Travel Tuscany: for self catering travellers

| free pictures | events reportage | tuscany overview | transports and travels | cooking | history | accommodation | places |

If you are visiting this page, probably you are planning a vacation in tuscany, or you are considering this location for your next holiday.
There are many resources, on the web, about tuscany: "accommodation", "villas", "farmhouse", "tuscan cuisine", "events and many more". I understand it's very difficult to put some order into all the information and websites about tuscany and Florence and it is very hard to find proper information.
I created this website in 1997, just for kidding but basically to help you, to get proper info about my country.
Yes, sure, it's a wonderful region, it's varoius and marvellous in the same way, the perfect location to have a pleasant vacation in a modern and confortable place trough history and arts in an amazing natural environment.
This is tuscany, simply. Doesn't matter where you come from and where you are now, this site is for you and for my love: Tuscany. And this the reason why it's called 4tuscany.net, cause it's just for Tuscany.

Tuscany, web resources

Here are some tips suggestion directly form the google search.

Tuscany pictures

View the complete collection of free tuscany pictures. Here are some photos I made. I did not want to keep and hide them in my album; Tuscany is human's patrimony and I'd like to share these with you. Some of these are catched from an airplane.

The photo of the month

	Summer, August 2006, Saline di Volterra The amazing scene of the lands near Volterra called "Le saline". It seems like a desert but go ahead 1 kilometer more and you can find again green hills.
	Check the complete list of my personal album of free pictures of Tuscany
	COMPLETE PHOTO LIST >

Tuscany Photo

• Have you ever seen "calanchi"? Valdorcia; 'Calanchi' in Val d'orcia; Calanco
• The famous crete senesi, an astonishing desert among green hills: Crete senesi
• The medioeval village of Montepulciano: Montepulciano; Square in Montepulciano; Source of wine; Tuscan roof
• Central Tuscany, the Cecina valley with soft hills and blue sea: Val di Cecina; Rosignano; On the road, val di Cecina; Sea in Lehorn
• Florence Italy, a town full of amazing views: Biancone statue; Sabine statue; Piazza Signoria; The Arno river;
• Northern Tuscany, where hills become mountains, "The Mugello": Mugello
• Tuscany from the air: tuscany cultivations from the airplane; Tuscany, from the air; Montepulciano

Tuscany experience: a trip with my Vespa

Last summer I decided to move trough Tuscany with my Vespa moving from Florence to Isola d'Elba passing troug the ancient Roman Roman road called Volterrana. It was an astonishing experience! I took so many photos of the Val di Cecina and of the sweetest hills I've ever seen, even more than the Chianti's.
I'm preparing the photo and th elog of the journey and will publish soon on these pages. Stay tuned!

Before choosing accommodation I propose you to check the things you want to see, the panorama you want to look at, the weather you like, and the place you are going to visit.
Here it is a listing of websites concering weather, pictures, transport and tourist info.

Pictures and photo

• Tuscany pictures: Check this gallery, all the pictures are mine and you can take them for your wallpaper.
• Sandro Santioli: Photo-reporter of tuscany. Take a look of the panorama of the crete Senesi.
• Www.tuscanylandscapes.com: Amazing images of the Tuscan countryside.

The weather

Perhaps you believe in Tuscany the weather is always shiny? "Under the tuscan sun" is not a good reference for the weather in tuscany. Usually it depends of the season and of the province you are going to visit. Tuscany has got high mountains (Abetone mt. 1320 above sea level) with snow, sweet hills covered of grapes cultivations such as Chianti, wide gea level landes like the area between Florence and Pisa (the Arno Valley), and large beaches with its vast coast made of sand and rocks.
All the areas play its peculiar clima and weather. So, check these sites to get info about the weather and how this change trough the year. Stay tuned about the weather before planning your travel to tuscany.

• Lamma: Laboratory for meteorology and environmental modelling.
• Some suggestion about when travel to tuscany.

Basically the best period to visit tuscany is spring from may to the end of june cause of the warm temperature and the nature covered of green leafs naturally born and the daylight that start ginving longer days. Especially if you would like to visit the countryside this is the perfect period.
If you are going to visit the main centres you choose winter too but this season be prapare yourselves to lower tempratures. In Florence for example we can reach 0 chelsius degrees under zero.

Where is Florence? how far is Siena from the main airport? Is it possibile to rent a car near the airports? All these questions needs answers!

by car

The main transport for italian people is the car. Car is the best way to move in Italy because we have a lot of roads, and unfortunately not so many trains and only Rome and Milan have got a subway. Lot of roads from the main highways running trough all the regions to the "Strade vicinali", rural ways leading to lonely farms in the countryside.
In italy we drive at left. If you are british don't forget it!
If you'll Fly and drive to tuscany you will make the best choise.

• Car rental in Florence.
• Tuscany travel.

Airports & trains

The main italian airport are those in Milan and Rome. All of them are base of general quarters of the main national airlines and flights from all over the world.

• Milan: Linate and Malpensa international airports
• Roma Fiumicino airport
• Orio al Serio. Another international recently enlarged airport.
  If you come from London I strongly suggest you to check Ryan Air rates, they are very cheap and they fly each day to and from this airport. Pisa international airport.

• In Florence tuscany we have the Peretola Airport of Florence but it is a small airport served by only some airlines company such as Air France, Alitalia and Meridiana.

Florence is at 2,45 hours of train from Milan and one and a half of hour of train from Rome.
Italian train Time table - The offical site of Trenitalia

by bike

Probably you'll be suprised but in Florence and in all the other main town of this region there are no subway.
You can walk around the historical centre by foot or by bus but if you'll be there don't lose the opportunity to go round florence by bicicle.

• Florence by bike: Bike rental in Flornce. You can rent

Tuscany has a long tradition of cuisine, with its famous recipes based on mediterranean ingredients. Portate as "Zuppa toscana", "cinghiale", pappardelle and many more are fomous in the world. Here I am going to publish some recipes: they belongs directly to many generations ago. Some of them you can find only in Florence like the "lampredotto". Maybe you can try cooking tuscan recipes on your own. Stay tuned on this argument, I will let you know some traditional cooking secret.
This site is coming soon for selected italian food. Back to visit soon. :)

Wine tasting

Wine and grapes colture are all over the landscape near Florence and Siena. Brunello, Sangiovese, are the two kind of grapes cultivations. A different mix between these types makes the differnce between one Chianti and the other. There are many many wine productor, farms and cultivation either in Chianti area than in the other areas like maremma and crete.
Check this list, maybe you are going to taste some wine...

• The Brunello di Montalcino Consortium
• Classic Chianti
• Chianti geografico

Tuscany always recurs in ancient and modern books. It is even in films like "The silence of the lambs", "I dance alone" and in modern books like "Under the tuscan sun". Not only Kant, Dante Alighieri, Lord Byron fell in love with this region.
Everywhere you can enjoy magnificient witness of the great tuscan tradition of art and architecture.

Museums and architecture

The small churchs of the 13^th century in romanic style called "pievi", the great domes in Florence, the fisrt one for measures, are the evidence of a long tradition of culture and attitude for tuscan people to arts.
Florence was properly defined the cradle of the reinassance for his strong characters of meeting point for painters, architects, carvers and poets across the 16^th century. Uffizi,

Natives

Leonardo Da Vinci, Filippo Brunelleschi, Dante Alighieri, Raffaello, Ligabue, Benigni, Donatello, Ghiberti, Rucellai, Alberti, What about you if I will give some tips on them? I love arts and I always studied it.

• Tuscan Journey

Here are some links to help you in finding accommodation.
It's in my intention to go deep this argument and select only sites reporting high quality of service and the real things that they promote.
Accommodation in Chianti, Tuscany accommodation, Farmhouse, Farmholidays, self catering apartment and many more..

• Agriturismo.net, Tuscany villas
  Agriturismo .net is probably the most completed guide to accommodation in Tuscany. They propose hundreds of selected farmhouses, farm holidays and villas in all the Tuscany areas.
  They make particular attention to disables access and services like pool and pets allowed. Otherwise they propose a powerful search engine to search accommodation where pets are allowed for who, as me, loves the animals.
• Accommodation in Tuscany.
  They made a nice regional navigation of the Tuscany region and propose accommodation in Farmholidays, villas and apartment.
• Florence apartment rentals.
  Offers apartment in Florence, Siena, San Gimignano and you can deal directly with the owner with no fee. Ideal if are going to visit the main centres.
• Hotels accommodation
  Offers a wide selection of Hotels all over Italy.
• Travel Italy
  Tour operator for incoming Italy. They provide information for travellers and selected accommodation in Florence, Tuscany, Venice, Rome.

• Populonia.
  Did you know that the more ancient civil society in Italy was not the romans? Yes. The "Etruschi" lived in Tuscany in south-west part the modern Maremma. They were an agricoltural society with laws and rules, and the ruins of their presence are still visible and uncontaminated.
• Siena

La chiocciola, Il picchio, la giraffa, are just a few of the names of the contrada of Siena. Contrada is a block of buildings and streets and two times a year all of them they meet and play in the Palio.
It's very strange, but in the 2nd millenium they still fell this ancient ceremony so strong that who wins enjoy and celevrate the event for all the year.
• San gimignano

The high towers. In medioeval time the power of the families was measured by the height of the tower leading their houses.
Each time a turn over was made at the majority of the village the old family had to destry the highest floors of their tower so to leave the record to the other families. This is the reason why San Gimignano is a so full of tower town.
• Pienza

Architect and art students says it's the ideal town. It was built in the 16^th century and it is the same as that time. You cannot say you saw true Tuscany if you will not be visiting Pienza.

I'll catch up for you images of events to bring them to you thru these pages.

• Befana in Florence - Jan 06th 2007

Other resources about Italy

Searching info about other italian places:

• Hotel Rimini: Rimini Hotel and Riviera 'Romagnola' accommodation.
• L'orto in balcone: giardinaggio.