Submitted by Troy Flagler on the 2016 spring semester program in Tuscany, Italy…
Yesterday, the group embarked on a day trip to San Gimignano and Montepulciano. These are two small Tuscan towns located on top of a hill. Each was an ancient fort at one point in time and has since been modernized. San Gimignano reminded me very much of Volterra. The main difference is that there are more tourists in San Gimignano than in Volterra. I even met two girls speaking English to one another and asked them where they were from. They said that they live in Los Angeles, California and are on an exchange program studying abroad. They showed me a great view from the top of the fort and we ended up grabbing a cup of coffee afterwards.
On the other hand, Montepulciano is a very, very small community. It consists of a main plaza with just a handful of streets running through it. There are two restaurants and only about a dozen shops. What makes this place so interesting is that part of the Twilight Saga was filmed in the town. It was interesting to gain a perspective of the reality of being in the town versus simply seeing it through a television screen. The town had a wall which you could climb and see the entirety of the fort. It didn’t seem as ominous as it did in the Twilight movies. It actually appeared friendly and welcoming beneath the cloudless sky and direct sunlight. The area around the town consisted of many farms that supported both residents and visitors with fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses. I must admit that it was smaller than I expected, but at the same time Montepulciano was friendly. It seemed that all of the local residents knew one another on a first name basis. In some way, the town did appear to be a “perfect” town right out of a storybook – yet, the film which incorporates the town portrays it as dark and creepy. In my opinion, the truth is that the physical place strongly begs to differ with its visual representation.