Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano
The city was founded as a small village in the 3rd century BC by the Etruscans. While in other cities like Bologna or Florence, most or all of the towers were brought down by wars, catastrophes or urban renewal, San Gimignano managed to conserve 13 towers of varying height which are its international symbol. M.C. Escher's 1923 woodcut depicts it looking pretty much the same as it did then and pretty much the same as now:
This is what Manhattan would look like if Fred Flintstone and Mr. Slate had been put in charge of building it. The oddest part was walking along these old streets of original stone facades and coming across an ATM machine built right into the wall. So many tourist shops and medieval weaponry for sale, though, it kind of felt like Medieval World at Disneyland.