During the medieval period, the
wealthy residences of San Gimignano displayed their wealth and status by erecting
expensive stone towers. Property was at a premium in the hilltop town, and even the
wealthy families owned very narrow pieces of land. So, the towers were very narrow, about
as wide as the houses on top of which they were built, with little inside most of the
towers except dirt. The wealthy residences would out do each other by building towers
taller than the others. At one time, thirty-nine towers rose above the town.
Occasionally, two wealthy families
would feud with each other. When one family emerged victorious, it would often demand that
the vanquished family remove some stones from the top of its tower to make it shorter, and
give the stones to the victorious family to add to the top of its tower to make
it taller. Thus, the towers grew and shrank over the years.
