The incredible San Gimignano

I've travelled through Tuscany twice so far. It's surely impossible not to fall in love with this gorgeous landscape, full of medieval towns. Yes, some areas are already terribly expensive and heavily visited by tourists, but within a few days I understood that so many beautiful places could never fit into any tourist guidebook. Every few kilometres I came across a tiny medieval town or a magnificent view over the countryside that tourists had overlooked and that was mentioned nowhere. Today I'd like to write you a few lines about the town of San Gimignano, which is a frequent tourist destination.

The town is known above all for its fifteen towers, which have survived to the present day, and its history reaches back to the 4th century BC, when an Etruscan settlement was founded here. Its major prosperity wasn't recorded until the 12th century, when (thanks to the cultivation of wine and saffron, and also thanks to an important crossroads of routes from Pisa, Siena and Genoa) the town underwent a great boom. To display their wealth, the local rich families decided to build these very monumental towers. In the 14th century an incredible 72 of them stood here. One particularly wealthy family even had two, and there was a rule that if its members tore down their tower, they were obliged to build a new one. Even on arrival I was fascinated by the sight of the town's silhouette. It was as if some ancient skyscrapers were rising up out of the medieval buildings. The importance and uniqueness of the place is also attested by the fact that in 1990 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The town's panorama is truly photogenic, so I first drove around in the car looking for a spot with the best possible view. The resulting photograph, which I shot across one of the many vineyards, hopefully captures everything essential. And the town itself? Had I come here in high season, I'd have been jostling with a huge crowd of tourists. But early in the morning, on an ordinary autumn weekday, I had the town almost to myself. Thanks to the tall buildings I revelled in the peculiar light that reigns in the centre and that literally invites you to take photographs. The long shadows of the towers alternated with harsh sunlight on the courtyard, and the medieval architecture was complemented by a few elderly local gentlemen sitting around over their morning coffee.

I could happily keep strolling through the town for a long time, or just sit on the steps of the main square and observe this most peculiar place, where time seems to have stood still. On my wanderings I now and then discovered a lovely view over the countryside, a beautiful old door or some everyday scene that I simply can't help photographing. The tall towers were ever-present, and new views of them kept opening up before me. I could probably have gone on wandering here for a very long time, but so many other places nearby were already calling to me from the map that I had to leave. And about the other beauties of Tuscany I'll write again some other time.

Tip 1: As almost everywhere, and I've written it many times already: San Gimignano too is best visited outside the season and on a weekday. I think spring, when everything is freshly green, or autumn, when the grapes are ripening, are ideal.

Tip 2: Sacrifice a little time to find some small road or lane in the surroundings from which there's a beautiful view of the towers of San Gimignano.

Gear: The town was built in the Middle Ages, so in places it's very cramped. You'll therefore need a very wide-angle lens, but also a telephoto lens for shooting the town from a distance. If you have experience with a panoramic head, I'd consider bringing that too, because in some spots even a wide-angle lens wasn't enough.