Next, we visited the Church of Sant'Agostino, and its wonderful frescos, which were hidden away in the darkness until we activated the coin-operated lights. The spectacle of jewel-like colors was worth the cost, although some of the panels had been irreparably damaged: the frescoed surface broken off, the images it contained, gone forever.

St. Augustine Teaches in Rome
The Church of Sant'Agostino contains frescos of the life of Saint Augustine painted by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1465.

St. Augustine Departs for Milan
The fantasy version of San Gimignano, with all its splendid towers, is in the background (mouse over for a closer look).

I had only planned for a day trip, but Justine had made arrangements to spend the night here, in the local hostel. I envied her the opportunity to enjoy San Gimignano once all the buses had departed with their loads. I would have liked to get up early with her to watch the sun rise between the towers.

Deferring my departure for as long as possible, I decided to leave on the last bus. At this point not many visitors remained and the local folks began to come out, as though the tourist onslaught was a passing rainstorm that had let up at last.

As the sky darkened, Justine waited with me for the bus. We had only known each other about a day, yet we felt terribly sad to be parting. That's the price of these transient friendships, and we paid it that night, knowing that this, too, was worth the cost.

Next: Seen in Siena's Seashell