Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano

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Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the
Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa.
The city is best known worldwide for its famous leaning bell tower (The Leaning Tower of Pisa).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa

Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the
Etruscans (c. 900 BC to 400 BC) when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina.
The Etruscans were an advanced people who changed the face of central Italy through
their use of irrigation to reclaim previously unfarmable land, and their custom of
building their settlements in well-defended hill-forts. ... Siena's cathedral, the
Duomo, begun in the twelfth century, is one of the great examples of Italian
romanesque architecture. Its main façade was completed in 1380. It is unusual for
a Christian cathedral in that its axis runs north-south. This is because it was
originally intended to be the largest cathedral in existence, with a north-south
transept and an east-west aisle, as is usual. After the completion of the transept
and the building of the east wall (which still exists and may be climbed by the
public via an internal staircase) the money ran out and the rest of the cathedral
was abandoned. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena

San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena,
Tuscany, north-central Italy. It is mainly famous for its medieval architecture,
especially its towers, which may be seen from several kilometers outside the town.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano

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