2023 Friday Oct. 13

Gambassi Terme to San Gimignano

Click to view today’s video: https://www.relive.cc/view/vAOZndKpJyO

The weather was beautiful for the hike from Gambassi Terme to San Gimignano. We arrived at the hotel in the early afternoon which was helpful as our hotel was 2.5 km outside the city walls (1.25 miles) so it took a while to get to and from the city proper.

Small spaces and lots of tourists, even for a Friday afternoon.

The Duomo (Cathedral).

Inside the Duomo. More frescoes than usual with saints, heaven, and hell portrayed. Black and white alternating marble decorated the columns.

The apostles are portrayed over the front doorway in the Duomo.

San Gimignano main (tallest) tower. Richard climbed the some 200+ steps while I checked the picture gallery.

San Gimignano and and stories of his life. In the center picture, he holds an icon of the towered city.

Hometown Saint Fina, born in San Gimignano.

From the church of San Augustine.

This unusual painting of a clothed Saint Sebastian is protecting the city from God’s wrath in the 1464 plague. Sebastian is generally pictured in religious art being martyred by arrows. Here, God is pictured at the top with an arrow, and angels around Sebastian are breaking more arrows, presumably sent by God. The Virgin Mary is shown partially unclothed to symbolize her maternal love of humanity.

The oldest image from the Church of San Augustine painted before 1317. This portion was part of a much larger fresco that once covered much of the side wall.

Goodbye to trail friends Karen and Peter. They will not be taking rest days as we are, and expect to arrive in Rome a week ahead of us.

Comments:

Kathy Nichols: A little off the subject – but I’m curious. Is Friday the 13th considered an unlucky day in Italy? 2023/10/19 at 4:43 am

Reply:  No idea. We completely forgot about it—so hard to keep the days straight. 2023/10/19 at 6:04 am