Volterra and San Gimignano

Below is the picture of the tunnel we walked through to enter the city. Walking in the living history. We combined Volterra and San Gimignano to be our destinations in one day. Our plan was to head to Volterra first, 30 kilometers from our rental (about 18.5 miles), and then go to San Gimignano for the rest of the day. San Gimignano’s old town was about 2 kilometers from were we stayed.

The city of Volterra is known for its walls that surround it as well as the breathtaking views it provides to the visitors. Part of our visit was spent on taking in the Tuscany’s beauty from this mountaintop town. The views, the atmosphere, great company, and playing around with “my girl” made it for a great morning start. Perfect morning, I would say.

One of the experiences I was hoping to have in this lovely town was the alabaster workshop. I don’t recall seeing or holding an alabaster anything in the past. When I hear a word alabaster, first thing that comes to my mind is the Bible story about the woman who brought perfumes in a alabaster jar to anoint Jesus.

Unfortunately, the workshop was closed at the time but that didn’t prevent me and my sister-in-law from exploring all the beautiful alabaster products in one of the showrooms and the store. The products varied from very expensive to a lot of choices of bracelets, souvenirs, and a lot more low-cost items. I ended up buying a white pearls necklace I always wanted to own and another one with an alabaster white heart.

Checking out desserts is a must stop in every town 🙂

Volterra was once one of the leading trading cities and had 20,000 people living there 4 centuries before Christ. No problem going back into history here.

Palazzo die priori, Volterra’s city hall, is known to be the oldest in Tuscany. It was built in about 1200 and still functions today.

Now, to San Gimignano. I took the picture below when we parked just outside of the old city and were guessing where our rental house was located.

This Tuscany town was an excellent experience of walking back in the history as well.

The city is marked by its towers. One of the things I have learned is that local people like to think that the architect who designed the Twin Towers of New York was inspired by the two towers also called Salvucci towers or Twin Towers.

The still warm evening weather was perfect for the dinner outside. We stopped by at the Trattoria Chiribiri for some delicious Italian home made meals. Fed up and happy. Now back to our lovely home just minutes away. Another unforgettable day.