Via San Matteo, San Gimignano

Via San Matteo is one of the most characteristic and important streets in the historic center of San Gimignano, on the north-south axis along which the Via Francigena passed. It runs from Piazza del Duomo to Porta San Matteo.

A neighborhood was formed along the street at the same time as Via San Giovanni, which was included in the new walls of the 13th century. The buildings along it are largely in the thirteenth-century forms, with a remarkably consistent sequence of medieval structures.

Starting from Piazza del Duomo, one encounters on the left the twin towers of the Salvucci, then the tower of the Pettini. Next is the double arch of the Cancelleria, an ancient city gate of the first circle of walls, followed on the right by the Palazzo della Cancelleria or dei Marsili, built between the late 13th and early 14th centuries and recognizable by its three arched doors and two mullioned windows with trefoil arches.

A little further on, also on the right, is the ancient church of San Bartolo, which was formerly dedicated to St. Matthew and gave the street its name.

The Pesciolini House-tower has Florentine-style architecture, with two stories of mullioned windows with two lights, and is located in front of the Mori Palace. Further on is the Casa Baccinelli and a 13th-century cut-off tower. Shortly after, one encounters the archway of the Diacceto alley and the Larini Palace, with two mullioned windows with two lights on the second floor; the alley of San Matteo is also framed by an arched passage. In the next stretch, one encounters the Francerdelli house, with ashlar on the second floor, the Pecori house, and, at the corner with the alley of the Virgin, the Tinacci Palace, composed of two buildings side by side. Before the Porta San Matteo gate one still encounters the Bonmaccorsi Vichi palace, which contains frescoes by Bernardino Poccetti inside.