Italian Culinary Adventure 2003 ~ Day Six ~ San Gimignano

Piazza del Cisterna

After a very busy two days, this morning we all decided to take it easy, and those who wished to, slept in, while the rest of us simply had a leisurely morning. After our morning walk, we prepared a nice breakfast on the huge wooden table in front of the open windows. The sky was very blue, and there was not a cloud in the sky, and we left the farmhouse just after 10 am. for San Gimignano. I thought since it was not too long of a drive, that it would be a good choice of destination that day since we all wanted a less hectic day.

I had been to San Gimignano a number of times over the years, and have always enjoyed my visits. Just 38 km. from Siena, it sits high on a hill top with impressive views of the surrounding countryside in all directions. San Gimignano is certainly one of Tuscany's best preserved medieval hill towns, and seems to be attracting more and more tourists each time I visit. As well as being just a nice town to walk through, what San Gimignano is most famous for is it's towers. At one point in history, there were actually 70 separate towers, although today 14 remain. I have read the towers were initially built to help defend the town, both providing a safe place to hide, as well as being a high point to pour hot oil on attacking enemies. It seems though, that later many towers were built to compete with a neighboring family, and to bolster male egos by being able to show off a taller tower than your neighbors.

Parking was not easy that day as most of the lots were full, so we ended up parking lower down the hill and walking back up, stopping off at a bar for our routine morning cappuccino. We arrived in San Gimignano that morning to find the main square, Piazza del Cisterna set up for the weekly market, and throngs of people, both locals and tourists milling around buying clothing, produce, and crafts. I hadn't visited San Gimignano for about 4 years, and was surprised to find it so much busier than it had been on my last visit. I also noted, that although the two main streets leading from the main square always had been lined with shops, there seemed to be even more stores created than on my last visit, all vying for the tourist dollar by selling everything from local artisan food products, ceramics from Cortona, the usual tacky souvenirs, and of course the local wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano. We walked around for a couple of hours exploring the narrow streets and browsing through the shops before deciding it was once again time to eat.

Osteria delle Catene was the restaurant we had chosen for lunch, located just a short walk beyond the main square. Although small, the arched brick ceilings, and simple, clean look are very pleasant, and when we arrived the place was already bustling. We learned later that the restaurant was running short staffed, and the jovial, extremely friendly owner was waiting on all of the tables himself. We were seated at the only remaining table in the back, and ordered a bottle of San Gimignano' s light, white wine, Vernaccia. The menu was fairly limited, and all dishes were typical of the area. Since this was to be our large meal of the day, we each ordered two courses. I chose Spaghetti delle Osteria to start, and it was delicious consisting of a sauce made with pureed zucchini, sausages and hot peppers. Other dish selections to start were a plate of typical Tuscan cold meats, Penne Pasta with Pumpkin and Balsamic Vinegar, Tagliatelle con Ragu, and Ribollita. All dishes were thoroughly enjoyed, although I did find the sauce of pumpkin and balsamic vinegar a bit sweet for my taste.

For our second courses we chose more local specialties, including my choice which was boneless leg of lamb sliced thinly and served with a tasty rosemary and Vernaccia wine sauce. Roasted rabbit was another selection ordered, slow cooked again in Vernaccia, and so tender you could cut it with your fork. A couple in our party ordered the stracotto, or roast of beef slow cooked in a red wine sauce. It too was extremely tender, and the sauce was very hearty and full flavored. The last dish chosen was roasted pork with rosemary, and again it arrived at our table thinly sliced with a similar wine sauce infused with herbs. To complete our meal, we ordered side dishes of spinach and beans, and then finished off with the usual espresso. Once again, we had thoroughly enjoyed our meal, and were very pleased with our choice of restaurant. We thanked the owner and headed back out to explore the city for another hour or so before heading back to our farmhouse in Asciano.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening relaxing by the pool, reading and playing cards, eating take-out pizza from town later on for dinner. It was hard to believe our week was coming to a close, with only one more full day to spend together. Our decision made that evening was to drive down the Chianti road the next day stopping anywhere that we thought looked interesting. Soon, we headed off to bed thinking about our wonderful stay in Tuscany and looking forward to the next day.

Osteria delle Catene, "Tavern of Chains"
Via Mainardi 18
San Gimignano
Tel: 0577/941966
Reservations Recommended
Closed Wednesdays
Overall Impressions: I had found this restaurant listed in many travel books as well as online, and chose it due to the fact it was always highly rated, even though I was worried it might be a "tourist trap". Our meal here was wonderful, the owner couldn't have been more friendly or pleasant, and although there were indeed a number of other tourists present the day we visited, the dishes were true to the region, and not adapted to the taste of foreigners.

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Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2003
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