San Gimignano doesn’t need much presentation:

a UNESCO heritage site since 1990, San Gimignano is also known as the Medieval Manhattan. This village deep in the hills of Siena is recognised by tourists all over the world and it owes its fame and fortune to its tower houses. Thirteen remain standing, and continue to define one of Italy’s most popular skylines.

Those who don’t only want to look up can put their feet on the ground with its numerous artistic and historical treasures, including churches and museums. It would be silly not to visit the Duomo cathedral, with its works by Benozzo Gozzoli, Il Ghirlandaio and Jacopo della Quercia, or the unmissable Pinacoteca and the Civic Museum, with an extraordinary collection of Medieval and Renaissance paintings.

If the sky draws you like a magnet, you can climb the Torre del Podestàfrom the town hall: at 54 metres,it is the highest tower in the village, and overlooks a countryside artistically decorated with olive groves and vineyards full of Sangiovese and Vernacciathis area’s most famous variety and the name of San Gimignano’s white wine.

But San Gimignano is not only towers and Vernaccia. Contemporary art lovers will appreciate a visit to Galleria Continua, a contemporary art gallery that has earned international recognition, a true jewel for those who want to go below the Medieval surface.