Our Vespa adventure is drawing to a close, but we still have one last day of riding and exploring to enjoy. Our little company is down to only four riders now; John and Alex had to return early to their home in Bergamo in northern Italy, leaving just Ace, Tess, and your humble correspondent to enjoy the sights that Dr. M. would lead us to.
Our first stop would be the hilltop fortress of Monteriggioni. Monteriggioni is a very well preserved example of the fortress-castles that used to dot the countryside. Construction of Monterrigioni was started in 1203 by the Sienese to check Florentine attempts at expansion in the area. The outer walls were finished by the mid-13th century. Siense attempts to establish a colony there failed, and thus Monterrigioni was to be strictly a military outpost, with a small enclave of homes and shops within the walls. The bastion at Monteriggione held out for three centuries, until it was surrendered to the Florentine commander Marignano in 1554.
Admission to the castle itself is free, but to help defray the expenses of maintaining and continuing the restoration, they do charge a small fee to walk along the castle battlements and visit the museum. Both are well worth the cost. From the top of the walls, you enjoy a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, and begin to understand the advantage gained by fortifying these heights. The museum is a small but very well laid-out affair, with many artifacts and life-size dioramas depicting scenes from the time Monteriggioni served as part of Siena's defensive bulwark against their Florentine rivals.
After thoroughly exploring the castle and it's shops, we returned to our Vespas and set out for the medieval city of San Gimigiano. This is one of Italy's most famous historical cities, famous for its many towers, built during the Renaissance. Originally the site of a small Etruscan village of the Hellenistic Period (200-300BC), San Gimigiano was founded in the 10th century, taking it's name from the Holy Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano. Sitting squarely across the main trading and pilgrimage route known as the "Via Francigena", the town rapidly grew in wealth and importance. Due to internal power struggles, the town divided into two factions, on headed by the Guelph-favoring Ardinghelli family, and the other one led by the Salvuccis, who were loyal to the Ghibellines. These rival factions built the tall towers that dominate the town to demonstrate their wealth and power. Of the 72 towers originally built, 14 remain.
We spent the better part of the afternoon exploring the towns shops, piazzas, and churches, being sure to enjoy some very fine gelato along the way. Finally, we returned to the Vespas, and Dr. M. led us again through some of the finest riding country in Tuscany back to Radda. It was a very bittersweet moment handing the keys of Vespa #15 back over to Dr. M. For our week in Tuscany, she was a loyal mount, taking us all through the Tuscan hills without a single hiccup.
We returned to our villa to pack and spend one last night. Tomorrow, Dr. M would load us and our gear into the Golden Travel van and return to the station in Florence, where we would catch a train to Rome. While our adventure with Italy by Vespa had come to an end, we still have three days to explore Rome!
Next: Return to the Eternal City.
