It is quite difficult to mention 'San Gimignano' and not immediately think of the thousands of medieval towers that stand high up, whose iconic skyline interrupts the frame of the rolling Tuscan hills. It is one of the best known and most visited places, thanks to the unusual number of vertical structures that have remained stubbornly preserved to this day, but how many of you know its history?

San Gimignano is a fascinating destination for the whole family, but in order to really understand it, the origins of its richness need to be traced back.

San Gimignano is a perfect example of how a flower can change the course of a town's history forever. Its prosperity, which began in the Middle Ages, was linked to the trade of a small flower whose delicate petals and bright red pestles: the crocus sativus, from which the precious saffron is made.

Saffron of high value still today, in the 13th century it was cultivated by numerous families and sold by the weight of gold: the spices were traded along ancient communication routes such as the Via del Sale (Salt Road), which connected San Gimignano to Volterra and the area now known as Saline di Volterra (which can still be travelled today) but also, and above all, outside the territorial borders. Besides supplying Genoa and Europe, San Gimignano saffron also crossed the seas to impose its importance in the Middle East.