Mura di San Gimignano (Walls of San Gimignano), San Gimignano

San Gimignano, located on the 1,064-foot high Tower Hill (Poggio della Torre) between the Elsa and Era Valleys, is a fortified medieval town. The first wall encirclement was erected in 998. By 1207, San Gimignano was independent and new walls were built around the villages of San Matteo and San Giovanni.

The remains of the "new" walls can be seen today. Three gates in the walls still stand. On the north side of town is the Goro Atch (Arco de Goro). Becci Atch (Arco dei Becci) in the east still has its battlement machicolations. In the west are the stone Arches of San Matteo. By 1229 the city skyline was jammed with towers. By 1251 new town walls were needed.

By 1262, two main gates were established on Francigena Street, San Giovanni Gate and San Matteo Gate. The new walls were of thick stone quarried from nearby Pecille. Square towers and some hollow towers are reinforced at strategic points. The gates were provided with breteches battlements and defensive ditches.

The walls of 1262 are still standing for the most part with their gates: San Giovanni, San Matteo, Delle Fonti, Quercecchio, and San Jacopo. In 1353, Florentine authorities built a new fortification on the Hill of Montestaffoli on the existing walls. In 1555 Duke Cosimo di Medici began to dismantle some fortifications. This stopped in 1558.