It rises on the horizon like an apparition: San Gimignano, with its city walls and incredible towers as high as 50 metres tall. A gem of medieval art, lifestyle and culture, it has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site.

The history of San Gimignano dates back to the 3rd century B.C., in Etruscan times. In the medieval period, the village was one of the most important stops on the Via Francigena, a route also taken between 990 and 994 by Sigeric, the Archbishop of Canterbury, on his return journey from Rome to England. It was he who named the city San Gimignano in honour of the canonised Bishop of Modena who saved the city from the barbarian hordes. In 1199, San Gimignano became a free state, and this was its golden period. Commerce and art flourished, and the first towers were built.

The most ancient of these is the Podestà tower, known as La Rognosa, the highest is the Torre Grossa, standing at 54 metres. An edict of 1255 made this the maximum permitted height, a limit broken by the aristocratic Ardinghelli and Salvucci families. Everything remains exactly as in those times.