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Travel in Tuscany
 


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Florence sky
Florence - Photo (c) James Lawson

Florence and Tuscany beyond Florence

Thinking Tuscany one cannot think of Florence, a place that deserves a visit all for itself.

Visiting Tuscany beyond Florence:

Chianti HillsChianti hills - Photo (c) Silvia Fabbri

Low lying hills with clean, graceful curves under a limpid light, plains, forests and vineyards join with the serenity of cypress and pine to make this country a temple of beauty. By some mysterious influence, sometimes called "the Tuscan miracle", this harmony has gifted the Tuscan people with great artistic sense.
 
The region has a variety of soils. The Tuscan Archipelago, with the mountainous Island of Elba and its rich iron-bearing deposits, faces a shore which is sometimes rocky (south of Leghorn), sometimes flat and sandy as in the area around Viareggio, known as Versilia.

To the north of the Arno the Apuan Alps are quarried for marble. In the heart of Tuscany the Arno Basin lies fertile and beautiful, an ideal setting for Florence. Festoons of vines and silvery olives come to meet fields of wheat, tobacco and maize. Peppers, pumpkins and the famous Lucca beans grow among the mulberries. The old farms, with their nobly designed buildings, often stand alone on hill tops.

Chianti CoopersCoopers - Photo (c) Silvia Fabbri

Southern Tuscany is a land of hills, soft and vine-clad in the Chianti district south of Florence, quiet and pastoral near Siena, dry and desolate round Monte Oliveto Maggiore and massive and mysterious in the Collli Metalliferi (metal-bearing hills) south of Volterra. On the borders of Latium, Maremma, with its melancholy beauty, was formerly a marshy district haunted by bandits and shepherds. Much of the area has now been reclaimed.

This is where Italian cooking was born, at the court of the Medici. Florence offers its alla fiorentina specialties: dried cod (baccala') with oil, garlic and pepper, costata grilled steak fillets with oil, salt and pepper, fagioli (beans with oil, onions and herbs); Leghorn produces triglie red mullet and cacciucco (fish soup) and Siena offers the panforte, a sugar cake containing almonds, honey and candied melon, orange or lemon.
 

Florence
Florence - Photo (c) Luciana Coletti -*Elle*

Massa:
Massa Carrara Province
Carrara marble
Aghinolfi Castle
Brunella Fortress Aulla
Malaspina Castle Massa
Malaspina Castle Fosdinuovo
Malaspina Castle Lusuolo
Malaspina Castle Terrarossa
Malgrate Castle
Moneta Castle
Piagnaro Castle

Tuscany gastronomic itineraries:
A recommended gastronomic visit!
The wine in the province of Florence
The wine in the province of Pisa
Tuscany Wine
Tuscany Food
Tuscany Car Rental Made Easy
The Treasures Of Florence And Italy
Why Choose A Farm Holiday In Tuscany?

Festivals in Tuscany | Tuscany travel guides
Official Tourist Boards - APT della Toscana - Useful links

Tuscany Tango | Travel Italy | TangoItalia Home


(c) 1997-2010 Enrico Massetti
TangoItalia - Food Wine Travel in Italy - Home

 


 Florence Hotels

 Florence:
 S. Maria Novella
 S. Giovanni
 S. Croce
 S. Spirito.
 Galleria Uffizi
 The Duomo
 Palazzo Pitti
 Florence 2 days
 Florence folklore
 Florence history
 Architecture
 Art of goldsmith
 Walk S. Croce
 Florence climate
 Traveling to/in

 Siena:
 Siena in one day
 The Palio
 By car / bicycle:
 The land of Siena
 Tthe Crete
 Val d'Orcia
 The Via Cassia
 Walking Routes:
 San Galgano
 Valdorcia a look
 Territory of Murlo
 Monteriggioni
 Forest Berignone
 Monte Oliveto
 Belverde & Cetona
 Poggibonsi
 Castelvecchio
 Natural Pres.
 Siena province

 Visit Tuscany:
 Arezzo
 Arezzo one day
 Arezzo Etruscan
 Sbandieratori
 Val di Chiana
 Valdarno
 Piero Francesca
 Arezzo Gastron.
 Isola d'Elba
 Fivizzano
 Lari
 Lucca
 Garfagnana
 Lucca one day
 Chianti region
 Lunigiana wine
 Montepulciano
 The Mugello
 Pienza
 Pisa Tower
 Pisa one day
 Rapolano Terme
 S.Albino Terme
 San Gimignano
 San Miniato
 Empoli Valdelsa
 Tuscany Castles
 Villas In Tuscany
 S.Miniato Truffle
 Versilia
 Versilia Towns
 Volterra

 Maremma:
 Giglio Island
 Grosseto
 Argentario
 Capalbio
 Cast. d. Pescaia
 Gavorrano
 Magliano Toscana
 Manciano
 Massa Marittima
 Orbetello
 Pitigliano
 Sorano
 Inland hills
 Gastronomy