Not only Vernaccia and Marzolino: the Food&wine’s excellences of San Gimignano also draw from the ancient science of spices, of which the “city of a hundred spiers” is a piece of history is particularly important since the Middle Ages.
In the municipal area of the village of Siena grows in fact still the most preciousSaffron of San Gimignano, a real jewel in the crown among the typical Tuscan organic products with PDO since 2004. The hills of San Gimignano overlooking the Elsa Valley are among the very few natural areas ideal for the cultivation of this precious spice, which in Italy has other locations on the slopes of Etna and the mountains of L’Aquila.
The production of Saffron of San Gimignano DOP happens in the area of the municipal territory, where already in the thirteenth century in the middle of the Middle Ages were registered documents relating to the export of the precious spice to Pisa and Genoa and a sharp increase in commercial traffic to the merchant countries African and Oriental. As a further proof of its value, in 1228 the municipality of San Gimignano saffron was even used to meet the costs of a siege.
Obtained from the collection of the characteristic orange-red coloured stigmas of this perennial bulbous plants native to the Asian continent, the DOP Saffron of San Gimignano is one of the ingredients most used in some recipes of mouth-watering dishes of tuscan cuisine and Siena in particular, great for giving color and flavor to homemade pasta or main courses of meat.
Ideal place to enjoy the deliciousness of local Saffron, and many other specialties of Tuscan cuisine, a taste of a food & wine tuscan holiday in San Gimignano can also be the perfect opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of a romantic getaway in the Medieval atmosphere of the “hundred towers” village and relaxing comfort in an historical 3-star hotel in San Gimignano!