San Gimignano is, what I believe to be, a traditional Italian village for many reasons. It is a small village enclosed by old stone fort walls, built on top of a large hill. This village is committed to preserving its medieval style – nothing has been built inside of its walls since the 1400s. Most of the small shops are built straight into the old stone fortress. Paralleling its medieval architecture the life style of the people in this little village reminds me of all things Italian. The people live mostly from what the village itself and the surrounding area produces. The village residents frequent small butcher and cheese shops and relax in quaint outside cafes sipping cappuccino or glasses of wine. The gelato shop owner in San Gimignano told us that he preferred to use fresh local ingredients to make his gelato, such as blueberries, mint, and rosemary. There was also a village square where people would buy and sell goods in an open market.
There was also a village square where people would buy and sell goods in an open market. We saw a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables for sale. We bought some of the strawberries from a market vendor in the square and let me tell you, they were the best strawberries I had ever tasted in my life. They were perfectly sweet and extremely juicy. We even saw a couple of whole hogs that the village butcher would just remove the cut and portion that you wanted. There was also a cheese shop where they sold sheep’s cheese, I sampled that as well. The cheese was so mild and it fell apart and melted in your mouth at the same time. All of this combined made me wonder if San Gimignano was unique or did all those other small villages built up on hills that we passed function much the same? I’d like to think they do. Perhaps I’ll come back and explore some of those small villages in Tuscany someday and I’ll let you know what I fine.
-Lynn Beining
A Traditional Village
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