Welcome to Tuscany! Let yourself be guided by your curiosity, you will be surprised how easily you can pass from the coast to places of arts, from the mountain to the unknown Tuscany.

FLORENCE
Florence keeps an exceptional artistic heritage which is a marvellous evidence of its aged culture. Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived in Florence as well as Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, renewers of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio forefathers of the Renaissance, Ghiberti and the Della Robbias , Filippo Lippi and Angelico ; Botticelli , Paolo Uccello and the universal genius of Leonardo and Michelangelo. Their works, together with those of many other generations of artists up to the artists of our century, are gathered in the several museums of the town: the Uffizzi, the most selected gallery in the world, the Palatina gallery with the paintings of the "Golden Ages". The Bargello Tower with the sculptures of the Renaissance, the museum of San Marco with Angelico's works, the Academy, the chapels of the Medicis , Buonarroti' s house with the sculptures of Michelangelo, the following museums: Bardini , Horne, Stibbert, Romano, Corsini, The Gallery of Modern Art, The museum of " Opera del Duomo", the museum of Silverware and the museum of "Precious" Stones. Great monuments are the landmarks florentine artistic culture: the Baptistry with its mosaics; the Cathedral with its sculptures, the medieval churches with bands of frescoes; public as well as private palaces: Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Palazzo Davanzati; monasteries, cloisters, refectories; the "Certosa". In the archaeological museum you will find plenty of documents of Etruscan civilization.

On the cultural and artistic side, apart from the various Etruscan and Roman remains, it can be noted that works by Beato Angelico, Della Robbia, Botticelli, Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippo Lippi, Donatello, Rossellino, Mino da Fiesole etc. may be come across at every step in the churches and small museums of towns and villages, and examples of great architecture by Michelozzo, Giuliano da San Gallo and Leon Battista Alberti are also frequently encountered. Many places near Florence are known because famous people were born or lived there: Giotto and Beato Angelico were born in Vicchio in Mugello, Boccaccio was born in Certaldo, in Vinci we can find the house where Leonardo da Vinci was born and the museum dedicated to him, the paternal home of Petrarca is in Incisa Valdarno, the humanist and philosopher Marsilio Ficino was born in Figline and Machiavelli wrote "The Prince" at Albergaccio of St.Andrea in Percussina.
Another theme may be the medicean villas and gardens; as to parks we can remember the villa Demidof Park at Pratolino with the huge Appenine statue by Giambologna. Many places have preserved their lovely age-old craftsman's traditions: ceramics and glass in Montelupo, "Cotto" brick in Impruneta and wrought iron in Scarperia. Another reference that is inextricably linked to Tuscany, to Florence and its territory is the prestigious Chianti Area with its characteristic hilly landscape, where the geometric pattern of the vineyards, with the aligned rows of vines stretching out in different directions, creates changing effects of light and colour.
The vineyards alternate with olive groves and, here and there, with rows of cypresses, castles, cottages, ancient parishes, villas and gardens. Each year, the most noble product of this land, Chianti Classico, is honoured in various high level events. Referring to the natural landscape and environment of the whole Florentine territory, we cannot overlook the mountain areas: Vallombrosa, surrounded by century-old woods of fir trees, is set at 958 m, and Consuma is located at about 1,000 m on the Casentinese main road n. 70.

SIENA
Siena is an international centre of culture, with a University aged 750 and great Istitutions as the Chigiana Music Accademy, the University for Foreigners, "The Accademia dei Fisiocratici"," The Accademia degli Intronati". This is the town where any single "stone" has remained unchanged over the centuries, the atmosphere is unique for everything bear witness to ancient past which is still alive in the celebrations for "Palio" taking place every year with renewed enthusiasm

Few areas in the world can boast the variety of landscape and economy distinguishing the territory of Siena. It begins in the north with the incomparable scenic beauty of the Chianti lands, with their patchwork of vines and olive trees standing out in orderly rows against the hills tamed by the farmers' skill. Where the lowlands have won space from the higher ground, as in Poggibonsi and Colle Bassa, industrial development has succeeded in weaving a compact fabric of small and medium-sized firms.
However, it is on top of the hills that the people of olden days erected the walls of Monteriggioni and San Gimignano, busy tourist centres nowadays, silhouetted like solitary horsemen against the profile of the moon. Towards the west are waves of manifold panoramas: the vast shady woodlands of the Montagnola are linked to those belonging to the Communes of Monticiano and Chiusdino. The waters of the Merse and Farma rivers give life to habitats of great naturalistic interest. At the far end of the province, the humour-swollen land pierces the sky of Radicondoli with jets of gas: the geothermal area with its raging potential of energy recalls to mind the myth of the forge of the gods, or the benevolent trick of a joking underground alchemist. And there is still more: variety reigns south of Siena too. The gentle valley of the Arbia river, framed by slender rows of poplars, invites one to climb up the hills culminating in the towered summit of Montalcino, fatherland of the much-prized Brunello wine.
Alongside it, the land dries up into the characteristic scenery of the "crete" (clay hills), bread white, plunging down into eroded furrows and clinging to the proud, isolated cypresses atop the cliffs. And while, further east, the health-giving waters of Rapolano repair the many damages wrought by convulsive modern living, towards the south the Orcia valley completes with its severe mien. It is in fact the city of Siena which is the heart of this extraordinary geographical and environmental repertory, where every town, village or hamlet contains art treasures and historical evidence of priceless value. Siena: the quality of life expressed as a city, a site of international culture, boasting a University 750 years old, and sheltering prestigious Institutions such as the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, the University for Foreigners , the Accademia dei Fisiocritici and the Accademia degli Intronati seat of meetings and congresses.
In town every stone has remained the same throughout the centuries, where one breathes an atmosphere not to be found elsewhere, because its people have kept the traditions of their forefathers, such as those connected with the Festa del Palio, renewing them year by year with unswerving effort and enthusiasm.

LUCCA
Lucca among the "State Towns" of Tuscany, is the only town which could maintain its independence till 1847. It is the true evidence of the loving care of the nobles from Lucca who protected the freedom of the "Civitas" with its intact Walls as a platform (XVI-XVII Cent.), having a perimeter of Km. 4250 with 10 bastions, and the terraces partly preserved. In the medieval town surrounded by walls, artistic and historic monuments stand out, as the Roman Amphitheatre, The Basilica of San Frediano, The Square and the Church of St. Michele , The Cathedral of St. Martino with the "Holy face" and the Tomb of "Ilaria del Carretto" engraved by "Jacopo della Quercia", the Guinigi Tower, Fillungo Road, the Ducale Palace in Napoleon square, last evidences of the Principato of Lucca.
After leaving one of the city gates of Lucca, the visitor can choose from many interesting alternatives: you can visit the splendid villas, on the hills around Lucca, they are famous for their historical parks but even for the production of wine agricultural products. Going along the roman roads towards Pescia and Pistoia and crossing the Capannori plain, you can reach Altopascio, with its memories linked to the hospice of the "Order of the Knights of Tau", and Montecarlo with its 16th century fortress and tasty culinary specialities or wines. From Porta Santa Maria you may follow the Brennero road along the Serchio river and then reach Borgo a Mozzano with its hazardous "Ponte del Diavolo" (devil's bridge), which is thousands of years old. Further on, where the Serchio meets the Lima, you may make a detour or rise up to the thermal bath of Bagni di Lucca which were already known at the times of the Countes Matilde of Tuscany. If , instead, you prefer continuing along the Serchio you will find Gallicano on the left, from which Vergemoli and the phantasmagoric Grotta del Vento (wind cave) may be reached, while, on the right, going upstream, the valley is overlooked by the splendid Barga.

AREZZO
Arezzo is an extremely ancient city: it was one of the leading Etruscan "lucumonie" and made great development in Roman times thanks to its foundries and production of pots with a red painted finish (coral limestone) which became widely diffused from the 1st century B.C. to the 1st century A.C. Arezzo is set in the south-east of Tuscany, in the middle of four marvellous valleys which radiate off from the town: the "Val Tiberina" , "Casentino ", "Valdarno" and "Valdichiana". The artistic city itinerary incudes highly interesting elements with extremely original characteristics: there is nothing else like the church of St.Maria della Pieve, Piazza Grande with its sloping surface and the arrangement of its surrounding buildings which stir the immagination, the Crucifix of Cimabue (13th cen.) in the church of St.Domenico, the stained-glass windows of De Marcillat (16th century) in the cathedral, the Renaissance treasure of the Portico of St.Maria delle Grazie(15th cen.) and, lastly, the masterpiece: the series of frescoes representing Scenes of the Cross by Piero della Francesca (15th cen.) in the church of San Francesco.
An ideal itinerary through the area near Arezzo and Valtiberina could start from Piero della Francesca: from Madonna del Parto at Monterchi to the works found in San Sepolcro, such as the Madonna della Misericordia and the Resurrection. Apart from Valtiberina with its works of art, pastures and woodland, the area also offers splendid landscapes in Casentino, here there is the National Park of Casentinesi forests where we can find two famous monastic settlements, completely surrounded by century-old trees: Santuario della Verna and the Camaldoli Retreat. There are numerous romanesque parishes: Socana, Romena, Stia and the Castles in Pioppi in Romena, in Porciano.
Also the Valdarno offers splendid landscapes which are particularly striking: from the massif of Pratomagno to the Cavriglia area with its equipped natural park. There are also many reminders of man's presence through the centuries such as the ancient village of Loro Ciuffenna, the wall-bounded territory of San Giovanni Valdarno with its beautiful town hall by Arnolfo di Cambio and the Annunciation by Beato Angelico.
The Valdichiana is intensely and lovingly cultivated across its whole 500 sq. km surface area; ,from the city of Cortona, at 600 m. the valley extends like a garden. Cortona is a great artistic and cultural attraction not only for its Etruscan past, of which many significant tokens have remained, but also for many architectural and pictorial works belonging to different epochs.

PISA
Pisa, famous all over the world for its Leaning Tower which dominates and exalts the magnificence of Piazza del Duomo, boasts a millenary history which mostly developed at the time of the Maritime Republics. Pisa is a real jewel- case with its roman and gothic churches, its squares and palaces that give splendour to the old streets and to the quarters winding along the Arno. It is one of the most important university towns thanks to its several and different faculties and the well- known "Scuola Normale" in Cavalieri Square. Sightseeing Pisa you will not only discover art, history, culture but natural environments too such as Migliarino Park, San Rossore, the Coast, Monte Pisano; all of them offer a charming scenery to the traveller.

PISTOIA
Set under the Appenine mountains, Pistoia is a tourist mixture of history, art, folk traditions, monuments, nature and gastronomic specialities. Among the famous towns in Tuscany, Pistoia shows original characteristics and it is really worth sightseeing it.
It has been defined as a "minor art centre" where the adjective minor does not aim at diminishing its importance but it means that the tourist can visit the town even in a short time.

MASSA CARRARA
Carrara, the biggest and most important world centre for the excavation , working and commerce of marble, is situated at the foot of the Apuan Alps, nestled in the middle of green hills. The name of the town comes from the root "Kar" (stone) which witnesses its ancient origin. At first it was a small village inhabited by the peaceful tribes of Liguri and Apuani, then it became the trading centre of Luni, a colony founded by the Romans who first exploited the rich marble quarries. Because of its strategic and favourable position as well as its natural richness offered by marble, Carrara was continuously sought after . During the Middle Age it was under Byzantine and Lombard rule and in 1235 it became a city-state having the coat of arms with the wheel that is still in use. According to a very old legend, Apuan marbles take their origin from the fossilization of stars tears, a mixture of tears and salty water transformed into stone: the whole legend centres on the grandeur of the harsh walls of rocky mountain faces rising high, near the sea.

LIVORNO
Livorno was defined as an "ideal town" at the Renaissance time. Nowadays it reveals its history through its neighbourhoods, crossed by canals and surrounded by fortified town-walls, through the tangle of its streets, which embroider the town's Venice district, and through the Medici Port characteristically overlooked by towers and fortresses leading to the town centre. Designed by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti at the end of the 16th century, Livorno underwent a period of great town planning expansion at the end of the 17th century. Near the defensive pile of the Old Fortress, a new fortress, together with the town-walls and the system of navigable canals, was then built. Livorno is the birthplace of painters and composers: Amedeo Modigliani, Giovanni Fattori and the Macchiaioli school and Pietro Mascagni. They influenced the development of art all over the world. Important cultural institutions like the town museum Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori are the setting for permanent and temporary painting exhibitions on an international scale. The town museum Museo Mascagnano houses memorabilia, documents and operas by the great composer Pietro Mascagni.

GROSSETO
. Since 1336 Siena owned the town which surrendered to the Medicis only in 1559, after Montalcino. Grosseto is the chief town and market of "Tuscan Maremma", it is essentially based on agriculture. You can visit The Cathedral built at the end of 1200, the "Art and Archaeological Museum", the Walls and the church of St. Francis, in the surroundings there is the Natural Park of Maremma and the Etruscan ruins of Roselle.
Most of the area near Grosseto extends within the Tuscan Maremma. The 130 km of coast line with beaches, pinewoods and rocky shores are broken by numerous coves that are now wide safe tourist harbours: Punta Ala, Castiglione della Pescaia, Marina di Grosseto, Talamone, Porto Santo Stefano, Porto Ercole, Cala Galera and the harbours in the islands of Giglio and Giannutri.
The Maremma cost line is on the limpid Tyrrhenian sea. Long, fine, sandy beaches and steep rocks alternate along the 130 kilometres of coastline of Grosseto. Close to the cliff, there is the luxuriant pinewood, with stone-pines (Pinus pinea) and cluster-pinus (Pinus pinaster) or the typical Mediterranean maquis made up of forest trees as the cork-oak, the bay-oak, the olm-oak and shrubs as the strawberry tree, the broom, the lentisk tree, the heather and myrtle.
In front of the promontory of Argentario, less than an hour sailing, we can find the isle of Giglio and Giannutri, Two real jewels of the Tuscan Archipelago.