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"Tuscany" is the name of one of the
larger of the 20 Regions of Italy (similar to states in the USA
and counties in the UK), and is located in northern peninsular
Italy, bordering the Tyrrhenian sea to the west. In Italian,
Tuscany is Toscana, and its capital is Florence (Firenze,
in Italian). Tuscany is roughly triangular in shape with an area of
about 23,000 sq km (8,878 sq mi) and is divided into ten Tuscan
provinces. Surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains, and with few
but very fertile plains, Tuscany is dominated by hill country so
that, not surprisingly, the vast majority of its inhabited nuclei
are Tuscan hilltop towns and villages. Its geography can best be
understood in terms of the valleys
of Tuscany, the majority of which are named after the
rivers that formed them. Tuscany is known for its beautiful landscapes, its
Tuscan
villas and farm houses, its italianate
gardens, its vineyards and olive groves, cypress trees and, above all, its rich artistic legacy and vast influence on
European culture. A few cities of Tuscany, foremost among them being
Florence and
Sienna, were the fount of the Italian Renaissance, and
Tuscany was the home of some of the most influential men in the history of art,
architecture, science, navigation, political thought and literature. Among them were Petrarch, Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Galileo,
Vespucci, Verrazzano, Boccaccio, Machiavelli
and Puccini. Like all of the regions of Italy, Tuscany has a unique culinary tradition and is famous for its
Tuscan
wines. Among the traditional wines are Chianti,
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and
Brunello di Montalcino, and over the past thirty years excellent wines, known generically as
super Tuscan
wines, have been developed outside the traditionally defined Tuscan
wine classification.
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What kind of accommodations are available in Tuscany,
Italy? There are relatively few hotels outside the
cities and towns of Tuscany. The main cities of Tuscany are
well provided with hotels
and pensioni but visitors may well be
tempted by the luxury villa hotels in the
Tuscan countryside. These are historical villas that
have been converted into tourist accommodation, usually
preserving the characteristic features of the classic Tuscan
villa. However, farmhouses (case coloniche)
are the main form of vacation rental accommodation in Tuscany,
Italy. Many websites and individuals refer to Tuscan
farmhouses as "villas" purely because they are
stand-alone structures, but in fact Tuscan
villas to rent are an entirely separate category from
farmhouses. In addition, many Tuscan farmhouses have been
divided up into self-catering vacation rental
apartments, and the final category consists rural and
village Bed and Breakfast
rooms. B&Bs can be in the Tuscan country towns and
villages but wineries also offer this form of accommodation. A
separate classification that can be superimposed on villas,
farmhouses, apartments and rooms, is basically the division
between true Tuscan
agriturismi, meaning working farms such as wineries
and/or olive oil producers, on the one hand, and all other
rural holiday accommodation, on the other. The agriturismo
experience is often the highlight of a vacation in
Tuscany, Italy, and is certainly an economical option for your
Tuscany holiday accommodation.
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What kind of transport is available in Tuscany, Italy?
The main Tuscan cities such as Florence, Pisa, Lucca and
Sienna plus many of the smaller towns are connected by the
railway network, but a great many towns and villages are
served only by buses or by no public transport at all.
For train connections, the best resource is the Trenitalia
website which is available in English as well as
Italian. This provides not only the time tables but also an
on-line booking facility. Note that sometimes certain credit
cards issued outside of Europe are not accepted by the
Trenitalia booking system. Booking a seat on Flecciarossa fast
trains several weeks in advance usually means that you will be
offered some worthwhile discounts by Trenitalia. If you are
using a train ticket that does not specify the train time
and/or which does not include a reservation, be
sure to validate your ticket using the yellow machine at the
end of each platform. Reserved tickets (e.g. all
Flecciarossa tickets) do not need to be validated.
For bus routes, there are a number of useful links on
the Chianti
without a car web page. On many bus routes the ticket
must be validated like a train ticket either on the platform
or in the bus. The bus networks tend to be radial, meaning that the buses connect
centres such as Florence or Sienna with the towns in their respective
provinces, but less often connect the towns to one another.
These buses are very comfortable but are essentially a service
for taking workers and school children to their respective
destinations, so that the timetables sometimes don't suit
tourists (e.g. quite early last buses).
The best
way of exploring the highways and byways of Tuscany is by car.
Rental cars are available in the provincial centres such Florence and
Sienna, and in places such as Chiusi that have major railway
stations, but rarely or
never in the smaller towns. When picking up and dropping off
rental cars be aware that you will be fined if you pass
through a limited
traffic zone.
Minibuses
driven by qualified guides are an excellent though
expensive way to see a lot of Tuscany with as little lost time
as possible. Many of the guides have access to castles and the
like that are not open to the general public and a tour can be
combined with wine or olive oil tasting.
As far as motoring
for pleasure is concerned, Tuscany is a paradise. Although
there is heavy traffic at rush hour on the main routes into
the cities, the country roads carry only light traffic
for much of the day, although sometimes a large amount of
bicycle traffic on weekends. The gravel back roads, the "strade
bianche", that are so characteristic of the
Tuscan countryside, can be explored not only by car but also
by bicycle and on foot, and provide a wonderful insight into
life in rural Tuscany.
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What are the main things to see and do in Tuscany,
Italy? As one would expect from a region with a rich three
thousand year history, Tuscany is packed with interest and
each visitor should decide ahead of time on which aspects to
concentrate. The "art
cities" of Florence, Lucca, Sienna
and Pisa are packed with artistic and architectural
treasures to which only a good guide
book (or two or three) can do justice. Do your
homework before you leave.
Here we will focus on rural and small town Tuscany.
Obviously Tuscan
wines and Tuscan
gastronomic specialities will rank high on
the agenda of many visitors since both are excellent in
Tuscany. Don't miss a grilled
steak alla fiorentina and a dish prepared with funghi
porcini.
Architecture buffs will find an
endless variety of castles,
Tuscan
villas, Tuscan
abbeys, romanesque
churches, tower
houses and other vernacular architecture throughout the area. Many
Tuscan villages are still surrounded by their fortifications and
preserve their mediaeval or even Roman layout.
History
enthusiasts will find many physical reminders of the great
men of the past. The family home of Amerigo Vespucci is still
standing, in Montefioralle,
as are the castle
of the Verazzano family, the house
of Boccaccio in Certaldo and the Machiavelli
family house at Sant'Andrea in Percussina, the site of
Machiavelli's long exile from Florence.
Paintings,
sculpture and painted terracotta are to be found in almost
every church in Tuscany as well as in any number of small town
museums. Throughout Tuscany, there are many specialised
museums such as the Guarnacci
Etruscan Museum in Volterra.
If formal gardens are your source of
pleasure, Tuscany is home to numerous italianate Tuscan
villa gardens.
As in all of Italy, the year in Tuscany is punctuated by innumerable festivals and fairs. Some
of these are amazingly well done, with almost the entire
populations of towns and villages dressed in elaborate
costumes and competing in dances, crossbow competitions and
highly skilled horseback competitions. The major Tuscan
festivals, fairs and historical re-enactments should
on no account be missed if the opportunity presents itself.
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