{"id":2721,"date":"2026-05-07T03:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T01:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/la-bella-vita.club\/?p=2721"},"modified":"2026-05-08T10:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T08:48:12","slug":"manhattan-of-tuscany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/la-bella-vita.club\/en\/manhattan-of-tuscany\/","title":{"rendered":"San Gimignano in Tuscany: the Manhattan of the Middle Ages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo: Rosa Stone on Pexels.com<\/a><\/sup><\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On peak days, there are up to 20,000 tourists for just under 8,000 villagers: San Gimignano in Tuscany is known as the \"Manhattan of the Middle Ages\".\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the Middle Ages, there were more than 70 \"skyscrapers\" in San Gimignano; today, 13 still tower into the sky. Built back then because the inhabitants fought each other so often, the medieval towers now attract up to three million visitors a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 basic rules for not standing out in a restaurant in Italy<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Manhattan of Tuscany<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Today, the village is one of the hotspots in Tuscany
<\/em><\/strong>Photo by Siegfried Poepperl on Pexels.com<\/a><\/sup><\/sub><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Agriculture and trade made San Gimignano a prosperous town between 1000 and 1300. In particular, the valuable spice saffron and the Vernaccia wine varieties were cultivated, wool was traded and money was lent.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Profitable location on the pilgrimage route<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The development was supported by the special geographical location: the town was on the \"Via Francigena\", the pilgrimage route to Rome at the time. In addition, the route to the harbour of Pisa led via San Gimignano. Pilgrims and travellers stopped to rest, spend money and stock up on supplies. The town grew to 13,000 inhabitants. In 1199, San Gimignano declared its independence from the Bishop of Volterra and became a free municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family feuds in the Middle Ages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Life in the towers was dark
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Where there was a lot to earn, there was also a lot of strife: Family feuds dominated everyday life in the Middle Ages.\u00a0<\/strong>The supporters of the papacy, the Guelphs, fought with the supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Ghibellines. The former wanted more power for the pope, the latter more power for the emperor.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case of emergency, the rich aristocratic and merchant families built themselves so-called \"gender towers\" - the higher, the more powerful and wealthy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t