October 01, 2017:
Visiting San Gimignano and wine tasting at Palagetto winery
We have one more day left in Tuscany and we will be visiting San Gimignano and do some serious wine tasting at the Palagetto Winery on the way. This region is well known for its Chiantis.
We left our Cortefreda Hotel around 8:30 AM. The sky was somewhat overcast and there was a slight drizzle. Cortefreda provided guest umbrellas. We got up somewhat early to watch the sunrise over the Tuscan hills that we were recommended to see. We slept somewhat late and missed the best part. Well, there goes another sunrise to waste.
Our bus was waiting to take us to San Gimignano which is not too far from where we stayed. It’s just 40 minutes or so by a bus driving south.
In the Middle Ages, San Gimignano was a village on the famous route Via Francigena (Canterbury to Rome) taken by pilgrims to visit Rome. As a point in the historical timeline, 1140 marks the beginnings of 'free communes' or the rise of the city-states. Most of the towns we visited so far were at one time city-states including, Venice which we will be visiting next. San Gimignano is no exception, and it also started off as a city-state or 'free commune'. The city-state was engaged in agriculture activities producing wine, saffron, and Vernaccia (white wine local to grapes grown in San Gimignano).
I read somewhere that beef cooked with saffron is a Gimignano delicacy.
Vernaccia wine was quite well known and even Dante refers to it in his Purgatorio describing the gluttony of Pope Martin IV thus,
"ebbe la Santa Chiesa in le sue braccia:
ebbe la Santa Chiesa in le sue braccia:
dal Torso fu, e purga per digiuno
l’anguille di Bolsena e la vernaccia."
This roughly translates to,
"had the Holy Church in his arms:
had the Holy Church in his arms:
from the Torso fu, and purge for fasting
the Bolsena eels and the Vernaccia."
I am waiting to taste that wine today.
San Gimignano lost much of its luster due to the plague that ravaged and killed off 2/3 of its population. The city finally submitted to Florence losing its independent status around 1348.
Rising 334 meters above sea level it presents a beautiful cityscape (Urban Landscape) with its several towers (13 or so towers). Later, palaces with much larger living spaces were built and inhabited by the rich and famous. It has been deemed a World Cultural and Natural Heritage of UNESCO.
These days tourists walk up the ramp after climbing a few steps from the bus stop that takes them to the city center. Here are some pictures of our visit to San Gimignano.
San Gimignano street scenes.
Dondoli Ice Cream (Gelato) World Champion 2006 to 2009
San Gimignano - Distant view
We go back, drink more wine and dine at Cortefeda. Tomorrow, we will be off to Venice.
Visiting San Gimignano and wine tasting at Palagetto winery
We have one more day left in Tuscany and we will be visiting San Gimignano and do some serious wine tasting at the Palagetto Winery on the way. This region is well known for its Chiantis.
We left our Cortefreda Hotel around 8:30 AM. The sky was somewhat overcast and there was a slight drizzle. Cortefreda provided guest umbrellas. We got up somewhat early to watch the sunrise over the Tuscan hills that we were recommended to see. We slept somewhat late and missed the best part. Well, there goes another sunrise to waste.
Our bus was waiting to take us to San Gimignano which is not too far from where we stayed. It’s just 40 minutes or so by a bus driving south.
In the Middle Ages, San Gimignano was a village on the famous route Via Francigena (Canterbury to Rome) taken by pilgrims to visit Rome. As a point in the historical timeline, 1140 marks the beginnings of 'free communes' or the rise of the city-states. Most of the towns we visited so far were at one time city-states including, Venice which we will be visiting next. San Gimignano is no exception, and it also started off as a city-state or 'free commune'. The city-state was engaged in agriculture activities producing wine, saffron, and Vernaccia (white wine local to grapes grown in San Gimignano).
I read somewhere that beef cooked with saffron is a Gimignano delicacy.
Vernaccia wine was quite well known and even Dante refers to it in his Purgatorio describing the gluttony of Pope Martin IV thus,
"ebbe la Santa Chiesa in le sue braccia:
ebbe la Santa Chiesa in le sue braccia:
dal Torso fu, e purga per digiuno
l’anguille di Bolsena e la vernaccia."
This roughly translates to,
"had the Holy Church in his arms:
had the Holy Church in his arms:
from the Torso fu, and purge for fasting
the Bolsena eels and the Vernaccia."
I am waiting to taste that wine today.
San Gimignano lost much of its luster due to the plague that ravaged and killed off 2/3 of its population. The city finally submitted to Florence losing its independent status around 1348.
Rising 334 meters above sea level it presents a beautiful cityscape (Urban Landscape) with its several towers (13 or so towers). Later, palaces with much larger living spaces were built and inhabited by the rich and famous. It has been deemed a World Cultural and Natural Heritage of UNESCO.
These days tourists walk up the ramp after climbing a few steps from the bus stop that takes them to the city center. Here are some pictures of our visit to San Gimignano.
San Gimignano scaled model in a gift shop. We also sipped a sample of Vernaccia wine.
San Gimignano street scenes.
Torture museum -We skipped.
Piazza Della Cisterna. Folks standing in front of the wishing well.
Duomo Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta (1148)
Tuscan Countryside
Entrance to Palagetto Winery
Vegetarian Plate
Our group sitting down for wine tasting with cold cuts
Wines we sampled
You can buy wine in the winery store and get it shipped to your country
Getting into the bus to return. Bye, Bye San Gimignano.
We go back, drink more wine and dine at Cortefeda. Tomorrow, we will be off to Venice.
No comments:
Post a Comment