Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SAN MINIATO & AROUND
POP 27,600
There is one delicious reason to visit this enchantingly sleepy, medieval hilltop town almost
equidistant (50km) between Pisa and Florence: to eat, hunt and dream about the
tuber mag-
natum pico
(white truffle).
San Miniato town's ancient cobbled streets, burnt soft copper and ginger in the hot sum-
mer sun, are a delight to meander. Savour a harmonious melody of magnificent palace
facades, 14th- to 18th-century churches and an impressive Romanesque cathedral, ending
with the stiff hike up San Miniato's reconstructed medieval fortress tower,
Torre di Frederico
II
(Tower of Frederick II; admission €3.50; 11am-5pm Tue-Sun)
, to enjoy a great panorama. Be-
fore setting off buy a combined ticket to all the key sites (€5) at the tourist office.
Then knuckle down to the serious business of lunch. Many local restaurants buy their
(butcher) specialising in products made from
cinta senese
(indigenous Tuscan pig from the
area around Siena), including the Slow Food favourite,
mallegato
(blood sausage). Other
local products worth looking for on menus are
carciofo San Miniatese
(locally grown ar-
tichokes) in April and May; chestnuts and wild mushrooms in autumn (fall);
formaggio di
capra delle colline di San Miniato
(the local goat's cheese); and locally raised Chianina
beef.
Don't leave town without nipping into
Slow Food
(Via Augusto Conti 39)
to ask about tast-
ings, tours, cellar visits, wine itineraries and other great tastebud-tempting activities. It also
organises the fabulous
Mercato della Terra di San Miniato
(
www.mercatidellaterra.it
;
Piazzale Dante
Alighieri; 9am-2pm)
, a vibrant farmers' market humming with fresh fruit, veg, meat, raw
milk and other local produce from small-scale farmers and artisan producers. It's held on
the third Sunday of the month.
