San Gimignano, Siena Tuscany, Italy Jul 30, 2024

San Gimignano, Siena Tuscany, Italy

These medieval towers stand tall over San Gimignano, a small town near Siena in north central Italy. In the Middle Ages, a town grew up around a church dedicated to St. Geminianus (San Gimignano in Italian). As well as being a popular stop for pilgrims on their way to Rome, the town prospered thanks to its trade in local Vernaccia wine and in saffron, which is grown in the nearby hills. However, when the Black Death struck in 1348, half the population was lost, slowing the town"s development and preserving its medieval character to this day.

© MNStudio/Shutterstock

palette

Today in History

Jul 30, 2018Children at play for International Day of Friendship
Jul 30, 2019A long, erratic commute
Jul 30, 2020International Day of Friendship
Jul 30, 2021Working for that cliffside view
Jul 30, 2022Milford Sound/Piopiotahi rainforest in New Zealand
Jul 30, 2023Palouse farmland, Washington state
Jul 30, 2025International Day of Friendship

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 21, 2018A tower of light
Jun 12, 2022Big Bend National Park turns 78
Dec 29, 2019Helloooooo, Innsbruck
Aug 12, 2022World Elephant Day
Nov 5, 2019Balloons and camels are two ways to catch a ride here
May 28, 2021Freeloaders of the avian world
Oct 14, 2018Gone ‘lightseeing’ in Berlin
Apr 6, 2025National Library Week
Mar 10, 2020A festival of colors
Mar 18, 2018Christmas Tree Point Road and Twin Peaks, San Francisco
Oct 20, 2023International Sloth Day
Jul 26, 2025International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem
Apr 16, 2023Go Fly a Kite Day
Oct 25, 2024Frankenstein Friday
Feb 27, 2018A polar bear near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Jun 3, 2018Travel Sunday: Liverpool
Oct 3, 2022World Architecture Day
Feb 20, 2022World Whale Day
Apr 19, 2022Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia
Aug 20, 2021Signs of life in the Empty Quarter
Mar 6, 2021Here there be dragons
Dec 31, 20193, 2, 1 … Happy New Year!
May 16, 2024International Day of Light
Jul 20, 2025Moon Day
Apr 26, 2022Landscape Architecture Month
May 19, 2021A path lain with petals
Feb 25, 2022 Legacy mural in Philadelphia
Jan 23, 2025Sundance Film Festival
Jul 28, 2018Defying gravity on a swing ride
Mar 10, 2023Vale of Edale, Peak District, England