A handful of medieval villages, a generous quantity of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance masterpieces, and a sprinkling of vineyards and olive groves, and voilà! a marvelous Tuscan cocktail ready for the tasting.

This itinerary exploring some of Tuscany's most beautiful art cities commences in Prato. Since medieval times the city has been a major textile manufacturer, as is demonstrated by the fascinating exhibitions in Prato's Textile Museum. The city's splendid religious and civic...

A glass of Brunello di Montalcino before commencing and a slice of Pienza's Pecorino cheese with which to conclude our journey through Val D'Orcia. The Orcia valley is famous throughout the world as producer of some of Italy's most highly prized gastronomic specialties, but even more so for its marvelous rolling countryside, enchanting little villages, and beautifully conserved medieval hill top towns.

The valley is traversed by the river to which it owes its name and by the via Francigena,...

Florence possesses an artistic heritage of immense and quite incalculable value. The magnificent cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is the spiritual heart of the city and its astounding cupola is one of Brunelleschi's greatest architectural achievements.
Right next to the duomo, one finds another masterpiece, the bell tower which bears the name of the great 14th century artist Giotto, and is considered to be one of the finest in the whole of Italy.
Piazza della Signoria, dominated by the...

Graceful lines of cypress trees, hills dotted with olive trees, rows of grape vines which follow the rise and fall of the land. We are in the heart of Tuscany, immersed in a landscape where the city of Siena, with its magnificent cathedral, reigns supreme. Innumerable the places to visit within the city's medieval perimeter walls: first and foremost the immense central square of Piazza del Campo where, twice a year (on the 2nd of July and 16th of August), the famous Palio horse race is run....

The elegant town of Viareggio is the natural point of departure from where to head off in to the hillside of Versilia. Among the most popular seaside towns on Italy's Tyrrhenian coast, Viareggio is best known internationally for its Carnival. For a whole month of the year, the streets are animated by a succession of parties, parades of street performers in flamboyant costumes, and processions of floats transporting immense satiric reproductions of politicians and celebrities through the town....

From Grosseto, we take the Aurelia highway in the direction of Rome and after 12 kms we arrive at Alberese, one of the main access points to the Regional Park of the Maremma, known also as the "Uccellina Park": 10000 hectares and 20 kms of coast, a natural paradise with marsh lands, pine and deciduous woods, ancient watch towers, immense beaches. A harmonious union of land and sea, sandy dunes and mountains; where horses roam free and the highly prized cows of Maremma are bred. The...