Piazza della Cisterna is a piazza in San Gimignano, Italy. It is triangular with a slight natural slope, and is connected to the nearby Piazza del Duomo by an open passage. The pavement is made of brick, and the piazza is surrounded by houses and medieval towers. There are currently 5 towers onto the square or very near it, and the bases of other five are visible on the facade of the various palaces, including the Ridolfi tower, which no longer exists since it collapsed in 1646 onto the Ridolfi family palace. The family palace divided the square into two alongside the short axis, thus making this relatively small area a concentrate of medieval architecture. In the south-west corner, the piazza meets the Arc of Becci, (l'arco dei Becci), an ancient city gate. The arc is flanked by the massive rectangular towers of Becci (torri dei Becci) on the left and Cugnanesi (torri dei Cugnanesi) on the right. [1]
Past the access to via di Castello on the east side, which led down to the original Bishop’s castle, the northern side of the square is occupied by the renaissance Cortesi Palace, which extended up to the torre del Diavolo, and extends along the north side of the square including the old houses of the Cattani family. The remains of two pre-existing towers of the Cattani palace are clearly visible onto the facade of the Cortesi Palace.
The west side is adorned with various towers, like the twin towers of Ardinghelli and the tower of palazzo Pellari visible over the roofs.
