Tuscany, Italy

Tuscany is one of the most beautiful and the most popular travel destinations in Italy.

The region lies in Central Italy with Florence being its capital.

But not only Florence is worth a visit, there are also Pisa and Siena and a beautiful landscape with hills, stone pines, cypress trees, olive trees and vineyards.

Leaning Tower © flickr/wsuph001

Florence on the Arno River is the city with the most visitors in Tuscany and has a lot to offer. There are not only sights but also art treasures. The world’s greatest museum of Renaissance art probably are the “Uffizi Galleries” and Michelangelo’s “David” is the most famous sculpture in the world.

Sights you should really see in Florence are the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore. The Gothic “Duomo” was built on the site of a 7th century church. The exterior is covered with pink, white and green marble and the interior by contrast is pretty plain. The Dome is egg-shaped and was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. 463 steps take visitors up to the top where they have a great view of the city. Inside the dome you can see the frescoes of the “Last Judgement” designed by Giorgio Vasari.
On the Piazza della Signoria visitors can see Michelangelo’s David and the Palazzo Veccio. Not far from the Piazza you can see the Ponte Veccio, the medieval bridge over the Arno River that still has shops built along it.
Typical palaces in the style of Florentine Renaissance are the Palazzo Strozzi or the Palazzo Rucellai. The Medici family once bought the Palazzo Pitti on the south bank of the Arno River and created the Boboli Gardens.
The first churches built in Renaissance style are the San Lorenzo Church, the Santa Maria Novella Church and the San Miniato Monte Church. Pretty unusual is the Orsanmichele Church which used to be a granary.

Pisa too is located on the Arno River and famous for its Leaning Tower. In the city visitors can see more than 20 historical churches and magnificent squares. Remarkable are the Santa Maria Cathedral  and its Baptistry. Pisa was the birthplace of the early physicist Galileo Galilei.

Tuscany © flickr/Franco Folini

Another beautiful city is Siena. Siena lies in the hilly heart of Tuscany and is well known for the Palio horse race which takes part twice a year. The horse race is held on the Piazza del Camp where you can also see the city hall, Palazzo Pubblico with the Torre des Mangia. The Santa Maria Cathedral, “Duomo”, of Siena is one of the great examples of Italian Romanesque architecture. Pretty unusual for a cathedral is, that its axis runs north-south.

But besides the beautiful cities Tuscany also has a magnificent landscape. One of the most beautiful Tuscan regions probably is the Val d’Orcia. There you find flat plains as well as the typical cone shaped hills and cypress trees. Renaissance artists were inspired by the Val d’Orcia and well known to wine lovers certainly is the town of Montalcino as this is where the famous Brunello diMontalcino wine comes from.
Visitors of Tuscany who like to go swimming can go to one of the beautiful beaches of the Mediterranean coast or on the island of Elba.