Tuscany Italy Experiences

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Best Italian Beaches

A list of the top beaches on seven of Italy’s enchanting Mediterranean islands.

Seven of the most magical of Italy's islands and seven breathtakingly beautiful beaches, all more than worth the effort often required to reach them. A voyage from the Tuscan archipelago to the Pontine, Egadi and...

Winery Trips

Worshipping Brunello

The great Tuscan wine in the historic cellar of Abbadia Ardenga.

When wine enthusiasts start talking about Tuscany's Brunello di Montalcino, one of the world's most famous wines, the conversation takes on a mystical tone. Brunello production is centered around the medieval hilltop...

Time to Relax

Tuscan Spa Treats

Borgo La Bagnaia’s Buddha Spa: relaxation in the Val di Merse.

In the rolling Tuscan countryside, just a few kilometers away from the spectacular medieval city of Siena, lies Borgo la Bagnaia: a beautifully restored medieval hamlet and 12th century customs station, recently...

Green Ideas

Torrigiani Gardens

The esoteric charm of Florence's most secret garden.

In Italy, even a city as well-explored as Florence can have a well-kept secret. In fact, in addition to its world-famous public parks, the Tuscan capital is home to the largest private garden in Europe: the Torrigiani...

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Return of the Grand Tour

Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples: Italy and the dream of the Grand Tour.

"There is certainly no place in the world where a man may travel with greater pleasure and advantage than in Italy....It is the great school of music and painting, and contains in it all the noblest productions...

Winery Trips

Siena Escapade

A guided tour of the towns and vineyards around Siena.

In the collective imagination the Province of Siena is justifiably considered the quintessential Tuscany and has inspired travellers and artists for centuries. Siena itself, thanks to its "Contradas" (the...

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Land of Poets

Visiting the towns dear to Petrarch, Leopardi and other great Italian artists.

Italy, a land of literary giants and epic poets, is a country in which a holiday can easily be transformed into an intellectual and spiritual experience, visiting places where reality, poetry and literature entwine....

Art Escapes

The image museum

The Alinari National Museum of Photography in Florence.

In 1852, the Alinari brothers opened a photographic workshop in Florence, specializing in photographic portraits and images of works of art, which quickly met with great national and international success. Today, the...

Good for Food

Lopriore's Canto

Cutting-edge cuisine at the Certosa di Maggiano.

The discovery of the Certosa di Maggiano and its "Il Canto" restaurant is not without its surprises. The traveler who finds himself in the green countryside around Siena and comes upon this 5 star hotel for...

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Legendary Castles

The intriguing tales of five of Italy's most beautiful castles.

The area of Lunigiana, between Tuscany and Liguria, is often referred to as the "land of a hundred castles". Arguably the most spectacular of Lunigiana's fortified edifices is that of Fosdinvovo, near...

Time to Relax

Mediterranean wisdom

Ancient thermal springs and a five star resort in Tuscany's Val d'Orcia.

Ever since the times when the Etruscans and, a little later, the Ancient Romans discovered the place, San Casciano dei Bagni, on the hills of Tuscany's Val d'Orcia, has been famous for its hot springs; springs which...

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Tuff times

Sacred paths, burial grounds, and ancient cities carved out of rock.

Tuff (from the Italian "tufo") is a soft reddish colored rock especially common in Italy and, in particular, in the area of central Italy where the regions of Lazio, Umbria and Tuscany meet. Consisting of...

Art Escapes

Revolutionary dabs of paint

The innovative style of the Tuscan Macchiaioli.

Montecatini's Terme Tamerici provides the venue for an exhibition celebrating the work of 27 Tuscan artists who were active in the second half of the nineteenth century. As promised by the show's title, Il Nuovo dopo...

Cooking Class

Savory secrets of an ancient abbey

A taste of Tuscany, past and present, deep in the heart of Chianti.

Learning how to make authentic tasting Tuscan cuisine in the kitchen of a thousand year old abbey which has been transformed into farmhouse is, without doubt, one of the most memorable experiences, and the perfect way...

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Slow trains

Unforgettable journeys through Tuscany and Sardinia, traveling along the regions' panoramic minor railway lines.

Traveling by train along the country's secondary railway lines is an increasingly popular way of experiencing the Italy which lies beyond the major road and rail network. Many of the trains which are used to transport...

Time to Relax

Resort amidst the dunes

Emotional pools and chromotherapy on the Tuscan coast.

Salus Per Aquam, health through water. In the case of the Tombolo Talasso Resort the ancient Romans' conception of SPA is particularly appropriate. Water is, in fact, the dominating element of this exclusive property...

Good for Food

Alain Ducasse

The king of French cuisine and his Tuscan trattoria.

"'Andana" in Italian means a tree lined walk; like the avenue of cypress trees which leads to the Andana Hotel. The Andana is a luxurious 5 star property in the heart of Tuscan Maremma, a neoclassical villa,...

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Street food Italian style

Street food: a delicious way to experience the culture of a land.

From the times of ancient Rome, throughout the middle ages, and all the way up to modern times, Italy's lower classes have spent great part of their lives in the street. As a consequence, today as in the past, the...

Winery Trips

Wines of Ornellaia

Wines from the vineyards on the Etruscan Coast.

Where the rolling Tuscan Hills meet the Tyrrhenian Sea, close to the cypress-lined road to Bolgheri, is the Etruscan Coast Wine Route. This land was once blighted by Malaria but has since been drained and...

Winery Trips

Chianti, a family affair

The Mazzei and the Fonterutoli estate.

Just five kilometres from Castellina in Chianti, there is a tiny, centuries-old hamlet, almost untouched by the passage of time, and a rocky terrain where grapes of exceptional quality are grown. Since 1435, the...

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Italian chocolate makers

Chocolate lover's Italy

The relationship between Turin and chocolate is over 500 years old, a lasting love affair celebrated in many of the shops which line the streets of this, the capital of Piedmont. Guido Gobino (www.guidogobino.it) is...

Time to Relax

Tuscan Spa Sensations

The thermal waters of the Val d’Orcia.

Rediscover age-old pleasures, experience the benefits of a wellness philosophy based on the health-inducing properties of water: Salus per Aquam. In the heart of the Val d'Orcia, in a landscape where thermal vapours...





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