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In February I went to San Gimignano (SI) to get to the top of "Torre Salvucci Maggiore", one of the famous towers that stand out from the “Medieval Manhattan” skyline. When I started catching sight of buildings’ outline from my car along the road to get there, I understood why it obtained this name: just like the Chrysler Building next to the Empire State, these towers really look like skyscrapers. The difference is that these were built eight centuries ago. It’s absurd that nobody ever associates the word “skyscraper” to the picture of San Gimignano, because it’s actually in this city that we can find the original foundations of today’s modern metropolises. San Gimignano enjoys a global fame: at least once in life we’ve heard someone talking about its high towers, we’ve come across a photograph that captures it or we’ve studied its architecture, as it’s almost intact since the Middle Ages. This small center in the province of Siena is found on a Val d’Elsa hill and it dominates hundreds of olive trees’ crowns, shadows of cypresses and rows of vineyards. Even UNESCO rewarded san Gimignano as a “World Heritage” some years ago because of its peculiar medieval aspect. THE TOWERS Undoubtedly, its “mascottes” are the towers: in 1300 they were 72, in 1580 they were 25 while today no more than 14 are still standing. In the past, they were the symbol of families’ power: the higher the tower, the more important were considered the lords that lived in it. Therefore, height-competitions between stone-giants began and nobles used unscrupulous tricks to win, like cutting the upper part of each other’s tower. This is why the city established a guideline to prevent to exceed a 51 meters’ height: this limit has been respected by all the towers towers except for the Torre Grossa, which is 54m high. The oldest building, the Torre Rognosa, was erected in 1200 and is 51m high while the other towers are: Torre del Diavolo, Torre Antica, Torre Chigi, Torre dei Becci, Torre Campatelli, Torre degli Ardinghelli, Campanile della Collegiata, Torre Pettini, Torre Ficherelli, Torre di Palazzo Pellari, Casa-Torre Pesciolini and Torri dei Salvucci. These two “torri” are actually two twin towers built by the Salvucci family in the XIII century in order to show their unrivalled power in the city to their neighbours. Unfortunately, the vertiginous height didn’t fall within rules’ limits so they were cut at different levels: one was called “Torre Salvucci Minore” and the other "Torre Salvucci Maggiore" TORRE SALVUCCI MAGGIORE The higher one, the “maggiore”, was recently renewed to give you the possibility to experience out-of-the-common and unique stays. In fact its single apartment is composed by 10 floors connected to each other by 160 stairs and it’s got a panoramic terrace, where it is possible to admire a 360° panorama of the surrounding landscape. From the last floor the sweet hills covered by rows of vineyards, the towers, the stone houses, the paths skirted by cypresses and the olive trees orchards spread as far as the eye can see. In the neighbouring building there is another apartment, whose windows overlook on the “Piazza del Duomo” and therefore have a magnificent view. There aren’t other towers with these features: the ancient residence inside the other palaces are not habitable anymore and it isn’t even possible to visit them all. Here’s why Posarelli Villas offers to city visitors a special experience renting the two “Torre Salvucci” apartments and opening their doors to history and beauty lovers. This tower grants a comfortable and relaxing sojourn as it’s found in the middle of city’s historical center, in a pedestrian area close to many restaurants, museums and historical monuments. A few kilometers away from San Gimignano there are also some art cities like Volterra (21km), Siena (47 km) and villages like Certaldo (8km) and Monteriggioni (21 km) that I really suggest to visit during your stay. THINGS TO DO IN SAN GIMIGNANO There are innumerable “must do” and “must see” in this Tuscan New Yok City and a single day is not enough to appreciate them to the fullest. For example, the Dome square strikes for the beauty of its buildings and for its XII century “Duomo”, one of the best examples of the Tuscan Romanic style, with various frescos inside it. Do not forget to stop by and visit the Palazzo Comunale, Piazza Pecori, Palazzo Vecchio del Podestà. Porta S.Giovanni, Rocca di Montestaffoli, Piazza di Sant’Agostino, Casa di Santa Fina, Porta delle Fonti and the Ex-Conservatorio di Santa Chiara. Further to the several things to do, visit and see, it’s important to remind that each new city has a culinary tradition ready to be discovered: San Gimignano is well-known for the Vernaccia, a white wine which was drunk and loved by Dante and Lorenzo the Magnificent in the past and for its saffron, the “yellow gold” used as a currency to pay debts. It was partly thanks to this noble spice that the importance and the richness of this city were recognized in the whole peninsula. Another aspect in its favor was the position along the famous Via Francigena, the age-old road that connected Canterbury to Rome and that was traveled by thousands of pilgrims every year.