San Gimignano is one of the few remaining Italian “borgos”or walled medieval hamlets that remains intact, capturing its feudal character and spirit and recognized by UNESCO for its unique cultural heritage. San Gimignano was an ancient Etruscan city with a strategic location chosen for its dominant position over Val D’Elsa read more
Tuscany isn’t only art and culture but also azure seas and beaches, some sandy, some not. One of the most beautiful zones is surely the Etruscan Coast which runs from Castiglioncello to Baratti, and which gets its name from the ancient Etruscans who once lived in the region and left read more
Siena’s Piazza del Campo is located in the central point where the three main streets meet. Its distinctive shape resembles a shell, sloping downwards, with nine separate segments of ochre brick paving defined by white bands. The square is surrounded and enclosed by the almost continuous curtain of buildings. The read more
Lucca has ancient origins, and for much of its long history it maintained its autonomy. The stories are, however, divided. Some think that Lucca was originally Ligurian, and others believe that it was first an Etruscan settlement. But the most important influence on Lucca was probably during the Roman era read more
Tuscany accounts for 45.000 km of the so called “Strade bianche” (“white streets,”) more than any other Italian region. By strade bianche we mean unpaved but otherwise well marked roads suitable for bike tours (but also accessible by foot, motorcycle, horse or car), which are considered heritage sites protected by read more
The Medici Fortress, situated on San Donato Hill, in Arezzo, is an important example of defensive military buildings of the 1500s. It has an irregular pentagonal shape and is located at the top of the Prato esplanade (305 m).
Sammezzano Castle, surrounded by a large park, is in a spot of great beauty, in Leccio, Municipality of Reggello, province of Florence. Its splendour is comparable to the fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. The castle, along with its park, one of the largest in Tuscany, is of rare historical, architectural read more
It doesn’t have the samba or the hot summer heat of Carnival in Rio De Janeiro but in terms of color, costume and individuality, Viareggio’s “Carnevale” has nothing to envy. Every Mardi Gras thousands of people from all over the world gather along the seafront promenade to see the spectacular read more
In the small town of Borgo a Mozzano, in the province of Lucca, there is a famous humpbacked stone bridge, so dramatic, and so admirable, that it was said it only could have been constructed by the devil himself. In fact, legend holds that the head stonemason was so worried read more
The residents of Greve in Chianti are born and grow up around the central square, which since the middle ages, has been a vital marketplace; the crossroads where the Val d’Arno (the Arno Valley), the Val di Greve (the Greve Valley) join the road from Florence to Siena. It is read more