, motorcycle or bike to the historic center, or by funicular from Certaldo Bassa, or on foot from an ancient medieval road.
It is the orange flag of the Turing Club Italia, an award for places that offer a significant tourist-food-and-wine-cultural-environmental offer.
To visit: the Boccaccio House Museum, from which it is possible to enjoy breathtaking views, the Church of SS Michele and Jacopo where the remains of the Poet are located, the Palazzo Pretorio, an imposing palace symbol of the medieval town full of important works, but above all you can breathe an ancient atmosphere.

VOLTERRA

An Etruscan City
40 km from our B. & B. Del Giglio, in the same direction as San Gimignano
City of ancient Etruscan then Roman origins. Volterra is located on a plateau from which you can enjoy the beautiful 360 ° panoramas on the surrounding slopes, on the west-facing valley with its fields cultivated with wheat and in particular from the monastery of the Badia Camaldolese where you can enjoy the view of the typical “Balze” (Very pronounced soil erosion), assuming a very suggestive character.
The Historic Center, outlined by the walls in which an Etruscan / Roman Arch, is still open, whose road leads to the Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral, the Romanesque Baptistery, the Piazza dei Priori, dotted with medieval buildings, the Minucci-Solaini palace, the Pinacoteca and Civic Museum, ontinuing up to the famous Etruscan museum “Guarnacci” dwhere one of the most beautiful collections of Etruscan finds in the world are kept.
There are many beautiful and original works, but stands out above all “The shadow of the evening“ (name given by Gabriele D’Annunzio), a very thin and elongated bronze sculpture found in 1879 by a farmer and used by him as a poker for the fireplace for a long time, until someone recognized a masterpiece of Etruscan art.
Immediately next to the Old Town beyond the walls are the remains of the Theater of the 1st century BC
Most important things to see:
Piazza dei Priori – Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral – Romanesque Baptistery – “Etrusco Guarnacci“ museum – “Minucci-Solaini Pinacoteca and Civic Museum“ Palace. – Museum of Sacred Art in the Archbishop’s Palace.