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Moose is a solitary animal. They won't form a herd as elk and bison do. It's not common to see two bull moose together, unless they are fighting for a cow moose.
Mumurations of budgies form over a shrinking water hole -------------------------During the summer months in central Australia (November to February), the temperature can be in the 40s and water is scarce. I knew that budgies (Melopsittacus undulatus) would start to flock together as they sought out what little water remained . It was a challenge to locate where they might gather but I heard reports from an area south of the town of Alice Springs. I drove up and down the desert searching the horizon for flocks. I eventually found a small waterhole littered with little green feathers and fresh droppings. I returned just before dawn. It was silent but it wasn’t long before the sky above me was filled with the flutters of thousands of budgies, all desperate to drink. Birds of prey also gathered to take advantage. To confuse the hunting raptors the budgies erupted into mesmerising clouds of green, creating huge murmurations like starlings in the UK. to February), the temperature can be in the 40s and water is scarce. I knew that budgies (Melopsittacus undulatus) would start to flock together as they sought out what little water remained . It was a challenge to locate where they might gather but I heard reports from an area south of the town of Alice Springs. I drove up and down the desert searching the horizon for flocks. I eventually found a small waterhole littered with little green feathers and fresh droppings. I returned just before dawn. It was silent but it wasn’t long before the sky above me was filled with the flutters of thousands of budgies, all desperate to drink. Birds of prey also gathered to take advantage. To confuse the hunting raptors the budgies erupted into mesmerising clouds of green, creating huge murmurations like starlings in the UK.
The Alaskan Range as seen form Denali State Park. WOW!!! Some of the craziest, most dramatic peaks I have seen.....
We almost didn't sleep for two weeks working for a shot with only a little luck, so when the fog rolled in to this awesome area and the sky lit up it was a great feeling!!
I was lucky enough to go on the trip with past students turned friends Joe Roybal and Andrew Vernon
Nikon D800E, Alaska, photography, photos, images, gallery, pro, grand tokosha, private workshops
The forms and colors of icebergs never cease to amaze me. Here, set against a gathering storm, the ice looks like it was carved by alien artists. The blue is eerie and beautiful.
El agua congelada crea formas muy caprichosas.
© Solasaga, todos los derechos reservados
He desactivado la opción de comentarios.
...................................................... Gracias por vuestra visita.
Trichotillomania: obsessive-compulsive disorder. There are different forms. In general: Pulling out ones own hair. So many that there are big bald spaces on the head, or having no eyebrows.
I was experimenting with the grey hair and trying how to weave it in the spiral. While I was doing this one, I thought of H., who is long gone. She suffered from a form of Trichotillomania in combination with other disorders.
Part of: "Circular Weaving in Arachne`s Defence - Spiralen im Kreis weben für ἀράχνη - Rehabilitierung, Plädoyer,..." // "Schmuck Objekte weben weaving jewellery Tapestry to Wear Tapisserie zum Anziehen - upcycling recycling"
DMC-G2 - P1820358 - 2014-07-22
I was alerted to this Buzzard flying over my house by some Herring Gulls who were upset by its presence but the Buzzard just flew by, seemingly not bothered
We visited a very dimly lit Batemans today, the former home of Rudyard Kipling. Lovely house and gardens to wander around, nice and quiet when it's this cold!
PGB Photographer & Creative - © 2022 Philip Romeyn - Phillostar Gone Ballistic 2021 - Photo may not be edited from its original form. Commercial use is prohibited without contacting me.
Fornebu (local form Fornebo) is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo.
Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and until the evening of October 7, 1998, when it was closed down. Overnight, a grand moving operation was performed, so that the following morning, the new main airport, located inland at Gardermoen (OSL), opened for operations as the main airport, as opposed to previously having been a minor airport.
As of 2001, the Fornebu area is being developed as a centre for information technology and telecom industry, as well as there being some housing project developments nearby. The new headquarters of Norway's telecom giant Telenor are located in the area.
The peninsula is connected to Langodden and Snarøya, which are more established areas of private residences.
Equipment=Nikon 750D
Lens Used=Tokina 17-35mm Lens
Exposures=7
Location=Fornebu, Norway
Workflow=Aurora 2018
Adobe Lightroom 5,
ON1 Photo 10=Increase Color,Dynamic Contrast, and Dark Glow
Nik Color=Brilliance/Warmth, Sunset, and Skylight
Aurora 2018=Realistic Dreamy
The Alhambra the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra, is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a fortress in 889 and later converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada.
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©2013 All rights reserved.
© Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission
A breach of copyright has legal consequences
The building, centre of picture, is the White Tomkins & Courage grain silo, Stanley Dock Liverpool, built c1913.
Grain imports were a quintessential component of Liverpool's historic port activity, employing several generations of local people. This particular building even had its own railway siding and the tracks still remain in place.
Apart from being of local heritage value the White Tomkins & Courage grain silo is a good (and locally rare) example of "industrial classicism" architecture. This evolved in the early 20th century as part of the Modern movement, promoted in Germany by Behrens, Loos, Gropius and Le Corbusier, whose key aesthetic aims were : -
(1) rejection of all unnecessary ornamentation
(2) use of the smooth, flat "modern materials" (reinforced concrete)
(3) expression of the building structure on the elevations as an integral component of the architecture
(4) in the absence of ornamentation, more focus on proportional perfection
This Liverpool dock estate building has all of these qualities in abundance in spite of an industrial silo being generally regarded as potentially a "low grade" architectural commission.
The White Tomkins & Courage building was demolished in September 2017. This action was taken following a local planning consultant's report that it was obstructing the conversion of the dock warehouses into residential accommodation and was "of no architectural or historic value".
COPYRIGHT © Towner Images
Treecreeper, ( Certhia familiaris ),
The Treecreeper forms a sibling species with the Short-toed Treecreeper in Europe. The Treecreeper is found in coniferous,mixed and some deciduous woodland ( the latter in places where the short-toed Treecreeperdoes not occur ). It prefers more upland or montane forests to the Short-toed species. The diet is mainly small insects and larvae, spiders and woodlice, as well as a few seeds, The food is obtained by searching cracks in the bark of trees and the species runs rapidly up and around tree-trunks, It uses its tail as a support like a woodpecker and rarely descends head-down like a Nuthatch. It is not gregarious and is seldom seen in a group other than family parties, but often associates with mixed feeding flocks of Tits in winter.
The nest is concealed behind loose bark on a tree or in a crevice, and is a loose cup of twigs, moss, roots and plant material, lined with feathers, wool or fine bark debris, Both sexes take part in nest-building. The Female incubates alone and the young are tended by both parents,
The Treecreeper is mainly resident and sedentary, though some movement of northern birds takes place in winter, with some of the Scandinavian form occasionally reaching Britain,
Length, - 13 cm
Wing Length, - 5.9 - 6.7 cm
Weight, - 9 g
Breeding,- End of April to June, 2 broods per year,
Mural inspired on the masterpiece of Vautier Ben... " L' art est inutile rentrez chez vous."
Questioning the validity of art....This mural was made in a very poor neighborhood in Brazil. In front of drug dealers spot. I wrote the sentence in english so people got very curious what does it mean. As most of people has a smartphone these days no matter how poor they are. People started to searched on internet what does it mean the sentence.
Interesting fact the Drug dealers liked the mural and bought me painting material.
Art is always useful to someone. It can take the form of instrumental spin or commodity-object. Art can provide a platform for narcissistic expression or fuel the introspective turn of passive nihilism. Through the postures of mannerist radicalism in the gallery, art can act as a pressure valve to reinforce a conservative orthodoxy.
The artist often occupies a position of weakness but by performing this weakness, art can reveal inconsistencies in the narrative.
What is the social function of art?
This sculpture touched me when I viewed it in Tate Britain. The forms of a family taken down to their fundamentals, a mother and father holding their child. Seemingly they are all grieving or in some deep sadness and yet they are holding one another, supporting each through the vulnerable, rawness of human experience.
This is the result of a day-long visit to northern Georgia, Murray County to be specific. Joining me on the trip were my good friends from Atlanta, Alan Cressler and Henning von Schmeling.
There were wildflowers galore, including some very rare ones and ones yet to be named. Included were a couple of "life list" ones for me, so it was a super botanizing day!
To read the full trip report, please go to Jim's Blog.
For the inner reality of man is a demarcation line between the shadow and the light, a place where the two seas meet; it is the lowest point on the arc of descent and therefore is it capable of gaining all the grades above. With education it can achieve all excellence; devoid of education it will stay on, at the lowest point of imperfection.
-Abdu'l-Baha
Form and colour in part of a Kamei glass vase.
SMC TAKUMAR 55mm f2
Day 29 of Pentax Forum's Daily in December 2019 Challenge
Theme Day: Old
2016-Jun-05 Chosen as Front Cover Photo for the
'a b s t r a X i o n ' group
FPWhtLdrPatGPPcSqlft&mdlr90&rgt)3exHDRCompo
Great Thanks go to Dennis Hill and Friends at FontPlay.com who provided the image used to form this Composite.
Their Free images can be found at:
www.fontplay.com/freephotos/index.htm
For maximum effect, click the image, to go into the Lightbox, to view at the largest size; or, perhaps, by clicking the expansion arrows at top right of the page for a Full Screen view.
Don't use or reproduce this image on Websites/Blog or any other media without my explicit permission.
© All Rights Reserved - Jim Goodyear 2016.
Rolls Royce Silver Spirit II (1989) Engine 6750cc V8 OHV Production 1658
Registration Number 887 EGG (Cherished number, originally allocated pre-1963, for issue from Glasgow)
ROLLS ROYCE ALBUM
www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623690651737...
The original Silver Spirit was introduced in 1980 as the first of a new generation of models for the company. It formed the basis for the Flying Spur, Silver Dawn, Touring Limousine and Park Ward. The same chassis was also used by sister company, Bentley for their new Mulsanne/Eight series. The new car shared the basic floor pan of the Silver Shadow as well as that car's 6.75 L V8 engine and GM transmission
The Silver Spirit II and Silver Spur II were introduced at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show. Again, the suspension was the main innovation, with Automatic Ride Control, a fully automatic system adjusting the dampers at all four wheels in real time.[ The dashboard was redesigned and other major innovations included the introduction of ABS braking and fuel injection as standard on all models. Originally retaining the three-speed Turbo Hydramatic GM400 transmission from earlier Spirits/Spurs, a four-speed unit (the GM 4L80E) was introduced in the winter of 1991.
Diolch am 85,014,664 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mae pob un yn 90cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr.
Thanks for 85,014,664 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated.
Shot 01.08-2021 exiting the Silverstone Festival 01.08.2021 Ref 149-445
The Pine Mountain Range is a long ridge in Meriwether County, Georgia, Harris County, Georgia, and Talbot County, Georgia. In fact, the highest altitudes in all three of these west Georgia counties can be found along the range.
The Pine Mountain Range is part of a larger geological feature known as the Pine Mountain Terrane, which extends into eastern Alabama. The ridge in Georgia exceeds 1,100 feet of elevation for a distance of about 20 miles. These are the highest elevations at so southerly a latitude in the eastern half of the continental United States. (The entire Pine Mountain Terrane is geologically distinct from the Appalachian Range, which terminates farther north in Georgia and Alabama.)
The high point on the ridge (1395 ft.) is at Dowdell's Knob. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a brick oven and picnic area constructed at this location for use during his many stays at his house in nearby Warm Springs. The Pine Mountain range begins around Lake Harding. At the extreme eastern end of the Pine Mountain ridge, it is intersected by the Flint River, forming the steep bluffs of Sprewell Bluff State Park.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Mountain_Range
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
The Eastern Ore Mountains form a natural region, that covers the eastern part of the Saxon Ore Mountains. It is part of the major landscape unit, the Saxon Highlands and Uplands. Its southern continuation covers an area of roughly the same extent in the Czech Republic.
The Eastern Ore Mountains is bounded in the west by the valley of the river Flöha and in the east by Saxon Switzerland, the German side of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The boundary with the Ore Mountain Foreland to the north is rather unclear, whilst in the south the crest of the mountain range closely follows the state border with the Czech Republic.
Das Osterzgebirge ist als Ostteil (flächenmäßig annähernd die Osthälfte) des sächsischen Erzgebirges ein Naturraum in Sachsen und Teil der Übereinheit Sächsisches Bergland und Mittelgebirge. Seine südliche Fortsetzung nimmt etwa gleich große Anteile Tschechiens ein.
Das Osterzgebirge wird im Westen vom Tal des Flusses Flöha und im Osten von der Sächsischen Schweiz, der deutschen, also der nördlichen Seite des Elbsandsteingebirges, begrenzt. Die Grenze zum Erzgebirgsvorland ist eher unscharf, während im Süden die Kammlinie annähernd mit der Staatsgrenze zu Tschechien zusammenfällt.
"Seaform Pavilion" ceiling.
I am a little tired of Chihuly — his works seem to be everywhere in the world, and he repeats himself too much to my taste. But I liked this installation in Tacoma.
The Bridge of Glass is a 500-foot (150 m) pedestrian partially-covered footbridge spanning Interstate 705 in Tacoma. It was opened in 2002 as a gift to the city. The Bridge of Glass connects the Museum of Glass on the Thea Foss Waterway to the downtown.
It was designed by Texas architect Arthur Andersson and is decorated with glass artworks by Dale Chihuly.
On the south end of the bridge, closest to the downtown is the "Seaform Pavilion", a 15-meter-long covered portion of the bridge suspending 2,364 pieces of colorful marine-life inspired glass on the ceiling overhead.
Tacoma, Washington. 2010
Italien / Toskana - San Gimignano
Piazza Duomo
San Gimignano (Italian pronunciation: [san dʒimiɲˈɲaːno]) is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls, form "an unforgettable skyline". Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with outstanding examples of secular buildings as well as churches. The Palazzo Comunale, the Collegiate Church and Church of Sant' Agostino contain frescos, including cycles dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. The "Historic Centre of San Gimignano" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town also is known for saffron, the Golden Ham, pecorino cheese and its white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from the ancient variety of Vernaccia grape which is grown on the sandstone hillsides of the area.
Territory
The municipality of San Gimignano extends for 138 km² and is located on a hill in Val d'Elsa. The altitude difference is between a minimum of 64 meters a.s.l. in the plain of the river Elsa near Certaldo at a maximum of 631 meters in the area of Cornocchio.
History
In the 3rd century BC a small Etruscan village stood on the site of San Gimignano. Chroniclers Lupi, Coppi and Pecori relate that during the Catiline conspiracy against the Roman Republic in the 1st century, two patrician brothers, Muzio and Silvio, fled Rome for Valdelsa and built two castles, Mucchio and Silvia (now San Gimignano). The name of Silvia was changed to San Gimignano in 450 AD after Bishop Geminianus, the Saint of Modena, intervened to spare the castle from destruction by the followers of Attila the Hun. As a result, a church was dedicated to the saint, and in the 6th and 7th centuries a walled village grew up around it, subsequently called the "Castle of San Gimignano" or Castle of the Forest because of the extensive woodland surrounding it. From 929 the town was ruled by the bishops of Volterra.
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era, it was a stopping point for Catholic pilgrims on their way to Rome and the Vatican, as it sits on the medieval Via Francigena. The city's development was also improved by the trade of agricultural products from the fertile neighbouring hills, in particular saffron, used in both cooking and dyeing cloth and Vernaccia wine, said to inspire popes and poets.
In 1199, the city made itself independent of the bishops of Volterra and established a podestà, and set about enriching the commune with churches and public buildings. However, the peace of the town was disturbed for the next two centuries by conflict between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, and family rivalries within San Gimignano. This resulted in competing families building tower houses of increasingly greater heights. Towards the end of the Medieval period, there were 72 tower houses in number, up to 70 metres (230 feet) tall. The rivalry was finally restrained when the local council ordained that no tower was to be taller than that adjacent to the Palazzo Comunale.
While the official patron is Saint Geminianus, the town also honours Saint Fina, known also as Seraphina and Serafina, who was born in San Gimignano 1238 and whose feast day is 12 March. The Chapel of Santa Fina in the Collegiate Church houses her shrine and frescos by Ghirlandaio. The house said to be her home still stands in the town.
On 8 May 1300, San Gimignano hosted Dante Alighieri in his role as ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany.
The city flourished until 1348, when it was struck by the Black Death that affected all of Europe, and about half the townsfolk died. The town submitted to the rule of Florence. Initially, some Gothic palazzi were built in the Florentine style, and many of the towers were reduced to the height of the houses. There was little subsequent development, and San Gimignano remained preserved in its medieval state until the 19th century, when its status as a touristic and artistic resort began to be recognised.
Description
The city is on the ridge of a hill with its main axis being north/south. It is encircled by three walls and has at its highest point, to the west, the ruins of a fortress dismantled in the 16th century. There are eight entrances into the city, set into the second wall, which dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. The main gates are Porta San Giovanni on the ridge extending south, Porta San Matteo to the north west and Porta S. Jacopo to the north east. The main streets are Via San Matteo and Via San Giovanni, which cross the city from north to south. At the heart of the town are four squares: the Piazza Duomo, on which stands the Collegiate Church; the Piazza della Cisterna, the Piazza Pecori and the Piazza delle Erbe. To the north of the town is another significant square, Piazza Agostino, on which stands the Church of Sant' Agostino. The locations of the Collegiate Church and Sant' Agostino's and their piazzas effectively divide the town into two regions.
Main sights
The town of San Gimignano has many examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. As well as churches and medieval fortifications, there are examples of Romanesque secular and domestic architecture which may be distinguished from each other by their round and pointed arches, respectively. A particular feature which is typical of the region of Siena is that the arches of openings are depressed, with doorways often having a second low arch set beneath a semi-circular or pointed arch. Both Romanesque and Gothic windows sometimes have a bifurcate form, with two openings divided by a stone mullion under a single arch.
Culture
San Gimignano is the birthplace of the poet Folgore da San Gimignano (1270–1332).
A fictionalised version of San Gimignano is featured in E. M. Forster's 1905 novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread as Monteriano.
M. C. Escher's 1923 woodcut San Gimignano depicts the celebrated towers.
Franco Zeffirelli used San Gimignano as a stand-in for the town of Assisi in his 1972 Saint Francis of Assisi biopic Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Most of the "Assisi" scenes were filmed here
Tea with Mussolini, a 1999 drama about the plight of English and American expatriate women in Italy during World War II, was filmed in part in San Gimignano. The frescoes that the women save from being destroyed during the German Army's withdrawal are inside the Duomo, the town's main church. The account of this episode is, to a large extent, fictional, because, although there are reports of intended retribution against the town, there is no evidence of a plan to destroy the churches. However, the reference to risk of cultural destruction is historic, as the Allies bombed the area for ten days.
In the 2005 novel The Broker by John Grisham, Joel Backman takes his second of three wives on vacation in Italy to keep her from divorcing him. They rent a 14th-century monastery near San Gimignano for a month.
A 15th-century version of the town is featured in the 2009 video game Assassin's Creed II.
(Wikpedia)
Piazza della Cisterna is a piazza in San Gimignano, Italy. It has a triangular shape with a slight natural slope and is connected to the nearby Piazza del Duomo by an open passage. The pavement is brick and the piazza is surrounded by houses and medieval towers. There are presently 5 towers onto the square or very near it and the bases of other five are visible on the facade of the various palaces, plus one, the Ridolfi tower, which is no longer in existence having collapsed in 1646 onto the family palace, thus making this relatively small area a concentrate of medieval architecture. In the south-west corner, the piazza meets the Arc of Becci, (l'arco dei Becci), an ancient city gate. The arc is flanked by the massive rectangular towers of Becci (torri dei Becci) on the left and Cugnanesi (torri dei Cugnanesi) on the right.
Past the access to via di Castello, which led down to the original Bishop’s castle, the northern side is characterized by the renaissance Cortesi Palace, which includes la torre del Diavolo, and extends along the north side of the square including the old houses of the Cattani family. There remains of two pre-existing towers are clearly visible onto the facade of the Cortesi Palace.
The west side is adorned with various towers, like the twin towers of Ardinghelli and the tower of palazzo Pellari visible over the roofs.
History
The piazza is located at the intersection of two main streets of the village of San Gimignano: la via Francigena that run north to south and la via Pisa - [[Siena]that runs east to west]. The piazza was used as a market and a stage for festivals and tournaments. Originally the area was divided in two squares by the palace and tall tower of the Ridolfi family, the Piazza dell’ Olmo in the inferior and western part and the Piazza delle Taverne in the eastern side and with the cisterna in the middle. In 1646 the tall Ridolfi tower suddenly collapsed, destroying the palace and thus the two squares were merged into one, the Piazza della Cisterna.
The piazza is named after the underground cistern (Cisterna) built in 1287. The cistern is capped by a travertine octagonal pedestal, which was built in 1346 under the mayor Guccio Malavolti whose coat of arms with the ladder is carved onto the stones, and is close to the center of the square.
(Wikipedia)
San Gimignano ist eine italienische Kleinstadt in der Toskana mit einem mittelalterlichen Stadtkern. San Gimignano wird auch „Mittelalterliches Manhattan“ oder die „Stadt der Türme“ genannt. Die Stadt liegt in der Provinz Siena und hat 7717 Einwohner (Stand 31. Dezember 2019). Sie gehört neben Florenz, Siena und Pisa zu den von Touristen meistbesuchten Zielen in der Toskana.
Allgemeines
Der historische Stadtkern ist seit dem Jahr 1990 Teil des Weltkulturerbes der UNESCO. San Gimignano besitzt noch einige der mittelalterlichen Geschlechtertürme, die in anderen Städten nur als Stümpfe erhalten blieben. Im Mittelalter versuchten die Patrizierfamilien, sich in der Höhe ihres Geschlechterturmes zu übertreffen, obwohl ein luxuriöses Leben darin nicht möglich war. Von den einst 72 Geschlechtertürmen existieren in San Gimignano heute noch 15. Die beiden höchsten, der Torre Grossa aus dem Jahr 1311 und der Torre della Rognosa, weisen eine Höhe von 54 bzw. 51 Metern auf. Die Zisterne auf der Piazza della Cisterna entstand 1287 und wurde 1346 durch den Podestà Guccio Malavolti erweitert.
Geografie
Die Stadt liegt ca. 40 km südwestlich der Regionalhauptstadt Florenz und ca. 28 km nordwestlich der Provinzhauptstadt Siena an der Via Francigena und im Elsatal. San Gimignano liegt in der klimatischen Einordnung italienischer Gemeinden in der Zone D, 2 085 GR/G.
Zu den Ortsteilen gehören Badia a Elmi (94 m, gehört teilweise zu Certaldo), Castel San Gimignano (377 m, gehört teilweise zu Colle di Val d’Elsa), Pancole (272 m), Santa Lucia (268 m) und Ulignano. Weitere wichtige Orte im Gemeindegebiet sind Montauto (277 m), Monteoliveto (275 m) Ranza und San Donato (357 m). Größter Ortsteil ist Ulignano mit ca. 690 Einwohnern.
Die wichtigsten Flüsse im Gemeindegebiet sind der Elsa (4 von 81 km im Gemeindegebiet) sowie die Torrenti Foci (4 von 15 km im Gemeindegebiet) und Riguardi (7 von 7 km im Gemeindegebiet).
Die Nachbargemeinden sind Barberino Tavarnelle (FI), Certaldo (FI), Colle di Val d’Elsa, Gambassi Terme (FI), Poggibonsi und Volterra (PI).
Geschichte
San Gimignano soll bereits um 300 bis 200 v. Chr. von den Etruskern besiedelt worden sein. Erstmals dokumentiert wurde der Ort 929. Den Namen erhielt die Stadt von dem heiligen Bischof von Modena, San Gimignano. Es heißt, er habe das Dorf vor den barbarischen Horden des Totila geschützt.
Diese Stadt verdankt ihre Existenz der Via Francigena (Frankenstraße). Auf diesem Hauptverkehrsweg des mittelalterlichen Italiens zogen Händler und Pilger vom Norden nach Rom. Der Ort bildete sich als Marktstätte zwischen dem frühmittelalterlichen Castello und der Pieve, dem Vorgängerbau der Collegiata. Ein erster Stadtmauerring wurde im 10. Jahrhundert angelegt. Dessen Verlauf markieren zwei noch erhaltene Stadttore, im Norden der Arco della Cancelleria und im Süden der Arco dei Becci.
Vom 11. Jahrhundert an dehnte sich das Stadtgebiet entlang der Frankenstraße in nördlicher und südlicher Richtung aus. An die Existenz des früheren Castello erinnern die Via di Castello, eine der ältesten Straßen, und die Kirche von San Lorenzo, die bei der Zugbrücke lag. Mindestens seit dem Jahr 929 gehörte das Kastell den Bischöfen von Volterra. Diese Bischöfe waren es auch, die die Herrschaft über die sich ausdehnende Stadt ausübten. Erst 1199 gelang es den von den Bürgern gewählten Konsuln, Verträge ohne die Zustimmung des Bischofs zu unterzeichnen. San Gimignano war nie Bischofssitz, sondern gehörte zum kirchlichen Verwaltungsbezirk (Diözese) Volterra und erlangte somit auch keine Stadtrechte. Trotzdem verlief die politische Entwicklung der Landkommune in ähnlichen Schritten wie die der großen Städte. Die Regierung der Konsuln wurde durch den Podestà (einem gewählten Administrator) abgelöst. Diesem standen ein kleiner und ein großer Rat zur Seite. Dem großen Rat gehörte eine bemerkenswert hohe Zahl von 1200 Mitgliedern an, obwohl San Gimignano nur 6000 Einwohner hatte.
Die freie Kommune stritt bis ins 14. Jahrhundert mit den Bischöfen von Volterra in langjährigen Kriegen um Besitzrechte. Sie musste gegen die Nachbarorte Castelfiorentino, gegen Colle und Poggibonsi zu Felde ziehen und nahm auf der Seite des guelfischen Florenz an den großen Machtkämpfen des 13. Jahrhunderts teil. Auch innerhalb der Stadtmauern setzten sich die Kämpfe zwischen Guelfen (Welfen) und Ghibellinen (Waiblinger) fort. Es kam zu blutigen Familienfehden zwischen den Familien der Salvucci (Ghibellinen) und der Ardinghelli (Guelfen).
Ab Mai 1300 hielt sich Dante Alighieri in diplomatischer Mission in San Gimignano auf. Vom 15. Juni bis 15. August 1300 amtierte er als eines von sechs Mitgliedern des Priorats, des höchsten Gremiums der Stadt. Im Jahre 1319 versuchte er in seiner Funktion als führender Florentiner Politiker vergeblich, die verfeindeten Parteien zu versöhnen. Eine Kommune wie San Gimignano konnte sich im 14. Jahrhundert nicht mehr neben den Großmächten behaupten. Im Jahre 1348 wurde die Stadt neben Kriegsverlusten und Familienfehden durch die Pest stark geschwächt. Vier Jahre später, im Jahre 1352, begab sich die Stadt unter den Schutz von Florenz.
Die Blütezeit der Stadt dauerte 160 Jahre an, ihr Wohlstand beruhte auf Handel und dem Anbau von Safran, mit dem man Seidenstoffe färbte. Die Frankenstraße verlor im Spätmittelalter allmählich an Bedeutung, weil der Handel die bequemeren Wege durch die weitgehend trockengelegten Sümpfe der Ebenen vorzog. Die Stadt, die einst Gesetze gegen übertriebenen Luxus erlassen hatte, verarmte.
Hochrenaissance (ca. 1500 bis 1530) und Barock (1575 bis 1770) hinterließen in San Gimignano so gut wie keine Spuren. Die Stadt war niemals ein eigenständiges Kunstzentrum. Künstler aus Siena und Florenz malten die Fresken und Altartafeln. Die Paläste und Kirchen zeigen pisanische, sienesische, lucchesische und florentinische Stilmerkmale. In San Gimignano ist die Zeit scheinbar im Jahr 1563 stehengeblieben. Der erste der toskanischen Großherzöge, Cosimo I. de’ Medici, entschied, es dürfen „auch keine geringen Summen“ mehr in diese Stadt investiert werden. Das musste akzeptiert werden, und so ist San Gimignano geblieben, wie es damals war.
(Wikipedia)