San Gimignano and Volterra

It's our last day in Tuscany.  We decided to spend part of it visiting two more hill towns towards the southern part of Tuscany -- San Gimignano and Volterra.  San Gimignano is the more accessible of the two and a bit more touristy.  It's closer to Siena and gets more group tour bus traffic.  Volterra is a little larger and seemed more authentic, with more locals and fewer tourists -- at least to our eyes.

Duomo and Medieval Tower
in San Gimignano

Besides its general Tuscan hill town charm, San Gimignano is also known for the 14 medieval towers still standing out of an original 72.  These towers were used to as a refuge and protection from invaders -- families would retreat into the towers and pull up the ladders preventing barbarians from reaching them.  We arrived a little before 10 just as the shops were opening and the Town was beginning to wake up.  We strolled the main drag and every other shop catered to tourists and it was hard to get a feel for how the locals lived.  Not long after the buses began arriving which you could tell by the sudden influx of people.  Visually, San Gimignano is very picturesque and the views of the surrounding countryside are fabulous, but after about an hour or so, we felt like we had seen all we needed to see and decided to move on to Volterra.

Etruscan Arch in Volterra

Volterra is about 30 minutes from San Gimignano.  It was an important Etruscan city its day, pre-dating the Roman empire.  It retains an original Etruscan arch dating to fourth century B.C. that is still used as an entrance through the walls surrounding the town.  Alabaster is prominent in this part of Italy and Volterra has lots of craftsmen and artists.  As we walked its streets, we passed the bank, multiple markets, and other shops that cater to the residents.  I definitely felt more like we were visiting a real, living community as compared to a well-preserved tourist stop.  Volterra was just as picturesque with equally fabulous view of the surrounding countryside.  Unfortunately, the last few days have turned quite hot and hazy so the photos of the countryside don't really do it justice.  I can only imagine what it would look like on a clear day.

Hazy View from San Gimignano