| Tuscany | |
| Our visit in Tuscany was jammed with day trips out to the beautiful countryside and to the city of Siena. We visited the hill villages of; Monteriggioni, Colle di Val d'Elsa, Volterra, San Gimignano, Montepulicino, Pienza and Montacino. We also stopped at the winery, Barone Ricasole, producer of Brolio wines. While there, we toured the Castello Brolio, the residence of the Ricasole family (nice house!).Each town had it's own charm and expertise, from wines to crystal to alabaster.
Siena is a large city with fewer automobiles and scooters making it a pleasure to walk around. The Piazza Del Campo is the historic city center featuring the tower "Torre del Mangia". We managed the 400+ steps to the top for breathtaking views of the city and beyond. While in Tuscany we stayed at the Agriturisimo Marciano, an Italian B&B or otherwise a working farm or vineyard.
Tuscany (Italian: Toscana) is one of the twenty Regions of Italy. The capital is Florence, and it has an area of 22,990 kmē and about 3.6 million inhabitants. Tuscany is known for its landscapes and its artistic legacy. Tuscany is also the major area of Italian wine making vineyards, Chianti. Six Tuscan localities have been made UNESCO protected sites: the historical center of Florence (1982), the historical center of Siena (1995), the square of the Cathedral of Pisa (1987), the historical center of San Gimignano (1990), the historical center of Pienza (1996) and the Val d'Orcia (2004). Tuscany is considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, and its artistic heritage includes architecture, painting and sculpture, collected in dozens of museums in towns and cities across the region. Perhaps the best-known are the Uffizi and the Bargello in Florence. Tuscany was the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Dante Alighieri ("the father of the Italian language"). | |
| Click here to view slideshow of Tuscany | |
The slideshow is set to a concerto for viola and strings.
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