Submitted by Samantha Smith on the 2017 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Psychology…
Have you ever heard of San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, and Siena? I only heard of one of the three before I flew to Italy just two weeks ago. And, fun fact: You can find all of these cities in the region of Tuscany. This past week, I was able to visit all three of these areas in Tuscany and quite easily to say: my mind was blown!
San Gimignano is a small, stereotypical old Italian town with a beautiful church, only a couple dozen stores and a clock tower that provides the most amazing sights in Tuscany. You are able to see for miles the beautiful fields, hills, and cobblestone homes of this town. I visited on a cold, windy and cloudy day and my jaw still dropped.
Moneteriggioni is an even smaller town about a half hour away with less than 50 residents. Their most fascinating feature is the wall surrounding this tiny town on a hill. With an easy climb onto the wall, you can see the nearby forest with packed evergreens, the fields of out-of-season crops, and the roaming hills that disappear with the horizon line. This small town has the impact to make you feel even smaller by its consuming sights.
Siena is only marginally bigger than San Gimignano and Moneteriggioni and is a medieval town packed full of history. In the center of the cobblestone town is a cathedral made of green and red marble. Trust me, on this program to Italy, I have seen multiple cathedrals and basilicas daily, but my favorite is the Cathedral in Siena. The Cathedral in Siena has the power to stop individuals in their step. I’m not quite sure how business operates there because it’s so beautiful.
I have found that the landscape, views and the impact of small town history is nearly more powerful than the big city and more popular history in Rome and Florence.