San Gimignano delle belle Tor­ri‘ is in Tus­cany, 56 km south of Flo­rence. It served as an impor­tant relay point for pil­grims trav­el­ling to or from Rome on the Via Fran­ci­ge­na. The patri­cian fam­i­lies who con­trolled the town built around 72 tow­er-hous­es (some as high as 50 m) as sym­bols of their wealth and pow­er. Although only 14 have sur­vived, San Gimignano has retained its feu­dal atmos­phere and appear­ance. The town also has sev­er­al mas­ter­pieces of 14th- and 15th-cen­­tu­ry Ital­ian art.