The medieval Manhattan. This Tuscan hill town kept fourteen of its tower-houses, of an original seventy-odd, tall stone shafts that rival families built ever higher to outdo one another, part fortress, part status symbol. Most Italian cities tore theirs down; San Gimignano, bypassed by trade routes and frozen in decline, kept its skyline. Inside, churches hold bright 14th-century frescoes untouched by later fashion. It is what a medieval Tuscan town actually looked like before the Renaissance smoothed everything over: saffron money turned to stone, still standing.
Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.
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