Tuscany

Just off the busy roads you turn into the rural landscape of the fertile Arno valley with it's undulating hills adorned by fine historic villas. The bright and varied landscape is recognisably that which forms the background of Florentine quattrocento paintings. This is an area rich in history and tradition, where the splendid Etruscan and Renaissance civilizations grew up and flourished. Florence was at the heart of the Renaissance, and so also of the cultural development of Tuscan Italy. Fiesole and the area North of Florence has a wealth of Etruscan and Roman sites. Siena is easily reached by the delightfully scenic Via Chiantigiana, as are attractive medieval walled towns like San Gimignano or Monteriggione, with walls ringed by Dante's fourteen 'giants'. Pisa and Lucca are just as accessible and fascinating. You can laze away the days in the sun in complete tranquillity, or wander through the superb and varying landscape. The hills themselves and the traditional stone houses offer a coolness welcome in the summer; but they are almost more beautiful with their rich colouring in autumn, when of course, the cities are also less crowded.

The Maremma, Tuscany's green heart, is a marvellous combination of green parks and azure sea. To visit here is to delve into centuries of history in the bewitching - and often wild - woods, valleys, mountains, sea, rivers and old towns.
The green splendour of the Maremma in Tuscany reaches is climax on the Argentario promontory, which has two of the finest bathing towns on the Tyrrhenean coast: Porto Santo Stefano and Porto Ercole.
The cuisine of the Maremma is deliciously simple. Typical dishes include its signature l'acquacotta, a simple, rustic vegetable soup; scaveccio, fried eel with garlic and chilli softened in vinegar; pappardelle with hare, a type of pasta that by itself makes a trip here worthwhile. The land of the Maremma is also rich with game: wild boar, hare and pheasant feature regularly on the menu. Other offerings include subtle but strong fish dishes, soups and bruschetta drenched in extra-virgin olive oil, innumerable cheeses and high quality wines. The produce of the vineyards and olive groves here is outstanding. Ansonica, Vermentina, Malvasia, Morellino, Ciliegolo and Meatico are just some of the local DOC wines.
Visitors here can follow any one of the many gastronomic itineraries. The pleasant Colli di Maremma wine route has some of Tuscany's best red wines in Morellino di Scansano, Monteregio-Massa Marittima and Montecucco.

The landscape ot the Val d'Orcia as it unfolds nowadays was created by wealthy Siennese merchants in the 14th and 15th centuries. The farms cultivate mainly grains, vines and olives. Rows of cypresses are also a distinctive sight. The beauty of the area inspired Renaissance painters and early travellers on Via Francigena. Podere Santa Pia is located on the southern border of Val d'Orcia Park, close to Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Radicofani and San Quirico d'Orcia.

The area of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is situated between the Val d'Orcia (Orcia Valley) and the Val di Chiana (Chiana Valley), and borders in the east with Umbria. The road starts in the north with Abbadia towards Montepulciano, passing Cervognano, Acquaviva until S. Albino.
The noble wine of Montepulciano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, is one of Tuscany's classic red wines. Although notice of the town's wine dates as far back to 790 AD, it was the poet and doctor Francesco Redi who widely established the fame of the wine in a famous poem, Bacco in Toscana in which he toured the great Tuscan wine regions of his day with Bacchus and Ariadne at his side. Redi stated, "Montepulciano is the King of all wines."
Only after two years of storage the wine can be called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. This wine was the first one classified as DOCG and is one of the most important Italian wine types byond the Italian bounds. Already in the 17th century, Francesco Redi called this wine the king of the Tuscan wine. The Rosso di Montepulciano, classified as DOC-wine is not aged for two years in wood barrels and is intended for the immediate consumption.
In 1980 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was granted the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita.

Tuscany | Strada del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano


The Crete senesi is the name of a region in southern Tuscany at the border between the provinces of Siena and Arezzo. The Crete present a bare, almost lunar landscape. The Crete are, in fact, a series of argillaceous hills that atmospheric agents have modelled throughout the centuries. Badlands and biancana forms characterise the landscape in this part of Tuscany.
In this bare and therefore charming region stand the Medieval towns of Asciano and Buonconvento and the abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore. Those who like history can grab the chance of a holiday in the Crete senesi and visit the fields where on September 2, 1260 Florentine Guelphs and Sienese Ghibellines fought the famous battle of Montaperti.

Tuscany | The Crete senesi