ITALY

Aosta Valley / Campania / Emilia-Romagna / Lazio / Liguria / Lombardy / Marche / Piedmont / Sardinia / Trentino-Alto Adige / Tuscany / Veneto

01/14

Monteriggioni is a well preserved walled town in the heart of the rolling countryside of Tuscany. The fortifications were built, between 1214 and 1219, by the Sienese at a time of tension with Florence, its northerly neighbor. Following the natural contours of the hilltop, the remparts encircle the town, and also some gardens which would have provided sustenance to the inhabitants in case of a prolonged siege. Province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy.

Monteriggioni is one of many tourist destinations the Tuscany countryside has to offer. Visitors can travel back to medieval times, walk the cobbled streets or the rampart walkway, visit the armory museum or the 13th-century Church of Santa Maria Assunta. Province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy.

San Gimignano is a medieval hilltop town from the 13th century. The town flourished in medieval times as it was a stopover for merchants and pilgrims on the Via Francigena (an ancient route between France and Rome). Province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy.

The town, nicknamed "Medieval Manhattan,” is noted for its lofty tower-houses built in the 13th century by wealthy families to display their social status. Today, only 13 towers remain out of the original 70. This ensemble of medieval architecture is a Unesco World Heritage Site. San Gimignano, Province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy.