If you’re serious about WHS-hunting make sure you pay a visit to Tuscany, Italy. In a relative small area you can find 7 top notch sites of which San Gimignano is one. Although most of you probably have seen your fair share of medieval towns this one really stands out, literally that is.

The unique thing about San Gimignano is its centuries old skyline. Back in medieval times there was a bit of trouble between the pope and the emperor who both wanted absolute power. They each had their own gang of supporters called Guelfi (popefans) and Ghibellini (emperorsupporters). The two rival sections were at eachother's throat and this let to the building of, in total, 72 defensive towers. Fourteen still stand.

Pilgrims on their way to Rome visited San Gimignano quite often. Not to pay hommage to the the town's godfather Gimignano but to a girl named Fina. Probably because the inhabatants felt they needed a new saint to please the travellers they came up with a girl named Fina, made her a saint and told stories about all the miracles she performed. It did wonders for the town's economy.

After a while the girl was forgotton too and the economy was declining. Luckily San Gimignano found a solution fot their problem. It was nominated to become a WHS. Surely when they had the Unesco-status everyone would find their way to town again....

Smart move