San Gimignano

Our last day we went by bus to the very famous hilltop town of San Gimignano, noted for its towers, and now quite heavily touristed, both by day trippers on tours from Florence and by Italians from the area.  The main streets are lined with endless souvenir stores, along with "art" galleries, and even a few high end retailers like Furla.  But, with a little imagination, and by walking the side streets, you can get a bit of  the feel of the medieval city.  And, surprisingly, there is an excellent small museum and yet another extraordinary fresco-decorated church.

A few of the towers:

Building with Gothic windows:

In what was the town hall, there are some interesting frescoes, including one about marriage:

A warning about the dangers of prostitutes?

There was also an amazing painting of the crucifixion, painted in 1260:

Detail:

Another painting with stunning color:

The church, the Collegiata, was also fascinating.   Covered with frescoes, in this case depicting scenes from both the Old and New Testament.   Unfortunately, no photos were allowed.   So courtesy of the web...

After two weeks in Italy, I am in awe of the art and history that is there.  Is there any other country with so much visible presence of history?   Consider a town or city which can trace its street layout to the Roman streets laid out almost 2,000 years ago; what does it mean to be living amongst that history?  Other countries might have an equally long history, but none, I think, with that history visibly present in daily life.  And thinking about the frescoes that have been on the walls of churches for some 500 years, one can't help but think about Vancouver, where there are only shadows of any history that existed more than 125 years ago.  

Siena, Part 3

The other major building in town is the Palazzo Publico, on the famous main square, the Campio.   It is the city hall; it was in the 14th century, and still is, although the older part is now a museum.  The most interesting feature of the interior is the frescoes, mostly painted in the 14th and 15th centuries.  The frescoes are both religious and secular; some of them portray events in the city's history, and one room contains the very famous frescoes depicting good government vs. bad government.  (An interesting concept to apply to today's city halls?  Imagine commissioning a contemporary artist to do the same?)

At night:

Inside, a fresco depicting  naval battle:

detail:

More decoration and ceilings:

And part of the fresco of bad government:

Detail; resemblance to contemporary politicians is encouraged:

 A town with good government, with a fascinating glimpse at an imagined streetscape from the 15th century: