Useful Information
The region of Toscana is located in central Italy and is touched by the Mar Ligure and Mar Tirreno. Its territory is mostly made of hills and mountains, and plains can only be found in the coastal zones.
Firenze, Renaissance, rural homes on the hills.. Tuscany is this and much more.
The Maremma, Argentario and the Parco Naturale di San Rossore, Piombino, and Punta Ala, offer the charm of the countryside, the freshness of the hills and the pleasant stay close to the sea, with the possibility of discovering the Etruscans along the Via Aurelia.
The Isola d’Elba and the Isola del Giglio are some of the famous seven islands of the Arcipelago Toscano, known as "sisters" and famous for their incontaminated nature.
The offer of the sea can also be mundane, with the Versilia, Forte dei Marmi, offering night life while the Carnevale cannot be missed in Viareggio.
Lucca, Volterra, Vinci, Pistoia, are some of the towns and cities who seem to have remained in the Middle Ages. Like the centre of Pisa, with itsPiazza dei Miracoli and the famous "Tower" or Siena, who lives its long-time traditions every summer with the Palio, while in Arezzo, along with the buildings, it is possible to observe a strong jewelry tradition.
The Tuscan mountains offer many possibilties: the Garfagnana, and the "Bacino del Serchio" in the white Alpi Apuane and Appennino Tosco-Emiliano, where the "Tuscan Canyon" can be discovered in the Orrido di Botri, a prehistorical fissure where river waters fall.
Chestnuts and spelt, and generic rustic cuisine, are the main courses in this zone, even though the Lardo di Colonnata and the Candia, Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vermentino wines are renown products all over the world.
Fish is a specialty of Livorno, where the vernacular often talks in an unkind but nonetheless entertaining manner.
The Val d’Arno and the Casentino are other localities outside of the main touristic paths, yet they offer much in terms of nature, culture, and well being, like in Montecatini Terme. |
