Volterra & San Gimignano were the two villages we visited today. In Volterra, our guide was an American who has lived here for nearly 30 years. This was one guide we had no trouble understanding! She did an excellent job and gave us just the right amount of information. Each village has a great deal of similarity and yet they each have some history that make them unique. The story that was interesting in Volterra was about protecting the walled city in medieval times from a siege. Their solution was to pull up the street cobblestones and fill the entryway with stones. In this case it worked! The village is known for alabaster so we watched an artisan making alabaster figurines. Very interesting.He created a very small vase and I bought one just like it in the gift shop. A nice souvenir.
In San Gimignano our guide was a most colorful actor. This village is known for its towers. The wealthy residents would build a tower to demonstrate their wealth and power. Gee that that sounds like someone in the US today. Originally there were over 70 towers and now about 14 remain.
in addition, we visited a winery. The wine of this region is white, which is unusual because most in Tuscany are red.
This post is incomplete because Merle has some pictures I will add.
Vernaccia!!! One of my favorites! Did you have a tasting of it? Did they also offer Verdicchio (another of my favorite Italian whites)?
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