Tuscany
Tuscany is a charmed land, equally blessed by the genius of man and nature, and often by the combined efforts of both. Think of the vineyards: rows of baby green vines that manage somehow to march in arrow-straight formation up the gently rolling hillsides, bounded by single files of darker green cypress trees, snaking sandy roads leading to rust-colored farmhouses and moss-coated castles, symmetrically rounded hilltops surmounted by towns so homogeneous as to seem one single building.
Every inch of land has been sculpted, first by the elements and then by generations of inhabitants whose goals were always twofold: make the land produce as much as possible, make the land as beautiful as possible. Tuscany enchants us today because it holds together as a region, from the tiniest hamlet to Florence the Magnificent.
Tuscany is universally known for her richness of monuments and works of art. Florence, Lucca, Pisa and Siena are famous throughout the world. Less well-known, but also rich in art are Arezzo, Carrara, Pistoia and Prato. There are also many minor centres, some of which are true, perfectly preserved, historical villages that hold invaluable works of art: Cortona, Fiesole, San Gimignano, Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano and Volterra.
Soft hills, the chromatic play of the fields, farmhouses and cypresses. But not only that. Tuscany is also surprising with her snowy summits, ponds and lagoons; the Mediterranean scrubland that pushes down to graze the sea; the woodland; the countryside marked by the thousands-year-old work of man. Without forgetting the parks and natural reserves: the Tuscan archipelago, the Casentino forests, the Apennines, the Apuan Alps, the Maremma and the whole uncontaminated area of Migliarino-San Rossore-Massacciuccoli.