San Gimignano is cloaked in a timeless charm, which over the centuries has nourished the minds and imaginations of great personalities, inspiring not only men of letters but also poets and poets. The beauty of the city and the love it can arouse in souls resonate in loose verse, sonorous rhymes, impressions and dreams turned into words. From some of these works begins a journey that takes us to discover a different side of San Gimignano, with a walk that interweaves the suggestions of the landscape with the poetic voices of those who, from the Middle Ages to the present day, have populated, lived in and animated the city, walking its streets and capturing its essence in unforgettable verse.

It is an experience that goes straight to the heart, and speaks to romantic souls. Step by step, the city is transformed from a physical place to an emotional and spiritual envelope, a treasure chest of stories and feelings passed down from generation to generation. You will listen to the deep voice that the stones of the historic center - a World Heritage Site - guard, heedless of the passage of centuries. Perhaps not by chance, Magda Ceccarelli De Grada called it "the philosophical walk." Between the landscape of the Tuscan countryside on one side and the city walls on the other, the itinerary winds through places that know how to arouse passions and deep thoughts. Even the painter Ernesto Treccani, Magda's son-in-law, loved to stand on these stone seats to admire the view and represent it in many of his paintings.

In the summer of San Gimignano
The poetic journey begins with the words of Folgore da San Gimignano, the town's eminent poet, whose verses are found in literature anthologies and are studied in Italian and foreign universities. Although his life remains shrouded in mystery, the joyful and playful rhymes of his sonnets speak to us of a world of dreams and pleasures, of carefree days spent in his company, and of seasons that follow one another in the harmony of nature. D'Agosto, a 13th-century sonnet, slowly plunges us into a universe of colors and scents, laughter and excitement, in which life is the protagonist and celebrated in its many shades.

Toward the sky, the song of the city
We continue the journey with the verses of Gina Gennai, a late 19th-century daughter of San Gimignano, whose indomitable spirit resonates in her rhymes. The poet sings of the female independence that women were trying to gain in the early 1900s, and of the town to which she always remained very attached. One's Own Land (1923), takes us to her hometown, a "sonorous" San Gimignano rising to the sky.

In winter, impetuous nostalgia
As the seasons change, San Gimignano changes guise, and from D'Agosto we come to Inverno (1971). His short, intense verses, endowed with great rhythm, came from the pen of Magda Ceccarelli De Grada. Her resolute personality was at the center of Milan's cultural ferment during the years of the Resistance, and it was in the Milanese city, to which she had moved with her husband, the painter Raffaele De Grada, that she wrote the poems dedicated to San Gimignano, of which she recalls the places, people and life.

Of colors and landscapes
As we venture through the streets of San Gimignano, we also encounter the voices of contemporary Italian poets who have found inspiration in this city during creative residencies or cultural encounters. Through their words we hear the echoes of the past mingle with the present, and we sense the birth of a new, unbreakable bond between the generations of poets and poets who have contributed to making the city a place of eternal inspiration and beauty. During the walk, we will discover these synergies in the poems Paesaggio (Antonella Anedda, 2007); Prendere dimora (Elisa Biagini, 2009); Canti di un luogo abbandonato (Azzurra D'Agostino, 2013); Ciò che il mondo separa (Francesca Matteoni, 2021).

The San Gimignano Poetic Walk was edited by Natascia Tonelli, professor of Italian Literature at the University of Siena, and Elisa Biagini, a Florentine poet published by Einaudi. It can be enjoyed freely, walking around the town and reading the poems where the soul resonates and the eyes are filled with wonder.