San Gimignano

This is one of my favorite places - the town of fine towers. The towers, though plain, were once a sign of wealth and power, higher signifying more of each. At one point, apparently, the town administration passed a law limiting the height of each tower. One wealthy citizen, determined to demonstrate the level of his wealth circumvented the law by building two towers each reaching the maximum allowable height.
If you have seen the movie, "Tea with Mussolini" you may recognize that quite a bit of it took place in San Gimignano.

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Pienza

Pienza (pop 2200) example of early renaissance town planning initiated by Pope Pius 2 when he decided to "upgrade" his home town. (These blog entries contain some repetition from entries in October postings - sorry about that.) He commissioned the building of a cathedral and a "palace" for his own use - the Palazzo Piccolomini - on two sides of the town Piazza Pio II. There was little space for the architect to use and the Pope was in a hurry, all of which seems to have contributed to inadequate structural support for the cathedral as the transept and apse are now sinking producing large cracks throughout the front of the church.
There are three collections of photos here (one outside and one inside the cathedral and palazzo) and a third of photos from in Pienza and some views from the overlook areas.
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Abbeys San Galgano and Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Abbey San Galgano, it is said, was once one of the finest 13th century Gothic buildings in Tuscany. Nearby is the Capella di Monte, the site of the original Cistercian settlement from which came the impulse to build the great Abbey now named in honor of San Galgano. San Galgano was a soldier come saint, who, allegedly, had a vision of St. Michael on this site. In renouncing his worldly life, he apparently plunged his sword into a rock and rock with embedded sword remain there on display. The Abbey, though originally home to quite powerful monks, had a relatively short life span and has been in ruins since the 16th century.

Abbey Monte Oliveto Maggiore is a 14th century renaissance structure with a baroque interior. One interior wall is lined with frescoes illustrating events in the life of St. Benedict whose philosophy, some say, is the basis for the philosophy of the Benedictine monks. This Abbey is still a retreat for 40 monks whose dining area is shown in the photo top right.

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The Abbey Sant Antimo in Tuscany

Three collections of photos from Abbey Sant Antimo, one set outside the Abbey and one inside. The third group of photos shows the variety of fascinating small sculpted figures which are in place in many areas around the outside of the Abbey buildings. If you look closely at one of the earlier Sant Antimo figures you might see a couple of these in place.

Many of these sculptures were brought here from ruins in the region - examples of medieval recycling!


This is an active Abbey and if one arrives early enough in the morning it is possible to hear the monks singing Gregorian Chant. Unfortunately, we didn't get there in time.
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Gates to Hilltowns of Tuscany and Umbria

This is a collection of photos of gates into the walled towns of (top left to right) San Gimignano (2), Monte Oliveto Maggiore, (left centre) Montefalco, (bottom, left to right) Volterra, Assisi and Pienza. Click on the image to enlarge it.
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Doors and other portals Tuscany and Umbria

Collages of doors and other portals in Tuscany and Umbria.
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