Toscana

An overwhelming amount of master pieces
You run a great risk of getting overwhelmed by the enormous concentration of monuments and all kinds of master pieces, and it seems as if even the tiniest piece of Tuscan stone is loaded with ancient-old memories. But, if you want to leave the big, cultural cities behind you and visit the villages and hamlets, you enter a totally different sphere, which rests your soul. This controversy might help you to start understanding the need for beauty, elegance and style which every Tuscan pore breathes.

Tuscany is one of the biggest regions of Italy, more or less triangularly shaped, with in the North-West the Apennines, till the sea in the South. A large part of this region is hilly, even mountainous, and the plains form but a small part of the total, mainly at the coast. Wherever you want to go; beauty and enjoyment is everywhere: Florence and other famous art-cities such as Pisa, Lucca, Siena and Arezzo, but also the smaller cities like Volterra, San Gimignano, Pienza and Montepulciano. And even the smallest villages; they all can proudly boast at least one art-treasure, and the history of all of them can fill a library.

National and international art and much more
One of the facts making Florence known, worldwide, as one big museum is the role this city plays as one of the most important European cradles of art and culture. Thanks to the enormous riches in all cultural forms, Florence plays an unique part in these respects. The Uffizi, the Bargello, the Palazzo Pitti and the Accademia, the archeological museum and the Duomo – you would need weeks on end to see and admire all this city has to offer.

Churches and palazzi, especially early in the morning
The above might already dazzle you, but we go further. The church of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery and the Campanile of Giotto, for example, are best seen early in the morning, because of the special, beautiful light of sunrise. The Duomo sparkles in green and white, and the Baptistery, with its Byzantine mosaics, is also at its best. Giotto’s Campanile is without doubt one of the architectural masterpieces of the Middle Ages. If you have the stamina to climb the 414 steps up to the top (84,70 m.), a spectacular view of the city and the surrounding hills will be your reward.

Poverty, tanners and dyers
Santa Croce, which in former ages was where the poor lived and the dyers and tanners plied their trade, nowadays offers a shopper’s delight, with unexpected little shops, hidden in the narrow streets often in picturesque little houses. You can look for the marking stones, giving the highest water level of the floods during the last centuries.

Uphill and downhill
You cannot say that your holiday provided you with, even, a superficial knowledge of Tuscany, without having taken at least one nature walk, enjoying the beautiful sights, strolling along the narrow, winding Middle-aged streets of at least one or two villages.
From Bellosguardo for instance, a village where you should be preferably at sunset when the churches “catch” this beautiful light, to Pian dei Giullari, and from Ponte a Mensola, a beautiful hamlet with but a few houses till Montebeni, also a small hamlet looking down on a valley; when you decide to go there for a special taste of Tuscany, you will, with some imagination, feel to have been whirled back into the past. In any case, do not exclude Fiesole, very close to Florence, with many special events in the Summer months and the village Borgunto, hidden amongst the green woods, olive groves and vineyards of Tuscany.

Its Palio time
Unless you have been there and experienced it, you cannot begin to explain this event. Each year in July and August, this age-old race is held in the city of Siena. All seventeen quarters of the city are represented by its own horse and with its own rider, and for the honour of the quarter almost anything will be done. The horses are the most important participants. The riders are, more often than not, hired for their expertise, even from (far) outside Siena. Because, even if you are a good –Sienese - rider, you might not want to race, because what will happen to you if you lose and have to live with the repercussions – even if only in verbal form – for the remainder of the year? In the region of Piemonte, people claim the Palio in Asti to be older than the one in Siena. Not being Italian we say, who cares, but we will not say so aloud. Apart from this particular point of contention, each and every region of Italy claims the best olive oil, the best wine and so on, and so forth. We will just nod, agree and abstain ourselves from judgement.
Certain is, that the Palio in Siena is a spectacular yearly event, and even the knowledge that everyone raises their prices cannot dampen the enjoyment of the experience to have seen it all.

Ancient City of Power
In the province of Siena you find, amongst the hills, a beautiful little city, straight out of the Middle Ages, San Gimignano. At 324 m. above sea-level, it looks down on the valley of the river Elsa and a landscape dominated by olive groves, vineyards and farmhouses. We use the word “ancient” here because it was originally an Etruscan settlement. Later on, the Romans took over and towards the end of the 12th century it became a city-state. In the 14th century, a threefold city-wall was built. Only 15 of the originally 72 towers along these walls are still standing, but these are enough to give you an impression of how it once was, with lots of conflicting families striving for supremacy.

Sing along with Puccini
A green tunnel, the “Viale dei Tigli” (tigli = the lime trees), is a road of about 7 km. long which connects Viareggio with the Torre del Lago and the villa of Giacomo Puccini. Music-lovers will feel compelled to hum or sing his masterpieces whilst driving to this villa, where everything has been lovingly kept as if he were still alive. His rifle there where he always kept it, his hunting cap on the hat-rack and his grand piano open. A lovely view from the terrace on the lake of Massaciuccoli, with the Apuan Alps in the background.

Continuation of the unforgettable sixties
Forte dei Marmi was, and still is, the “place to be” along the coast, both in summer as well as during at least one short winter-stay. These trendy region takes care of the sun- and beach lovers, who expect to be entertained in other ways when the sun has retired for the night. And thus, the nights are long, and end in the early hours of the morning in one of the many sophisticated nightclubs, such as the timeless Capaninna di Franceschi, a place to be for the rich and famous since its establishment in 1929. It goes without saying that you will find many a terrace for a refreshment whilst looking at all the passers-by, alternated by the most elegant shops.

Digging for marble
At but a few kilometres distance from the elongated coastline of the Versilia one can breath in the fresh air of the Apuan Alps. The marble quarries are very impressive as you will be able to judge for yourself, as soon as you drive along the route through these Alps. Take a day-trip, and do not exclude this sight; you will feel one with history and realise that there, the most famous works of art have been hacked from these quarries. We say "the fresh air" and mean it, but close to the quarries there is a lot of dust in the air!

Royal summer residences, Napoleon and the islands
The Grosseto offers lots of Etruscan tombes, and little towns like Pitigliano and Sovano, sculptured from the volcanic rocks. The long, coastal area of Tuscany has so much to offer. You can enjoy the sandy beaches of the Versilia, the nature parks Parco dell’ Uccellina or the Monte Argentario, the latter with lots of very sophisticated villages where the very rich have their holiday homes, included the Dutch Royal family (in Porto Ercole). The largest island of Tuscany is Elba, known by all of us from our history lessons at school: Napoleon was once exiled here. But apart from that fact, it is a beautiful island with lots of nice accommodations, things to do etc, not to mention quite a few sandy beaches. Then, there is the isle of Giglio, the most primitive with only one paved street, and Capraia, completely unspoilt, between the mainland of Italy and the big, French island of Corsica.

Shopping-ideas
We cannot begin to list all the antiques you might, even now, find and buy in Tuscany. Then all the contemporaries, like clothing, shoes, bags, belts, jewellery, costume jewellery, interior decoration, and so on, and so forth. Florence has it all, but is particularly famous for its jewellery, bags and shoes and absolutely beautiful stationary. Arezzo has a famous antique market, and in Empoli and Pisa, the shops are particularly well known for their crystal objects. Volterra is well-known for its marble and the same goes for Massa Carrara and Pietrasanta. In Pescia and Pistoia, copperware is number one, whilst in Sesto Fiorentino you should buy ceramics. In this last city, you will find a very interesting museum on porcelain.

Alcoholic beverages
Tuscan wines are world-famous, and deservedly so. The wines from the Chianti region are best known, but wine-lovers might say there are better ones. For example, the Brunello from Montalcino and the Nobile from Montepulciano and Carmignano get a higher accolade from the experts. And, not to forget, the delicious white wines, such as the Vernaccia from San Gimignano. But you will agree with us: even a simple wine, without any pretensions, can taste as if an angel touched your taste-buds. When you visit whatsoever village of city, and do some shopping; buy some bottles of wine, get a fresh piece of bread, some olive-oil, fresh, ripe tomatoes, some meat or fish and/or some cheese, fruits of the season and return to your temporary abode. Take your bounty outside, on the garden table, and start eating, at your leisure.

You are then the master of your own universe; you taste the basics of nourishment, whilst enjoying your company and the lovely surroundings. Life is hectic, life is hard, and life is competitive; but right then and there, life is enjoyment in its purest form.