Eventually, we said goodbye to the wonderful city of Florence as we began the second phase of our Italian adventure. A friend from California would be joining us on this occasion and we were looking forward to seeing him again. He was flying into Pisa via London Heathrow and we had agreed to pick him up at that airport and then drive together to San Gimignano. So, we first took a taxi to the Florence Airport in order to secure a rental car. As usual when traveling overseas, our cellar data connections were turned off to avoid any roaming charges on our mobile phones. Of course, that meant the GPS functions might be unreliable and so just to be safe, I inquired at the rental desk for directions to the Pisa Airport. I was told, “Make the second right leaving the airport, cross the railroad tracks, pass the large warehouse on your left and connect to the highway towards Pisa.” When questioned for the highway route number, the clerk responded, “There is no route number, just follow directions.” So, we did exactly as instructed and, sure enough, soon found ourselves on the road to the Pisa Airport. The travel gods were looking out for us that day as we made it in about an hour. Our friend’s British Airways flight was on time as well and before too long, we were all en route to San Gimignano.
Our rental apartment was literally in the center of town and, although autos are frowned upon in most of San Gimignano, we were permitted to drive up to the building in order to unload our luggage. Once that task was completed, we moved our vehicle to our assigned parking garage several blocks down the hill near the town’s entrance. The apartment was three flights up, but well worth the trip! It was warmly furnished with a multitude of bedrooms, baths and a well-equipped kitchen. We overlooked the center of town with a beautiful and memorable view that never got old. The center of town seen from our windows was the Piazza della Cisterna, named for the cistern served by the old well standing in the center of that square. It’s a cultural site of exceptional value and the buildings provided a shining example of medieval architecture dating from the Twelfth to the Fourteenth Centuries.
San Gimignano’s “skyline” consists of medieval towers and it’s the epitome of a Tuscan hill town. Though the towers are a rather unique sight today, they were the norm in Tuscany in the Middle Ages and 14 of those original 72 towers still stand. They certainly add to the charm of the town, which also boasts any number of good restaurants that offered us multiple opportunities to sample typical Tuscan home cooking. Cinghiale (wild boar) is plentiful and made into stews, soups, and salami. The area is also well-known for producing some of the best saffron in Italy and we found the spice used as a flavoring in meals at the finer restaurants and for sale in several shops. Although Tuscany is normally a red-wine region, the area’s most famous and arguably greatest white wine comes from here: the inexpensive, light, and fruity Vernaccia di San Gimignano. We came to enjoy this golden-hued, beautifully aromatic and sumptuously dry white wine. Interestingly enough, we also became short-lived fans of Grappa, the Italian liqueur. This grape-based brandy goes by the nickname "firewater," as it's got more of a bite than one might first expect! The historic center of San Gimignano was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990 and after our evening dinners, when most tourists had departed, the empty streets with centuries of history were ours to savor while walking back to our apartment at day's end.
Our first road trip was to the historic city of Pisa, the relatively quiet, provincial university town renowned for its art and architectural treasures. The city‘s distinguished above all by a remarkable group of buildings in the Piazza del Duomo, the so-called Square of Miracles, located at the northwestern end of the medieval walled city. This piazza contains the cathedral, or Duomo; and the famous bell tower known the world over as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It’s quite the sight to see and has an intriguing history. Construction on the bell tower began in 1173 as the third and final structure of the cathedral complex. It was designed to stand 185 feet tall and three of its eight stories had been completed when the uneven settling of the building’s foundations in the soft ground first became noticeable. By 1990, the tower was leaning at 5.5 degrees and was in danger of collapse. It was then closed and all the bells silenced as engineers undertook a major straightening project. Earth was siphoned from underneath the foundations, decreasing the lean by 17 inches. The work was completed in 2001 and the tower was reopened to visitors. It continued to straighten without further excavation, until in May 2008, sensors showed that the motion had finally stopped, at a total improvement of 19 inches. In terms of angles, the bell tower now leans at just 3.99 degrees and engineers expect it to remain stable for at least the next 200 years. We marked our visit just like most tourists by taking any number of photos depicting each of us "holding up" the tower with broad smiles on our faces.
Another noteworthy medieval city we visited was nearby Siena, which also carries a UNESCO listed historic center. Stretched across a Tuscan hill, this town evoked a feeling of being in an architectural time warp with the present feeling like the past. Piazza del Campo is the central meeting point of Siena and, if it’s the heart of town, the cathedral is its soul. Sitting atop Siena's highest point and visible for miles around, this white and dark-green striped Gothic church features an abundance of statues and mosaics, including the heads of 172 popes which peered down on us as we entered. Great art, including Michelangelo statues and Bernini sculptures, filled the church’s interior. Hiding between the Duomo and the piazza are intriguing back streets, lined with colorful flags and studded with iron rings for tethering horses. Those flags represent the city's contrade (neighborhood associations), whose fierce loyalties are on vivid display twice each summer during the Pali, a wild bareback horse race around the Piazza del Campo, which is held on July 2 and August 16 every year. As we wandered about, we found a number of Sienese specialties in the shops along the way, such as gourmet pasta, vintage Chianti, boar prosciutto and extra virgin olive oil. All that food made us hungry as it was soon time for lunch. We discovered a small restaurant entered by walking down the steps of a building lining the piazza and savored a wonderful Italian pizza!
A word about driving in Italy - it’s not for the feint of heart. The Italians may have given the world the Ferrari, but surveys rate them as some of Europe's scariest drivers. The problem? A blatant disregard for the rules. They switch lanes hastily, blast their horns, stop for a chat with other drivers, and anything goes when it comes to parking. In fact, their recklessness makes fellow Europeans fume as 38 percent of 10,000 questioned in a recent survey described Italians as dangerous drivers. And Italians themselves didn't argue with that depiction, with 58 percent of them agreeing. At peak times, we found that driving in Italy could be absolute bedlam. Whether they were whizzing along cliff-top roads or free-styling on a scooter in a traffic-clogged city, Italians' bad driving seemed to come down to a belief that the rules weren’t meant for them. We managed to avoid any mishaps by remaining vigilant at all times and paying particular attention to traffic signals and road signs.
One of our final excursions from San Gimignano was a fifty-minute trip northeast to the town of Greve in Chianti. Greve's history is connected to the beautiful Castle of Montefioralle and I would love to tell you about our visit there, but the truth is we never made it. While the town is roughly thirty miles from where we were staying, we didn’t start our journey that day until late morning. On arrival, we could see portions of the town atop a hill close to our municipal car park and took the steps up towards “civilization.” When we arrived, there was no one to be seen on the streets. The town was eerily empty at the noon hour and for a moment, I thought we’d entered “The Twilight Zone.” Suddenly, we walked by a restaurant and although it appeared darkened, I tried the door and it opened. Walking inside, we noticed a lighted area towards the back and as we made our way there, the sound of voices grew louder and we soon found ourselves on a terrace overlooking a very beautiful valley displaying a gorgeous Tuscan landscape. The terrace was filled with folks laughing, drinking and enjoying their lunches. We made a wonderful afternoon out of it, laughing, drinking and enjoying our lunches, all the while making new friends and marveling at the gorgeous vista below.
That luncheon in Greve was a fine example of life in Tuscany; it was relaxed and carefree, punctuated by lovely scenery enjoyed amidst those with a zest for life. It’s no wonder everyone loves Italy. After that visit, we can’t wait to return.
Until next time…safe travels.
A great story about the lunch in Greve - holidays should be all about relaxing and enjoying yourself - unlike driving in Italy!!!