Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
163
charge, start and end your evening at the tables around the bar, ordering from the
brasserie menu: Pizzas and pastas are
€
6 to
€
8; a half chicken, roasted, at
€
10 is
the most expensive item on the
secondi
menu. The interior restaurant offers more
gourmet fare with wild boar and truffle-covered pastas (
primi
€
10-
€
17,
secondi
about
€
15, plus service charge).
€€
Very traditional Tuscan fare, in a medieval-barrel vaulted room, is paired
with '80s pop music and contemporary paintings at the confused but still charm-
ing
Osteria delle Catene
(Via Mainardi, 18;
%
0577-941966; closed Wed).
Tr y
the sausage with stewed tomatoes and beans
(salsicce con fagioli all'uccelletto)
or
penne covered in a cheese and cream sauce
(penne al porro);
both are delightful.
Or go for a prix-fixe meal for
5
32 (not including wine). Even the
lower-priced fixed-price option will give you a good combination of flavors,
accompanied by local cheeses, a light pasta, and a pastry dessert. If you choose to
go a la carte,
primi
range from
€
8 to
€
10,
secondi
from
€
12 to
€
14.
€
12,
€
20, or
€
5
(Via
Cellolese, 4;
%
0577-940415; closed Thurs).
Since 1929, this friendly restaurant
has been serving regional specialties at candlelit tables underneath brick-arched
rooms tucked into a medieval building.
Primi
range from
€
10 to
€
13,
secondi
from
A traditional Tuscan meal and setting can be found at
Ristorante il Pino
€€€
16. Try the cannelloni with goat milk cheese and pepper sauce
(
€
13) or the roasted duck with truffles and potato cake (
€
14). Happily,
coperto
and service charge are included in the prices. Upstairs are rooms at
€
14 to
€
55 a night.
(The rooms are actually quite nice for the price, with whitewashed walls and
wood-beamed ceilings.)
WHY YOU'RE HERE: THE TOP SIGHTS & ATTRACTIONS
The main attraction is the town itself, and especially the towers poking above the
winding medieval streets of this hilltop city. The Piazza della Cisterna, in partic-
ular, is a lovely place in which to linger, its central 13th-century well framed by
imposing stone buildings unchanged since the Renaissance. You'll also want to
walk through the gardens around the Rocca, the old fortress from the 1350s, and
climb the ramparts for a free view of the countryside to the west.
The
Torre Grossa
€
(Piazza del Duomo;
%
0577-990312;
€
5 joint admis-
sion to Torre and Museo Civico; 9:30am-7pm, Nov-Feb open until 9:30pm),
as the
name implies, is the biggest tower left standing in San Gimignano (35m/115 ft.
tall) and the only one you can climb. The view over the countryside is stunning,
as is the bird's-eye perspective over the town—you'll see into private gardens usu-
ally hidden by compound walls, and far off into the distant countryside blanketed
with vineyards. The 220 steps to the top of the tower are split at several wide land-
ings, to allow climbers a spot to rest. Connected to the tower is the city art gallery
Museo Civico/Pinacoteca
55
55
, which has a small but interesting collection of
artwork in its four rooms, including the emblematic 14th-century painting of San
Gimignano holding the eponymous city in his arms. The most entertaining part
of the museum is the faded series of wedding frescoes on the walls of the small
room off the side of the stairway; they depict a hapless husband first being ridden
and whipped by his wife, then sitting naked (aside from his hat) in a bath with
