Tuscany: breathtaking countryside, transparent water, historic cities – top destination in Italy…
In Tuscany the beauty of landscapes meets with an extraordinary culture, art cities spot an amazing countryside, and the transparent sea is overlooked by ancient fortresses. 10% of the territory is a protected area. Tuscany is one of the best destinations in Italy, thanks to its charming traditions, its delicious food, the culture of wine and the magic of nature.
Soprano Suggested Areas
Other areas to visit
Coming Here
International airports
- Florence | Amerigo Vespucci International Airport. Phone: +39 055 3061300
- Pisa | Galileo Galilei International Airport. Phone: +39 050 849300
Geography
Tuscany stretches from the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Sea, to the Apennines mountains in the north. Off the coast the Tuscan Archipelago extends with the islands of Elba, Capraia, Gorgona, Pianosa, Montecristo, Giglio and Giannutri. Much of the region is hilly.
Climate
Tuscany enjoys a mild weather. The coast has a Mediterranean climate: the average temperature in July is 25° C, in January between 8° C and 10° C. The interior has a more tempered climate, with higher thermal excursion and slightly lower temperature (4°/7° in January, 24° C/26° C in July). A curiosity: Tuscany is the Italian region with the higher amount of daylight.
Events
Palio di Siena| The famous horse race takes place in Piazza del Campo, Siena, July the 2nd in honor of Madonna di Provenzano, and August the 16th in honor of Madonna Assunta.
History and Culture
The history of Tuscany begins in the second millennium BC, when a primitive population lived in villages built on stilts. But the first people who made his entry into the big history is the Etruscans. The Etruscans flourished in the tenth century BC, and were finally absorbed by the Roman civilization in the first century BC. Etruscans built streets, necropolis – like Tarquinia – and cities – like Arezzo, Chiusi, Volterra, Vetulonia and Roselle. They traded with the Greeks, built ceramics and worshiped a pantheon of deities. They reclaimed wetlands and they made wars to establish their supremacy in the Italian peninsula. Today you can visit the ruins of cities and necropolis, especially in the Maremma area, like Sovana, Vetulonia and Populonia. The Etruscans lost power due to the arrival of the Romans. After them, the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines and the Lombards dominated the area. In the Middle Ages Tuscan municipalities flourished. Magnificent squares, cathedrals and palaces were built in Pisa, Lucca, Siena and Florence. The typical villages protected by walls appeared in the countryside. In this period new social experiments took place – people were able to participate to the power and enjoyed economic and cultural autonomy. Extraordinary artists such as Giotto, Cimabue, Giovanni Boccaccio and Francesco Petrarca changed the rules of perspective and painting, literature and poetry, while Dante Alighieri began to use the Tuscan dialect instead of Latin in his works. The Italian language was about to born. Among the cities of the period, one took over: the city of Florence. Florence has been the cradle of the Italian Renaissance, a cultural mouvement that changed the perspective on things in Italy and later in Europe. In XV century AD, the Medici family consolidated the power over the city, inaugurating a period of splendor. The studies of the ancient classical culture flourished, and the human being substituted God as center of interest. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Botticelli and Donatello discovered and experimented new ways of doing art, while Niccolò Machiavelli elaborated his political theories. In XIX century Tuscany became an important centre of the Italian Resurgence, giving birth to one of the most relevant centres of the independence mouvement. Finally, during World War II Tuscans has been hardcore partisans against fascism.
UNESCO World Heritage sites
- Historic center of Florence
- Pisa’s Piazza del Duomo
- Historic center of San Gimignano
- Historic center of Siena
- Historic center of Pienza
- Val d’Orcia
Food
Tuscan cuisine is known all over the world for its quality. The first product is bread, typically unsalted. The legend says the custom dates back to XII century, when the city of Pisa blocked trades of sodium chloride toward Florence. The importance of bread is attested by several traditional receipts that use it for cooking – like panzanella, ribollita, acquacotta and pappa al pomodoro. In Tuscany the meet is delicious. Among the special varieties, the cinta senese is possibly one of the best known. This is a pig bred in the wild, mainly in Siena area. Pigs are marked with a white band around the neck and Tuscans eat them in the form of ham, steak or ragout. The chianina and maremmana meets are yummy as well. This is beef from animals bred in the wild in Val di Chiana and Maremma. Among cheeses, the best known is Tuscan pecorino, especially the one from Pienza. Siena is the city of traditional sweets, as panforte di Siena and the soup of the Duke (better known as tiramisu).
Wines
Tuscan wine is known all over the world for its excellence. From the central area of the region come red wines as Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Nobile di Montepulciano. In Maremma area is made another exquisite wine – Morellino di Scansano.
MAIN AREAS
Florence and Chianti
Florence is a piece of art rather than a simple city. Cradle of the Italian Renaissance, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. The extraordinary city centre was declared a World Heritage Site UNESCO in 1982, and Forbes ranked it as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The town lies on the banks of river Arno, and it appears as a living museum of art and architecture. Among its attractions, the Duomo of Filippo Brunelleschi, Ponte Vecchio (the Old Bridge) on river Arno, and Piazza della Signoria at the heart of the city. Two important museums, the huge Uffizi Museum and Pitti Palace, gather extraordinary masterpieces, such as the Botticelli Venus (Uffizi Museum). Tens of historic palaces skirt the roads. In these houses and villas lived personalities such as Dante Alighieri, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti. Giotto, Donatello, Galileo Galilei, Nicolò Machiavelli and Amerigo Vespucci. Possibly no other city in Italy gave so much to the country from a cultural point of view. The countryside around Florence, Chianti, is one of the most beautiful in Italy. Olives trees, vineyards and mild hills create a landscape of incredible beauty. The best way to explore Chianti is by car. The streets cross hills and fields, bending among farms and medieval villages, offering unforgettable views of the area. Tasting Chianti wine is of course a must here. Many of the wineries are open for a tour.
Monte Argentario and Maremma
The south-western part of Tuscany is the Maremma – a wild area that overlooks a pristine sea and hosts ancient villages dotting an amazing countryside. This is the best spot for nature and sea lovers. Maremma coast is 160 km long of sandy beaches, bays and sea cliffs. Its waters are among the cleanest in the country and its beaches have been winning the recognition of the Blue Flag for years. Picturesque fishing villages live together with old Etruscan ruins and Saracen fortresses. The area is one of the least populated in Italy and many natural reserves and parks have been established, as the Maremma Natural Park. Culinary traditions are deeply rooted in Maremma. While the inland offers delicious meals of meet, the coast is specialized in fish. There is always a glass of good wine, such as Morellino or the white wine from Pitigliano. Among the sites to visit, the Etruscan Roselle Archeological Area, the splendid medieval towns of Capalbio and Manciano, Saturnia hot springs, Monte Argentarioand the islands of Giglio and Giannutri.
Siena and its countryside
Siena is one of the most charming cities in Tuscany. Monuments, museums and art blend together to form its unique atmosphere, showing the splendor of the past. Piazza del Campo, shaped as a rose shell, hosts the famous Palio di Siena, where 10 horses mounted without a saddle challenge between the ancient buildings. The amazing countryside around the city is called Crete Senesi, and it is characterized by magical and almost lunar landscapes. Other extraordinary ancient cities in the area are the town of Pienza, where the famous pecorino cheese comes from, and San Gimignano, the city of towers. Both of them are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sities.