Duomo Museum in Florence © Italian Tourist Board
Tuscany's rolling hills are garlanded with cypress trees, lush
vines and olive groves, that make way here and there for sleepy
villages and medieval hill-towns. The area rests languidly in the
middle of the Italian peninsula, with parts stretching to the
coastline of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Snaking through the Tuscan
landscape from Florence to Pisa and soaking its thirsty banks is
the Arno River. Akin to the gentle flow of a river is the ebb of
life in the region. People work in the fields in much the same way
AS their ancestors did before them, producing some of Italy's
finest wines and olive oils. From this same landscape emerges a
profusion of art and architecture that has grafted Italy onto the
world's cultural map. Tuscany was the birthplace of the
Renaissance, a period of unprecedented innovation in art,
architecture and humanist scholarship. The grandeur of the High
Renaissance was enjoyed during the Medici family's reign, when they
commissioned the art and architecture that lives on within the
elegant precincts of Florence.
Resorts
See our separate guides to the following Tuscany holiday resorts: Assisi and Siena
Attractions
Chianti region, Tuscany
Chianti Region
A circular route from Siena through the Chianti hills provides
visitors to the region with a wonderfully scenic and sensory travel
experience. The route covers the villages of the Chianti Classico
wine region, garnished with ancient castles and rambling
farmhouses. The vineyards and wooded...
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Cortona
Cortona
Cortona is a richly historic city that enjoys a scenic position
above Lake Trasimeno and the plain of Valdichiana, dotted with
olive groves and vineyards. It is one of Tuscany's oldest cities,
and home to some of its best-preserved Etruscan buildings. Cortona
also has...
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Pitigliano © GiorgioPro
Etruscan Sites
Attracted by the mineral wealth found in the regions of Tuscany,
Lazio and Umbria, the Etruscans made their way to Italy around 900
BC. Traces of Etruscan civilisation can be found in their burial
sites and in the artefacts found in their tombs....
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Leaning Tower of Pisa © wsuph001
Leaning Tower of Pisa
The world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa was built as a
freestanding bell tower (
campanile) behind the city
cathedral. Constructed during the 11th and 12th Centuries, the
tower is the third-oldest building in Pisa's Cathedral Square.
Originally intended to stand vertically, the tower now leans
towards...
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Lucca
Lucca
The charming city of Lucca is laid out on ancient Roman roads
and framed within well-preserved and photogenic medieval
ramparts.
The city was home to Puccini and is famed for its chamber music,
and celebrated for its museums, monuments and splendid Romanesque
churches. With its...
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Montepulciano © Italian Tourist Board
Montepulciano
Montepulciano is Tuscany's highest hilltop town, built along a
narrow limestone ridge at 1,950ft (605m) above sea level. Sheltered
within the town's fortified walls are charming streets packed with
Renaissance-style palaces and churches. Its most celebrated
achievement is its Vino Nobile wines. Also of...
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Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is home to one of Italy's most famous attractions, the
Leaning Tower, yet it is also celebrated for its outstanding
university, proud maritime heritage (dating back three millennia),
and its status as the birthplace of Galileo Galilei, the world's
greatest astronomer.
Other notable sites...
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San Gimignano
San Gimignano
The distinctive skyline of the charming medieval village of San
Gimignano is redolent of a modern cityscape with its many towers,
hence its nickname the 'medieval Manhattan'.
Only 14 of the original 72 towers remain, however, which is
unsurprising as their dual role as...
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Events
Palio di Siena
Twice each year - on the 2nd of July and the 16th of August -
the historic town of Siena comes alive for the historic horse race,
the Palio di Siena. Held for the first time in 1656, the Palio is
one of...
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