I went on an early morning hike around town, following the medieval wall, and simply enjoying wide open spaces with no cars and no tourists. San Gim doesn't begin to fill up with the masses until around 10 so I took advantage of that.
One of my treks was to the Rocca (a sort of castle-type fortress). Through the olive grove and up some steps to the look out post. From there you see the WORLD .... or at least much of Tuscany.
Then to the Tower climb. 213 steps up and up. I must say, it was slightly unnerving. I was shaking, and I'm not a wimp. The thing is, the stairs are steel and installed through the center of the tower. So that means you can see DOWN as you climb. Okay, that's scary. Other towers I've climbed in Italy, in Florence and Siena for example, you are climbing the actual stone staircase. You can't see how far up you are. Then, to top it off, the final ascent is up a ladder!! Freaky. Then you have a look around... and then you have to descend (you have to go down the ladder backwards!). Oy!
Then I took a look around the Duomo. Very lovely indeed. I learned about St Fina of St Gimignano. She lived from 1238-1253, and she lived the typical life of a young martyr. She is the 'saint of the gillyflowers.' She loved God and devoted herself to him. She fell ill with a 'serious disease' at age 10 and it left her bedridden and paralyzed. She prayed through her illness and refused to be put in a comfortable bed. Instead she insisted on sleeping on a board.... that is now a holy relic in the side altar devoted to her.
I'M no saint, as you all know. So total bourgeois decadence for me. Lunch is wild boar and potatoes. Followed by a vin santo with biscotti!
climb there, up the metal stairs through the center of the earth. If anyone could claw their way into the Belle Isle, it is you belladonna, it is you. Don't buy the pottery. Take a cue from the saint of the gillyflowers, invest in your higher calling, sex with gorgeous underage Italians. They are just as expensive and even more fragile.
ReplyDelete