Walking at sunset

Strolling in the centre of San Gimignano at sunset during the Autumn and Winter months can be very dangerous especially if you are in two and if you walk in silence, trying to capture every smallest sound.

The days are hectic in the historical centre. There are many people who visit San Gimignano in search of its medieval atmosphere, to see its towers and discover their secrets or simply to take a picture. When everyone is back at home, whoever remains is left alone inside these old walls.

During the Winter nights, when strolling along the streets and squares of San Gimignano, one can hear the sound of his own footsteps, what his heart wishes, whispered words.

We are no more used to these sounds, cities don’t leave much space to silence. Except for San Gimignano. The evening colours are soft, you don’t find here neon lights, everything seems so quiet with a sense of warmth and ideal for lovers.

One Autumn evening, while strolling in the historical centre, we sat on the steps of the Cathedral, between the Torre Grossa and the old palaces on the square, and to each other we declared our love.

We felt like suspended in a dream, out of reality. We met in San Gimignano and the city, like an accomplice of our love, left us intimately alone. Hand in hand, we went up to la Rocca, the park that dominates the whole historical centre and after we passed its stone gate, we walked through the olive groves with this feeling of being two lovers from the past, like a prince and a princess, who finally found their palace, their castle. We climbed up the stairs leading to the ramparts and the view from there is breathless: we could see an endless countryside and in the distance, the tops of the mountains. Then, we turned around and there we saw the towers, like a solid presence. We thought of all the love stories from the past: Romeo and Juliet loved each other but born from rival families who owned towers like those, always fighting one against the other but fate wanted that the two young ones would fall in love.

The day after, still mesmerized by the magic of the night before in San Gimignano, we went looking for quieter corners, and walked down to see the medieval fountains and along the ramparts. Again, our feeling intermingled with the beauty of the countryside and with our hearts.

In San Giovanni, the main street, we went looking for that old palace where D’Annunzio used to bring his lovers and where many other travellers during the Grand Tour met and fell in love.

We also fell in love in San Gimignano. Every Winter night, we are reminded of the magic we felt the first time we met. No one can resist the poetry of this place, of its old stones, when silence and quiet take the