San Gimignano was founded as a small village in the 3rd century BC by the Etruscans. Historical records begin in the 10th century, when it adopted the name of the bishop Saint Geminianus, who had defended it from Attila's Huns.
In the Middle Ages and Renaissance era, it was a stopping point for Catholic pilgrims on their way to Rome and the Vatican, as it sits on the medieval Via Francigena. The city's development also was improved by the trade of agricultural products from the fertile neighbouring hills.
In 1199, during the period of its highest splendour, the city made itself independent from the bishops of Volterra. Divisions between Guelphs and Ghibellines troubled the inner life of the commune, which nonetheless, still managed to embellish itself with artworks and architectures.
Saint Fina, known also as Seraphina and Serafina, was a thirteenth century Italian saint born in San Gimignano during 1238. Since Saint Fina died on March 12, 1253 her feast day became March 12. Her major shrine is in San Gimignano and the house said to be her home still stands in the town.
On May 8, 1300, San Gimignano hosted Dante Alighieri in his role of ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano)
The story behind
the founding of San Gimignano has been lost in the mists
of time. Legend would attribute it to two young Roman
noblemen who were on the run after having been involved
in the Catalina conspiracy. In AD 63 the two brothers
Muzio and Silvio took refuge in Valdelsa and there built
two castles. One was named Mucchio and the other Silvia,
that became the first name of the future town of San
Gimignano. Round about the 10th century AD, the name of
the town changed to San Gimignano that was the name of a
Modenese bishop from the 5th century AD.
There is no doubt that the area of San Gimignano was
inhabited from pre-historical times. However, from
ancient Etruscan times onwards, traces of established
settlements are much more consistent. The notable
Pugiano scared area, situated in the unspoiled valleys
of the River Riguardi dates back to this time.
Traces of previous settlements from subsequent periods
are more substantial, particularly those from Greek
times. The discovery of tombs in the historic centre
would indicate that they probably lived on the same hill
as where San Gimignano was located. If the inhabitants
lived on the high ground during the Etruscan period, it
would seem that with Roman colonisation, they began to
show a preference for living on the valley floor,
specially near the water’s edge. It should be
remembered that riverbanks were frequently flanked by
roads. The Villa Romana di Chiusi is situated near the
River Fosci.
From the cluster of little rural villages from the
Etruscan and the Roman periods, gathered around the more
substantial Volterra, it changed towards the end of High
Mediaeval period to become the true heart of what is now
the Historic Centre.
In 998, San Gimignano was still a village on the edges
of Francigena. This was politically the fief of the
bishop of Volterra who resided in a castle situated in
Poggio della Torre. This castle now serves as a prison.
San Gimignano began to grow in the Low Mediaeval period
when it found itself in a geographically strategically
important position. The city that was boundaried by the
first ring of defensive walls and the surrounding hills
on the Francigena Way was becoming a frequent halt for
the many travellers along this road. Francigena,
originally opened by the Lombards became, during the
High Mediaeval period, the route for pilgrims travelling
towards Rome. This applied particularly to the French.
In 1199, the city that had grown considerably by this
stage, was declared a free commune and was ruled by
Consuls and then by a Magistrate who was replaced every
so often. The Magistrate, for reasons of impartiality,
was always an outsider and held the position for six
months at a time. The commune of San Gimignano, like
many other neighbouring communes, was involved in the
conflicts between the Guelfs that had the backing of the
Pope and the Ghibellines who were on the side of the
Emperor. Although she maintained her independence at
great cost, in 1354, San Gimignano accepted the dominion
of Florence. From that moment on, she lived under the
shadow of the Tuscan capital. The Black Death wrought
havoc upon the city and only added to the period of
decline the city was already suffering. The plague had
terrible consequences on both the population and the
economy. In the 17th century, the city became a part of
the Medici realm.
(from : http://www.sitiunesco.it/index.phtml?id=654
)
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Guest
House in San Gimignano
Casa
Aladina di Bettini Aladina
0577
940431 - 349 4467492
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| OLIVE
HARVEST & OLIVE OIL
Tuscany
is well-known troughout the world as one of the most
important area for the olive oil production. The
varieties of olives trees in 
this region are: up to 90% of Frantoio variety & up
to 20% the Leccino variety with lower percentages
of Pendolino and Moraiolo varieties. The olives are
harvested & pressed from second half of October to
the first half of December, picked by hand and collected
in special boxes for a maximum of 2 days between
harvesting and processing. The olives are pressed in
crushers with grindstones and there is no filtering to
keep the flavour: this method is called Cold Press. This
method keep the oil acidity at very low level. The
aroma and intense olive fruity taste accompanied by
scent of almond, artichoke and chooped herbs draw the
fruit flavour with its freshness and are associated with
bitter and chilly notes that are typical of the Tuscan
extra-vergin olive oil. QUALITY & TYPICALITY: in
addition to fixing the standards and methods of
cultivation, extraction and bottling of Tuscan
extra-virgin oil, the Production Regulations
individualise the necessarily regional ORIGIN of the
product and the features of QUALITY (chemical/physical
parameters) and TYPICALITY(organoleptic parameters) that
have to mark out the Tuscan I.G.P.(protected
geographical indication) extravirgin olive oil.
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TRUFFLES
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| On
the 1st November, Villa Cafaggiolo (Florence province)
hosted an important international event: THE
INTERNATIONAL AUCTION OF THE WHITE TRUFFLE. My
federation of Sommeliers was present at the event , and
so do I... Our job that night was to present at a wine
tasting, before the auction, some of the main Tuscan
wines: wonderful wines, precious truffles dishes and a
lot of work (for us). The biggest white truffle was sold
to an American (I cannot remember if in Santa
Monica or New York) the weight 700 Hg for 35.000 Us $!
(Carla) |
 "For
more than 2 thousand years we have been wondering what
exactly, a truffle is, but there has never been a
definitive answer.... The white truffle is a
subterranean fungus belonging to the ascomycetes family,
which lives near the roots of forest plants to wich it
is joined by a tight network of mycelium hyphae, so thin
they are practically invisible. The shape of the white
truffle is higly variable, as is its size. Generally
this fungus has a more or less regular, globular shape
in which one can distinguish an external part salled the
peridium that also serves as a protective shild for the
internal part, called the gleba, which is the real pulp
that contains the reproductive organs of the fungus. The
truffle can have the size of a hazelnut to that of
a melon -in exceptional cases-, with most about the size
of a large walnut."(Prof: A.Tocci) |
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