2005

The totem of Tuscany, the trees are protected as seriously as heritage buildings; author Elizabeth von Arnim described them as "great black swords". They dominate a landscape of stands of oaks, thriving vineyards and groves of olive trees shimmering in silver and sage. In spring, the fields are splashed scarlet with poppies; in summer, the gleam of sunflowers with heads the size of dinner plates. San Gimignano's 13th-century stone towers appear long before the signposts. It was the original skyscraper city, once home to more than 70 towers, built as defensive lookouts and to signify the owners' wealth and status; 14 remain, seemingly in fair condition, their roofs populated by pigeons. This hill town northwest of Siena, elevated and enclosed by stone walls, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and sits grandly over the Elsa Valley. Guidebook writers are fond of dubbing it "Tuscan Manhattan".

The town was very prosperous at its 14th-century zenith and much money was spent on palazzi and churches; the atmosphere is still rich and stately (although one history-minded shopkeeper grumbles to me that when San Gimignano had its own bishop, it was taken more seriously by Rome). The central, flagstoned artery of via San Giovanni threads its way up from Porta San Giovanni, one of the city wall's five ancient gates, to the Piazza della Cisterna, built around a 13th-century well, and thence to Piazza del Duomo.

The feel is also very crowded, as San Gimignano is arguably the most popular of Tuscan hill towns and its proximity to Siena, Pisa, Florence and the cruise ship port of Livorno makes it a prime daytripping target – it was ever a pilgrim town.

Weekends are particularly crowded and as only residents are permitted to drive into the town proper, you have to park outside the walls (prepare for a hike). Staying overnight is the obvious way to avoid the hordes; the public spaces are reclaimed by residents, swallows flit low along the winding streets and diners at alfresco restaurants settle in for meals unhurried by coach timetables.

Best artistic moment

 The plain-faced Romanesque duomo (cathedral), on the west side of the town's highest square, Piazza del Duomo, was consecrated in 1148 by pope Eugenio III and is awash with frescoes, wooden statues and sculptures from the Sienese school. The feast day of the town's patron saint, St Gimignano, whose remains lie in the duomo, is celebrated here every January31. Look for the disturbing frescoes of the Last Judgment by Taddeo di Bartolo on the upper part of the central nave. (The absence of a bishop has not prevented San Gimignano residents from clinging to the duomo description: officially, it's the collegiata, which gives rise to confusion when deciphering maps.)

Best climb

 The 52m Torre Grossa (big tower), rising from the Piazza del Duomo, is San Gimignano's highest remaining tower and is open to the public; after a calf-buckling climb, this is a splendid bird's-eye perch for photography – Forster's "a view of half of Tuscany, steeped in sunlight" – and to contemplate how the owners of the medieval towers poured down boiling oil to repel invaders. Torre Grossa also houses the civic museum, with art by Sienese masters and a fresco-filled chamber, Sala di Dante, where poet Dante visited as an emissary of the pope in 1299.

Best dining

 The town's official website (www.sangimignano.com) lists recommended choices but there's more over-emotional prose and bursts of chamber music than helpful detail. (Avoid www.sangimignano.net, which is driven by advertising.) I've had a good home-style lunch at Ristorante de Graziano on via G. Matteotti but have not availed myself of the establishment's guestrooms, "gifted of bath and sight on San Gimignano". Ristorante il Castello on via del Castello has a good wine cellar and excellent pasta but it caters to large groups so you could find yourself swamped. Any of the little cafes or delis along via San Giovanni or via Cellolese sell carpaccio of wild boar folded into fresh panini, cantucci (hard almond biscuits, perfect for dunking) and delicious cinnamon-rich panforte.

Thursday is market day

 salami, parmigiano cheese, ruby-red tomatoes torn from the vine (also homemade lavender soap). Be sure to try the local white wine, vernaccia; renowned since the 14th century and reputedly Michelangelo's favourite, it smells of almonds and honey.

Best shopping

 There are cheaper places to buy souvenirs in Italy but the attraction of via San Giovanni is its parade of shops interrupted only by narrow cafes and gelati bars (where scoops of flavours as intense as pistachio, black cherry or hazelnut are a must). So you could accomplish a shopping list on just one passage. Avoid overpriced leather goods. Recommended: ceramic olive oil containers, painted with flowers and vines, topped with metal pourers (about E12, or $19.90) and olive-wood bowls and chopping boards (from E15) at Casa &Cose or hand-numbered, limited-edition display plates (about E185) and cute 3cm ceramic doorknobs (E6) from La Bottega; look out for a card and lithograph shop about halfway up via San Giovanni on the left-hand side (unframed landscapes of San Gimignano for about E20; lovely cards from E1).

On Piazza Cisterna, Marri & Rossi is crammed with hand-painted ceramics; its Arabesco Blu range, painted with birds and botanic images in deep blue on white, covers everything from salt-and-pepper shakers on a ceramic stand (E35) to a perky jug with rooster-head rim and pouring beak (E60). More colourful is the Raffaellesco range, with classic yellow border and dragon motif. On via San Matteo, I Ninnoli is a trove of homewares, with best portable buys including decorative little Florentine leather boxes inlaid with gold leaf for E10. I Ninnoli also sells reproduction canvases of extracts from famous paintings: a peep of Botticelli's La Primavera or The Birth of Venus (65cm x 43cm) for E57.

Best movie moment

 Several scenes in Franco Zeffirelli's movie Tea with Mussolini (1999) were filmed in San Gimignano, where the English scorpioni (Maggie Smith, Judi Dench et al) end up under house arrest: the most accessible site associated with the movie is the duomo, but watch it on DVD before you visit Tuscany and play spot-the-fresco.