One of the most typical and fascinating medieval countries (and Unesco heritage) in Tuscany is San Gimignano; it’s is a village that has remained almost intact since the end of the fourteenth century, when it was called the city of one hundred towers, until today. In fact, its main feature were and are the tower-houses, that is, homes that noble families had built by developing them vertically for both defense and prestige purposes. Of these real little fortresses today only 13 remain.
San Gimignano is one of the most visited places in Tuscany (and not only by foreign tourists or from other regions, but also by the Tuscans themselves), yet unfortunately suffers from a mass hit-and-run tourism, for the busloads of groups who arrive in the town, cross it quickly and then leave again. Therefore it is preferable to visit during the low season and out of the weekends.
As for most villages of Middle Ages (when they were particularly careful to emphasize the light, especially inside religious buildings), the most fascinating moments in which to admire San Gimignano are the sunset, when the stone takes the typical reddish hues, and early morning, when a magical bluish mist envelops the silent town and the surrounding countryside.
You can not leave from San Gimignano without having tasted its Vernaccia wine, pecorino cheese or wild boar meat.