On my own for awhile
Gail, Gen and Tyler decided that they wanted to climb to the top of this clock tower in order to see the whole town. I had enough of climbing. While Gail's mother went shopping for postcards I wandered off and explored some of the side streets. There was something interesting everywhere I walked. San Gimignano reminded me of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Both are walled Medieval towns whose current economy is dependent on tourism. There were tourist traps all over San Gimi but what the heck, I AM a tourist.
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI establis... ... read more 
