While Italy, Europe and the world’s financial system have been sliding ever closer to disaster, I’ve been very busy  taking advantage of the glorious autumn weather to catch catch up with work in the garden at Ca’ di Bracco, our Tuscany Umbria Holiday Villa and picking olives at another Tuscany Umbria Villa, Casa Degli Ulivi and updating the walks in my book, Circular Walks On The Tuscany Umbria Border, which will soon be appearing as an e book on the Kindle Store . This means I’ve been quite slack in writing up this and several other blog posts which will hopefully be appearing soon.

Onions At The Montone Festa del Bosco, Umbria

The end of October means that it is time for one of my favourite festivals in Umbria, the Montone Festa del Bosco (woodland festival). As this festa is always well attended and Montone is a small hilltop village with a limited capacity for crowds, I usually find it best to go around lunchtime before the town gets swamped with visitors.

Woodland Produce At The Montone Festa del Bosco, Umbria

Many houses in old Italian towns have a cantina, or cellar on the ground floor, this one selling autumn produce had been decorated beautifully and was drawing in the passers by.

Pecorino Cheeses At The Montone Festa del Bosco, Umbria

The hilly countryside around Montone is ideal for grazing sheep and there are several pecorino cheese producers in the area.

Hand Made Chocolate From Gubbio At The Montone Festa del Bosco, Umbria

Of interest to everyone was the chocolate stall from Gubbio, the stall holders were handing out samples, knowing that most people (including us) who tried their delicious produce would be tempted to buy some.

Basket Stall At The Montone Festa del Bosco, Umbria

If you are in need of a basket for wild mushroom hunting or to bring in logs for the wood burner on chilly autumn evenings, the Montone Festa del Bosco is the place to come.

Piazza Fortebraccio, Montone Festa del Bosco, Umbria

There is always something going on at the Montone Festa del Bosco, marching bands and children’s entertainers can be found in the main square, Piazza Fortebraccio.

View From The Walls Of Montone, Umbria

Montone’s hill top position means that you are never far away from a stunning view across the Umbrian countryside.

Piazza Fortebraccio Montone, Umbria

The bright autumn sunshine might fall on Piazza Fortebraccio, but always take something warm to wear, the sun’s warmth finds it hard to penetrate the narrow medieval streets of Montone.

Autumn Vegetables, Montone Festa del Bosco, Umbria

We stocked up on honey and some very effective cough mixture from this beekeeper based in nearby Verna.

Honey Stall, Montone Festa del Bosco, Umbria

I’ve read that the dry autumn has been bad for Italian truffles, there didn’t seem to be a problem with the size of these expensive white truffles.

White Truffles, Montone Festa del Bosco, Umbria

If you are staying on the Tuscany Umbria border it late October , I thoroughly recommend a visit to Montone’s Festa del Bosco. If you are looking for vacation accommodation, Gorgacce Rentals have a great selection of Tuscany & Umbria Holiday Rental Villas in this beautiful part of central Italy.

Autumn is upon us at that means it’s time for the Preggio Castagna Festival, last weekend we drove up to this picturesque hilltop village high above the Niccone Valley to attend this annual event.

Poster For The 44th Sagra Della Castagna, Preggio, Umbria

Preggio is over 600m in altitude and by mid October it can start to get quite chilly in the evenings.

Enjoying A Porchetta Roll At The Preggio Chestnut Festival, Umbria

True to form, there was a biting easterly wind and we were glad of the wooly hats and coats that we had brought with us. On arrival we headed straight for the castagna stall and bought paper cones filled with freshly roasted chestnuts.

Roasting Chestnuts At The Preggio Castagna Festival, Umbria

Once everyone had arrived, we looked for somewhere to eat. Many of the residents of Preggio open their ground floor cellars to the public and open temporary tavernas, the biting wind meant these were already packed out and we settled for a meal in a tent next to the church.

At The Preggio Chestnut Festival, Umbria

The food was tasty, traditional Umbrian bruschette, Umbrian Wild Mushroom lasagna and Porchetta rolls, all washed down with a bottle of red from the local Pucciarella Winery.

Wild Mushroom Lasagna At The Preggio Sagra Della Castagna, Umbria

While we ate, a band called La Bandaccia came over to entertain us.

La Bandaccia, Musical Entertainment At The Preggio Sagra Della Castagna, Umbria

After a few more chestnuts it was time to head home to Ca’ di Bracco, our Villa On The Tuscany Umbria Border.

The Preggio Sagra della Castagna is one of many local festivals held on the Tuscany Umbria border. This beautiful part of central Italy makes an ideal location for a holiday, the area has astounding landscapes of wooded hillsides, olive groves and vineyards dotted with hilltop villages and castles. For art lovers Renaissance masterpieces are all around and for those who like their food and drink, there is the wonderful local cuisine, wine, olive oil. Throw in the mainly sunny climate and the fact that most of Umbria and much of Tuscany is within easy reach and you have the perfect recipe for an amazing vacation.

Look at Gorgacce Rentals Tuscany & Umbria Villas for self catering holiday accommodation on the Tuscany Umbria border.

On Tuesday last week we visited the Cantina Fratelli Pardi, a winery near the town of Montefalco in Umbria. Afterwards we walked up into this pleasant hilltop town for lunch at the Coccorone Restaurant.

Lunch On The Terrace, Coccorone Restaurant, Montefalco, Umbria

The restaurant was one of several recommended to us by Roberto Pardi, a member of the Pardi family that owns the winery.

Crostini Misti, Coccorone Restaurant, Montefalco, Umbria

We decided that it was still warm enough to sit outside on the terrace, the waiter offered us thick Chiannina Steak cooked over the open fire inside the restaurant, whilst this sounded very tempting, especially if we’d chosen a bottle of Sagrantino from the wine list to accompany it, we decided to choose an antipasto and a primi each. As we had already been tasting wines at three wineries that morning, we felt that no more wine was necessary! I chose crostini misti, toasted bread with traditional toppings of tomato, chicken liver and peppery olive oil.

Crostini With Truffle Paste & Prosciutto Crudo, Coccorone Restaurant, Montefalco, Umbria

The others had prosciuto crudo and crostini with a truffle topping.

Papperdelle With Funghi In Sagrantino Sauce, Coccorone Restaurant, Montefalco, Umbria

My pasta course was delicious, papperdelle served in a rich sauce of Sagrantino wine and fungi porcini, I would recommend this to anyone at this restaurant.

Strangozzi With Pesto, Coccorone Restaurant, Montefalco, Umbria

The others had pesto, I think made with rocket rather than basil and pici (a thick spaghetti) with ragu.

Outside The Coccorone Restaurant, Montefalco, Umbria

This was a really good lunch, I definitely recommend a meal at the Coccorone Restaurant if you are in Montefalco.

Inside The Coccorone Restaurant, Montefalco, Umbria

The meal cost €65, this included three antipasti, three primi, a bottle of water and coffee. The Coccorone Restaurant is well sign posted from the main piazza in Montefalco. To contact the Coccorone Restaurant email info@coccorone.com or telephone +39 0742 379535.

Afterwards we saw Benozzo Gozzoli’s Life Of St Francis Frescoes in Montefalco.

Montefalco is around an hour’s drive from most of Gorgacce Rentals’ villas on the Tuscany Umbria border. Renting a villa on the beautiful Tuscany Umbria border puts you in a perfect position to easily visit much of Umbria and a large part of Tuscany. Have a look at our Tuscany Umbria Holiday Rental Villas, most have swimming pools and we have villas to suit most budgets.

Two days ago we headed down to the Umbrian town of Montefalco, famous for its Sagrantino wines, to visit the Pardi Cantina.

Sagrantino Vines Near Montefalco At The Pardi Winery, Umbria

Located a short walk from the town walls, the Pardi winery has the highest vineyard in the Montefalco wine area. In total there are 10 hectares of vineyards belonging to the Pardi winery but not all are so close to the town or the winery. I had spoken to Roberto Pardi the day before to arrange our visit, Roberto was very welcoming and took us on a tour of the cellar and vineyard.

Roberto Pardi In The Cellar, Cantina Fratelli Pardi, Montefalco, Umbria

The vineyard had stainless steel fermenting vats and mainly larger Slavonian oak barrels for ageing, I think he told us that the smaller barriques are used only for the sweet Sagrantino as it is made in small quantities and the already tannic qualities of the Sagrantino grape meant that they preferred the gentler tannins of the large oak barrels for their wines.

Stainless Steel Vats, Cantina Fratelli Pardi, Montefalco, Umbria

Until recently I was under the impression that the large barrels were made from Slovenian oak, but listening to a Croatian wine merchant on the UK Wine Show podcast, I learnt that Slavonia is a region of Croatia and the oak actually comes from there rather than Slovenia. Roberto explained that in the past, most Sagrantino wine was sweet wine, made from air dried grapes (passito), and this was how his grandfather always made it for family consumption before they became commercial winemakers.

A 1968 Bottle Of "Sacrantino" From the Pardi Cantina, Montefalco, Umbria

These days most passito Sagrantino wines are sold in half bottles but he showed us a 1968 full sized bottle of passito, interestingly, it was called called Sacrantino (the implication being that the grape was sacred), when the DOCG was established the grape became the more secular sounding Sagrantino.

Pushing The Grape Skins Back Into The Must, At The Pardi Canti, Montefalco, Umbria

Because the 10 hectares of Pardi vineyards are spread around the Montefalco region, most of the wines are made from a blend of grapes from different vineyards, there was, however, a small vat fermenting an experimental single vineyard batch of Sagrantino called “Casale” (Farmhouse). I had a go at pushing the skins back into the fermenting juice, something I have talked about on my Umbrian Winery Tour but never actually tried.

Grape Skins Awaiting Collection By The "Grappa Man", Pardi Canti, Montefalco, Umbria

Exiting the back of the cantina led out into the vineyard, there were piles of grape skins waiting for the “grappa man” to take them away and rectangular bales of grape stalks that will be spread in the vineyard over the winter as compost.

Grape Stalks, Pardi Canti, Montefalco, Umbria

The vineyard at the back of the cantina also produces a single wine, the Sagrantino Passito. This is because the grape skins must be intact for successful air drying, in order to avoid skin breakages the harvesting must be done carefully by hand and then transport distances must be kept to a minimum, if the other vineyards were used for the passito wine, there would be much more damage to the skins.

In The Vineyard, Cantina Fratelli Pardi, Montefalco, Umbria

This summer has been exceptionally warm and dry and as a result the yield in the vineyard is lower, in addition, because of the orientation of some of the vines, on one side the bunches have “cooked” in the sun and are not suitable for a premium wine such as Montefalco Passito, as a result, this year the Pardi Cantina will make 800 half bottles of Sagrantino Passito rather than 3000.

Sagrantino Grapes Undergoing Air-drying, Pardi Winery, Montefalco, Umbria

Next Roberto took us to the building where the passito grapes are air dried. Laid out on bamboo matting, the grapes slowly desiccate, in December they will be fermented and released on the market in 2015 after barrel aging and storage in the bottle.

Sagrantino Grapes Undergoing The "Passito" Process Of Drying, Pardi Winery, Montefalco, Umbria

As well as not breaking the skins it is important that the grapes are absolutely dry when the harvest takes place.

Wine Tasting At The Pardi Winery, Montefalco, Umbria

We wandered back to the tasting room for the most important part of the visit, tasting the wines. We tried a very pleasant white made from Grechetto, Trebbiano Spoletino and Chardonnay that sold for €6 but Roberto was keen to stress that the vineyard should really be judged on its reds, as this is what Montefalco wines are famous for. The first was the elegant Montefalco Rosso, a blend of Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Merlot and Cabernnet Sauvignon. It had aromas of plums and earthy oak, in the summer I had tried a bottle of this directly against Colpetrone’s Montefalco Rosso, a wine I rate highly for the price, in the direct comparison I decided that Pardi’s Montefalco Rosso was the one I preferred.

Wine Tasting At The Pardi Winery, Montefalco, Umbria

Next we tried two intense Sagrantinos from 2006 and 2007, the 2006 was ready to drink but the 2007 could have aged a little longer, Roberto thought it would be the better vintage in four year’s time because the powerful tannin and acidity would allow it to age better. However, for instant drinking, the 2006 is the one to buy! Finally we tried the passito, beautiful rich flavours with a sweetness that was just right for my palate and at the end a typical hit of Sagrantino tannin. One of our group bought several bottles and planned to drink it with roast lamb (a recommendation from Roberto), this might sound unusual but think of roast lamb and redcurrant sauce.

Outside The Pardi Winery, Montefalco, Umbria

Our visit to the Pardi Cantina completed, we strolled up into Montefalco for a delicious lunch at the Coccorone Restaurant, despite being mid October, it was still warm enough to sit outside for lunch. Afterwards we went to Montefalco’s museum and admired Benozzo Gozzoli’s Life Of St. Francis Frescoes. Earlier in the day we had visited the Di Filippo & Dionigi wineries.

You can visit wineries in the Montefalco wine making area when you stay on the beautiful Tuscany Umbria border. Gorgacce Rentals have a great selection of Tuscany & Umbria Holiday Rental Villas in this beautiful part of central Italy.

A couple of weeks ago I took my Dad and his friend Jenny on the short version of my Etruscan Tomb Walk.

Signs On The Etruscan Tomb Walk Near The Tuscany Umbria Border

If you are a regular reader of the About Tuscany & Umbria Blog, you will be aware that I am in the process of updating my book, Circular Walks On The Tuscany Umbria Border which I plan to publish on the Kindle Store.

Etruscan Tomb Near The Tuscany Umbria Border

Apart from a short but steep climb up to the tomb itself, the walk is relatively easy and takes around two hours, my father turned eighty this year and although still active I didn’t want to take him on one of my really long walks such as the Long Gubbio Walk.

View On The Etruscan Tomb Walk Near The Tuscany Umbria Border

It turned out to be an ideal walk, just long and challenging enough to feel like we had really done some exercise but not so far that we felt exhausted at the end.

View Of Monte Tezio On The Etruscan Tomb Walk Near The Tuscany Umbria Border

Along the way there were some really lovely views, including vistas of Monte Acuto and Monte Tezio, local mountains that you can climb using routes in my book.

View Of Monte Acuto On The Etruscan Tomb Walk Near The Tuscany Umbria Border

As well as the Etruscan Tomb, there is an empty castle in a panoramic spot with views across to the Apennines.

Empty Castle On The Etruscan Tomb Walk Near The Tuscany Umbria Border

There are a few houses along the way, olive groves and grazing horses.

Ripening Olives On The Etruscan Tomb Walk Near The Tuscany Umbria Border

If you stay on the Tuscany Umbria border you can go on the Etruscan Tomb Walk, Gorgacce Rentals have a wide selection of Tuscany & Umbria Villas in this stunning past of central Italy, have a look at our website for large Tuscany Umbria Holiday Rental Villas and smaller Villas In Tuscany & Umbria.

Each September, our local town of Umbertide holds a four day festival of the 1800′s.

Taverna In Piazza San Francesco, Umbertide, Festa dell'Ottocento

Many people dress up in period costume and there are tavernas run by groups such as the brigands or Garibaldi’s Red Shirts. We went along for two out of the four nights of the festa and had a great time on both evenings. It’s a little bit late to be writing this up, but hey, I’ve been busy!

At The Circus, Umbertide, Festa dell'Ottocento

On the first evening we ate at the brigands’ tavern, some of the food here was slightly too genuine for our tastes, I had a stew made with offal and very heavy on the liver along with a dish of cannelloni beans cooked with thick pieces of pork skin, whilst quite tasty, it made me glad I wasn’t a real brigand eating this every night. Afterwards we saw that a small circus had set up in the new piazza below the Rocca, Umbertide’s tall castle tower. The circus acts were very entertaining, deliberately sending themselves up and managing some impressive juggling in between. On the way back to the car we passed a saxophone quartet playing “Fur Elise”.

Saxophone Quartet, Umbertide, Festa dell'Ottocento

On the Saturday night we ate at the Red Shirts’ taverna before going to a Parisian style cafe selling absinthe.

Dining At The Red Shirts' Taverna, Umbertide, Festa dell'Ottocento

We spent the rest of the evening here watching a dance performance and a fantastic magic show, fortunately  for me, Emma was driving, perhaps judging by the dazed feeling I suffered from the next day I wasn’t so lucky!

Magic Show In Umbertide at The Festa dell'Ottocento

The Festa dell’Ottocento has so much going on that it is impossible to see everything, however, one thing you won’t escape from are the loud bangs let off by the Red Shirts, the brigands and the Italian army of the 1800′s!

Parisian Cafe In Umbertide at The Festa dell'Ottocento

You can go to Umbertide’s Festa dell’Ottocento when you stay at one of Gorgacce Rental’s Tuscany & Umbria Holiday Rental Villas. The stunning landscape of the Tuscany Umbria border is dotted with hill top villages and castles set against a backdrop of wooded hills, olive groves, vineyards and Lake Trasimeno, Italy’s fourth largest lake.

Last week we went for an early evening walk on Monte Ginezzo, a beautiful walk with panoramic views of Tuscany and Umbria as well as Lake Trasimeno.

Climb At The Start Of The Monte Ginezzo Walk, Tuscany Umbria Border

Although not particularly long and it is, in general, an easy walk, it starts with a stiff climb.

View At The Start Of The Monte Ginezzo Walk, Tuscany Umbria Border

As you climb, the views get better and better.

View On The Monte Ginezzo Walk, Tuscany Umbria Border

The furthest point of this circular walk is an observation tower on top of Monte Ginezzo.

View From The Observation Tower, Monte Ginezzo Walk, Tuscany Umbria Border

The views up here are astounding.

View From The Observation Tower, Monte Ginezzo Walk, Tuscany Umbria Border

If you follow the Pierle Walk in my book, Circular Walks On The Tuscany Umbria Border, you will also get to the top of Monte Ginezzo.

CAI Marker, Monte Ginezzo Walk, Tuscany Umbria Border

However, but instead of starting in the village of Pierle in the Niccone Valley, the Monte Ginezzo route starts in the hills behind Cortona.

Lake Trasimeno View On The Monte Ginezzo Walk, Tuscany Umbria Border

Because it is reasonably short, this is a great walk to do with children.

Puddle, Monte Ginezzo Walk, Tuscany Umbria Border

If you rent a holiday villa on the beautiful Tuscany Umbria border you can go on the Monte Ginezzo Walk. Look at Gorgacce Rentals Tuscany & Umbria Villas, they have a great selection of vacation farmhouses and holiday villas in this beautiful part of Italy.

I have currently have three walks in the hills behind the Umbrian town of Gubbio and this is by far, the longest.

A View Near The Start Of The Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

I’m updating all the walks in my book, Circular Walks on the Tuscany Umbria Border and will soon be launching an e-book version on the Kindle Store.

Wood Cutting On The Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

In the second week of September I went over the route of the longest Gubbio walk, it has some stunning scenery but is only suitable if you are reasonably fit.

Farmhouse With Geese On The Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

This summer has proved to be long and hot, today is the 1st of October and the temperature is still in the high twenties (Centigrade), in early September it was getting into the thirties, but, because this walk is mainly at altitudes of 600-900 metres and there was a little cloud cover, it remained cool enough to walk.

Empty Farmhouse On The Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

If you attempt it, make sure you take plenty of water, something to eat and set out with plenty of spare time. My old instructions were almost up to date apart from a new junction near the end that could lead to some confusion.

Track On The Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

I ran the Florence Marathon last year and run every day but I still felt tired at the end of this five and a half hour walk!

View Towards The Appenines, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

This walk is also tough because it starts at the highest point with the lowest point just over halfway around, although there is only one really steep bit, the uphill return slowly wears you out.

Because Of The Dry Summer, The Leaves Were Already Changing Colour, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

There are several abandoned houses along the way and one or two working farmhouses and holiday apartments.

Ruined House, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

The views on this walk are incredible, no matter where you are on the route, a beautiful view awaits to keep you going.

Rocky Leads The Way, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

At times, the route takes you through shady oak woods.

Through The Oak Woods, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria, Italy

At other times the views are wide open.

More Appenine Views, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria

These brightly coloured rose hips were a sign that summer would soon be over.

Rosehips, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria

Just before the river crossing at the lowest point on the walk, I passed these cows.

Cows With An Appenine Backdrop, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria

At the end of a long, dry summer, this sheep pasture was looking bare.

Dry Late Summer Landscape, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria

There are more ruined houses before the end of the walk.

Another Ruined House, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria

At times the landscape takes on a lunar appearance.

Rocky Landscape, Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria

On the penultimate stretch there are some more fantastic views before heading back into the woods.

A View On The Gubbio Long Walk, Umbria

You can go on my Gubbio Long Walk when you stay in one of Gorgacce Rentals’ Tuscany & Umbria Holiday Villas. Most of our holiday villas are in the beautiful Niccone Valley, right on the Tuscany Umbria border, although we also have villas near Cortona and Lake Trasimeno.

San Gimignano is a hugely popular tourist destination and so I was pleased with the meal we had at La Mangiatoia, restaurants with a high proportion of passing clientele don’t have much incentive to produce great food at a reasonable price, but we had a pretty decent lunch here.

Dining Outside La Mangiatoia, San Gimignano, Tuscany

I am not usually inclined to eat a full Italian meal at lunch time and so we shared a large plate of antipasti, a €20 plate (for two) was smaller than in many restaurants elsewhere but had a very good selection of appetisers.

Antipasto Misto, La Mangiatoia, San Gimignano, Tuscany

My Dad’s friend Jenny found this to be enough but I went on to have pici, thick spaghetti, served with a pork and beef ragu, this had really rich, intense flavors and I would definitely recommend it.

Pici (thick spaghetti), La Mangiatoia, San Gimignano, Tuscany

My Dad had a Tuscan staple, sausages and beans cooked in tomato sauce with sage. Although we didn’t try much from the wide range of food on the menu, we liked everything here, including the house red!

Sausage & Beans, La Mangiatoia, San Gimignano, Tuscany

The bill came to €58 for a large plate of antipasti, one pasta dish, one dish from the secondi menu and half a litre of wine. To book a table at La Mangiatoia, telephone 0039 0577 941528

We visited San Gimignano from Ca’ di Bracco, our Villa On The Tuscany Umbria Border, Gorgacce Rentals have a great selection of Tuscany Villas & Umbria Villas in this beautiful part of central Italy.

Despite living on the Tuscany Umbria border since 1999, I had never, until two days ago, made the trip to the Tuscan town of San Gimignano, famous for its fortified towers, the medieval equivalent of skyscrapers. This was because when we first moved here, the road to Siena was a slow and dangerous single carriageway, from which you could admire the empty, unfinished dual carriageway that ran alongside it. Work on this new road, as well as the traffic on the old road, progressed at a snail’s pace and it meant that Siena was as far as I was prepared to travel to. Now that Siena is reachable in well under two hours, I figured that San Gimignano, to the north west of Siena, was now an easy day trip.

Medieval Towers In San Gimignano, Tuscany

Everyone talks about the crowds of tourists in what is essentially a large hill top village, so I also decided that late September, as the tourist season starts to tail off, would probably be the ideal time to go to San Gimignano. I had the added excuse of having my dad and his partner Jenny to stay, and they are always keen to be taken to new places.

Bi-foil Windows In The Piazza della Cisterna, San Gimignano, Tuscany

Reading my guidebooks, I knew that we should try and see the Collegiata, a beautifully frescoed church, climb the Torre Grossa to admire the views, eat an ice cream in the Piazza della Cisterna and generally soak up the scenery in this striking Tuscan hill town. If we managed to do anything else beyond see these sights and have lunch, it would be a bonus.

La Torre Grossa, A Tower In San Gimignano, Tuscany

The journey from Ca’ di Bracco took 2 hours 20 minutes and it was lunch time when we arrived, I followed the advice of guests who had stayed at our house and parked at the far end of town in car park no. 4.

View of the Piazza della Cisterna from the Torre Grossa, San Gimignano, Tuscany

Wandering in through the town walls we wandered past a few restaurants before settling on an outside table at La Mangiatoia, a restaurant that offered Tuscan staples such as ribollita soup, sausage and beans, and tripe. Despite being located in a side street of one of Tuscany’s most popular tourist destinations, the food was good and not ridiculously expensive.

Lunch At La Mangiatoia, San Gimingano, Tuscany

Fortified by lunch and a glass of house red we wandered down to the Piazza del Duomo where, after admiring the medieval towers and architecture around the piazza, we bought entrance tickets to the Collegiata, it’s deceptively plain exterior hiding a wealth of late medieval and Renaissance frescoes within. As you enter the church, there is a beautiful annunciation by Ghirlandaio, but inside, a real artistic treasure trove awaits. There are scenes from the Old and New Testaments along the side walls, above the New Testament frescoes are scenes from the Nativity and above the Old Testament are scenes from the Creation.

La Collegiata, San Gimingano, Tuscany

The New Testament scenes were painted by either Lippo Memmi (brother in law of Simone Martini) or Barna di Siena, a follower of Simone Martini, depending on which source you believe. Painted in around 1350, they represent a shift from Simone Martini’s medieval painting style towards the Renaissance, when you go, look at the emotional expression in the faces and more fluid movement in the figures.

Scenes From The New Testament In The Collegiata, San Gimignano, Tuscany

The Old Testament scenes were painted by Bartolo di Fredi and can be compared to Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s frescoes of Good and Bad Government in Siena because of the details from medieval Tuscan life.

Saint Sebastian By Benozzo Gozzoli In The Collegiata, San Gimignano, Tuscany

On the wall behind the facade (facing the piazza) you will find paintings by Benozzo Gozzoli, in particular, a large Saint Sebastian, painted a few years after the Procession Of the Magi In The Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence.

Glutton Being Tortured, A Fresco In The Collegiata, San Gimignano, Tuscany

Above and to either side are the Last Judgement and Paradiso by Taddeo di Bartolo (painted 1410), as usual, heaven looks quite dull, whilst an awful lot of energy is used in hell making sinners suffer an eternity of ghastly tortures. I would have loved to get up on some scaffolding to get a closer look at these horrific scenes, they must have quite an effect on people who saw them every day.

Satan, A Fresco In The Collegiata, San Gimignano, Tuscany

At the other end of the church were more frescoes by Ghirlandaio, showing scenes from the life and death of Santa Fina, San Gimignano’s patron saint.

Santa Fina, A Fresco By Ghirlandaio In The Collegiata, San Gimignano, Tuscany

Looking at so much art is an enjoyable, but demanding pastime, and we thought it time for an ice-cream in the Piazza della Cisterna before climbing the Torre Grossa.

Piazza della Cisterna, San Gimignano, Tuscany

There were two gelaterie in the piazza, one had queues stretching a long way out into the square. We decided that this obviously had the best reputation in the guidebooks but it was going to have to be superb to endure a wait of 20 minutes or so, instead we went to the other place in the corner, much shorter queues and very good gelati, however, how it compared to the other place, I cannot say!

Gelato In The Piazza della Cisterna, San Gimignano, Tuscany

From here, it was back to the Piazza del Duomo and onwards and upwards into the Torre Grossa, the tower attached to the town hall and the only tower open to the public (the €5 ticket also gives you access to the Pinacoteca, or art gallery). It’s a long way up and you have to mind your head as you come off the final, steep set of stairs. At the top there are incredible views of San Gimignano and the surrounding countryside, it really is worth climbing up here.

View From The Torre Grossa, San Gimignano, Tuscany

Afterwards we had a quick look around the Pinacoteca, taking in works by Filippino Lippi, Benozzo Gozzoli and Pinturicchio.

Piazza del Duomo, San Gimignano, Tuscany

That turned out to be plenty for one day and it was time to get back to the car for the drive back to the Tuscany Umbria border. I was very glad that I had finally been to San Gimignano, but at just under two and a half hours from Ca’ di Bracco, our Villa On The Tuscany Umbria Border, I felt that first time visitors to our area would be better off visiting the wealth of historic towns all within two hours’ drive (for example, Assisi, Gubbio, Perugia, Spoleto and Orvieto in Umbria and Siena, Florence,  Cortona, Montepulciano and Arezzo in Tuscany.

Towers In San Gimignano, Tuscany

If, like several of Gorgacce Rentals Tuscany & Umbria Villas , we were positioned at the western end of the Niccone Valley or near Cortona or Lake Trasimeno, then San Gimignano would be more of an easy day trip.