Group of cypress trees (Cupressus) in San Quirico d'Orcia, Tuscany
           

Group of cypress trees (Cupressus) in San Quirico d'Orcia, Tuscany

 
   

 

Traveling in Tuscany

 

 

 

Travel guide for Tuscany

 

Southern Tuscany is a worthwhile discovery for Italophiles and Tuscany-explorers who are in search of unspoiled nature, still down-to-earth and hospitable people, and genuine traditional cuisine. The golden beaches of the Maremma coastline are bathed by a transparent sea and it is regarded to be the cleanest coastline in Italy. The hill towns and valleys of southern Tuscany are a wonderful cross-section of Italy's charms, constantly offering striking views of the rolling hills, olive groves, and vineyards of classic Tuscany. Explore the medieval hillside villages of Sovicille, Monticchiello and Castelmuzio on your way to Siena, watch the Ponte della Pia near the Eremo di Rosia and marvel at Sorano, Sovana and Pitigliano, settlements that date back to Etruscan times. Try some Vino Nobile wines in Montepulciano, or Brunello wines in Montalcino, cities where the refined beauty of the squares and churches blends perfectly with the ancient traditions of its wines.

Italy is one of the largest producers of wines. Its climate, soil and very old traditions make Italy a natural wine growing nation. Wines are predominantly made of Sangiovese, the prince of Tuscany, symbol of the Montepulciano and Montalcino terroir. The most exciting and promising appellations in Southern Tuscany are Montecucco and Morellino di Scansano in the province of Grosseto. They are among the best value-priced wines in Italy today. These pages focus on southern Tuscany, the tuscan Maremma as it is often called.

But we also give attention to other regions and places in Tuscany. We explore hiking trails on Monte Amiata and in the picturesque regions of the Val d'Orcia and the Crete Senesi. We focus on art and architecture in the village of Pienza, called the Ideal City, and in Florence, at the heart of the Italian Rennaisance. Apart from hidden treasures and whispered histories, we highlight the main sights in Arezzo, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Siena and San Gimignano.

Immerse yourself into the rhythms of la dolce vita on an unforgettable journey through the Val d’Orcia, explore the winding cipress roads and architectural wonders around San Quirico d’Orcia, Pienza and Montalcino with our Hiking Suggestions.

There is no commercial interest. Only passion.

 

exhibitions

art in tuscany

walking in tuscany

wines

films set in tuscany

gardens

the best beaches in tuscany

market days in tuscany

Some of the best Restaurants and food addresses in Siena

Upcoming events and Festivals



 

             

Podere Santa Pia Traveling in Tuscany


   



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Tony Cragg in Boboli Gardens

 

 

events - Calice di Stelle

  Art    
   

Bright steel geysers stand out against the sky of Florence, bronze stalagmites of prehistoric appearance and gigantic resin flowers sprout out of the gravel and between the hedges, colossal and candid stems, hilly eruptions and elliptical shapes, colossal interweaving of imaginary fossil forests, metal flows that shake, twist and fold, caught in the last soft phase before solidify: Tony Cragg's monumental sculptures offer an unexpected dialogue, between associations and dissonances, with the orderly nature of the Boboli Gardens and the panorama of the city, between their layered, fragile and organized historical fabric and the primordial force of the sculptural material.

Giardini Boboli, Firenze

From 05/05/2019 to 27/10/2019
Tony Cragg in Boboli Gardens
www.uffizi.it/en/events/tony-cragg

 

Cinigiano, Calice di Stelle - notte delle stelle cadenti di San Lorenzo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicoletta Matteuzzi, Niccolò di Segna e suo fratello Francesco. Pittori nella Siena di Duccio, di Simone e dei Lorenzetti, EDIFIR 2019

Nicoletta Matteuzzi, Niccolò di Segna e suo fratello Francesco. Pittori nella Siena di Duccio, di Simone e dei Lorenzetti, EDIFIR 2019. Introduzione di Andrea De Marchi.

Studio monografico sul pittore senese Niccolo di Segna, attivo nel secondo quarto del Trecento. La sua produzione nel solco della tradizione di Duccio, arricchita dagli esempi di Simone Martini e dei Lorenzetti, è analizzata in schede catalografiche precedute da un saggio che ne ripercorre l'attivita e la vicenda critica. Una sezione è dedicata al fratello Francesco, anch'egli pittore.

LibroCo.it

 


 

summer Events


Music festival Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi

Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi
23 July until 28 July 2023

Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi is an annual music festival under the artistic direction of Philippe Herreweghe in the beautiful region of the Crete Senesi in Tuscany.

Read more

 

       

 

       
    Holiday accomodation

  la nascita dell'italiano   Piero della Francesca    
   

Shadows on Podere Santa Pia
Podere Santa Pia, a formal cloister in the Tuscan Maremma is situated on the outskirts of Castiglioncello Bandini.

Read some reviews

residency

 

La guaita di Travale

Travale, iscrizioni  (GR)[1] "Guaita, guaita male, non mangiai ma' mezo pane" così recita la targa che si trova nel centro storico di Travale e che celebra la nascita dell'italiano.

  Piero della Francesca, La seduzione della pospettiva

Piero della Francesca, La seduzione della pospettiva
Museo Civico, Sansepolcro
25 marzo 2018-6 gennaio 2019

Il 25 marzo 2018 apre a Sansepolcro la grande mostra “Piero della Francesca. La seduzione della prospettiva” curata da Filippo Camerata e Francesco Paolo Di Teodoro. Un evento che segue il restauro della Resurrezione, presso il Museo Civico della città, che sarà ufficialmente presentato due giorni prima dell’inaugurazione della rassegna

 



 

Jazz& Wine in Montalcino  
9 al 14 Luglio 2019

Very traditional festival on the Courtyard of Castello Banfand in Montalcino fortress

 

Reservation and Program
www.montalcinojazzandwine.com

Program

 

 

   

 

 

T h e   b e s t   P l a c e s   t o   v i s i t   i n   T u s c a n y

 

 

 

      Palio
(Cosima Spender, 2015)

Cosima Spender's Palio was released in November 2015.

Palio (Cosima Spender, 2015)

Twice a year the Italian city of Siena goes crazy for the oldest horse race in the world: the Palio. Cosima Spender's wonderfully vivid film follows a season of the famous bareback horse race around the Piazza del Campo in Siena.
Information and trailer here.

Il Pailo, Siena, August 16

 

Galeria continua, San Gimignano

Via del Castello 11
53037 San Gimignano (SI)
Tel. +39 0577 943134
info@galleriacontinua.com
Open from Monday to Sunday, 10am-1pm / 2pm-7pm, or by appointment.

www.galleriacontinua.com

 

 

     
    Massa Marittima and the Metalliferous Hills
   
    Florence
   
   
   
ature reserves and beaches | The Tuscan and Etruscan coast
   
   
Nature reserves and beaches | The Tuscan and Etruscan coast
     
   

The Palio in Siena

The Palio della Madonna di Provenzano on 2 July will not take place. This was decided by the Municipality of Siena due to the Covid-19 pandemic in progress. The second appointment with the Palio, traditionally set on August 16 in honor of Our Lady of the Assumption, is also canceled. The decision of the city council: '' It is not compatible with the pandemic emergency and with the restriction measures in force ''.

In 2020 the two careers of the Palio di Siena were not disputed due to Covid.

 

 

   
E' la contrada della Selva, con Giovanni Atzeni detto Tittia su Remorex, a vincere il Palio del 16 agosto 2019

   



   

 

 

Palio di Siena del 2 luglio 2019

   

   

Palio di Provenzano martedì 2 luglio 2019, trionfo la Contrada della Giraffa con Giovanni Atzeni detto Tittia su Tale e Quale

 

 

   

Il Palio di Siena | Palio straordinario di sabato, 20 ottobre 2018 è stato vinto dalla Contrada della Tartuca con Andrea Coghe detto Tempesta (1ª vittoria) e Remorex

The extraordinary Palio on Saturday, 20 October 2018, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, was won by the Contrada della Tartuca with Andrea Coghe called Tempesta (1st victory) on Remorex.

 

 

     
Rosanna Bonelli, la donna fantina, the only women jockey of the Palio, known by everyone in Siena as Rompicollo
    Palio del 20 ottobre 2018, vinto dalla Contrada della Tartuca con Andrea Coghe detto Tempesta (1ª vittoria) e Remorex  


   

 

 

highlights

 

 

   
Terre di Siena, August
Asciano, terre di Siena
 

The Val d'Orcia is one of the most suggestive and unique valleys of Tuscany, especially in spring, during the months of April and May.

There are great hiking trails in the Val d’Orcia, and in the nearby Crete Senesi area and Monte Amiata.

map val d'orcia

trekking in tusccany

Slow travel fest

The desire to experience all things slowly is part of the very important and growing Slow Movement worldwide. The First edition of Slow Travel Fest, a three-days event in Siena, was held in Monteriggioni, on the way of Via Francigena, from the 9th to 11th of October 2015.

The Val d'Orciaq was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2004. This international badge of recognition was awarded for Val d’Orcia’s “exceptional reflection of the way the landscape was re-written in Renaissance times to reflect the ideals of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing pictures” and for the way “The landscape of the Val d’Orcia was celebrated by painters from the Scuola Senese, which flourished during the Renaissance”.

 

The Unesco World Heritage Sites in Tuscany

crete senesi

val d'orcia

         
   
La Bandiera arancione l The Orange Flag


   
   

The Orange Flag is an eco-environmental quality mark awarded by the Italian Touring Club to small Italian municipalities for excellency in tourism, hospitality and the environment. Approximately 160 towns have so far received this award. In Tuscany these are Anghiari, Barberino Val d'Elsa, Barga, Casale Marittimo, Casole d'Elsa, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Castiglion Fiorentino, Certaldo, Cetona, Collodi, Cutigliano, Lari, Lucignano, Massa Marittima, Montalcino, Montecarlo, Montefollonico, Montepulciano, Monteriggioni, Murlo, Peccioli, Pienza, Pitigliano, Radda in Chianti, Radicofani, San Casciano dei Bagni, San Gimignano, Sorano, Suvereto, Trequanda, Vinci and Volterra.

News

The Orange Flag towns get together on Saturday, 14 and Sunday May 15, in the beautiful scenery of Piazza d'Armi of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan for the second edition of Exploring Orange flags - "Journey into towns to live."

 

useful links

Traveling in Tuscany | Complete list of the Orange Flag towns in Italy

Official website of the Italian Touring Club | www.bandierearancioni.it

 

 

Bunches of Cypress trees between San Quirico d'Orcia and Montalcino, one of the bird trapping techniques to capture wild birds.

Travel Guide for Tuscany | Birdlime and Cypress trees

 

   

Piero della Francesca in central Italy

Piero della Francesca, an itinerary in Tuscany and central Italy | Starting from Sansepolcro, his hometown, follow this itinerary, and see the greatest works of Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca in Sansepolcro, Perugia, Urbino, Arezzo, Rimini and eventually Florence.

   
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    Piero della Francesca, Madonna della Misericordia, 1445-1462, olio su tavola. Museo Civico, Sansepolcro

 

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Piero della Francesca, Madonna della Misericordia, (detail), 1445-1462, olio su tavola. Museo Civico, Sansepolcro