The great era of Humanism and the Renaissance: visions of man and the world which transformed history, leaving a profound mark on the common civilisation of Europe.
Tuscany, yet more importantly the city of Florence, bears the greatest testimony to that extraordinary period of history.
Great works of secular and ecclesiastical architecture, sculpture and paintings of extraordinary artistic value testify to the creative genius of artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti and Filippo Brunelleschi.
But Tuscany is not Florence alone.
There is Siena, with its Piazza del Campo, where each summer the famous Palio takes place. In the province of Siena (famed for its celebrated wines, such as Chianti and Brunello) Montepulciano and Pienza stand out, gems of Renaissance art, and San Gimignano, with its famous towers and turreted houses.
Then there is Pisa, dreamed of the world over for its famous leaning tower, Carrara, with its Duomo clad in the precious marble that takes the name of the city, Lucca, Pistoia, Arezzo, Grosseto, Livorno and Prato, all boasting churches and urban fabric of immense artistic value.
The beauties of Tuscany are countless ...
Above all of them, however, is the beauty of its landscape: that characteristic, unique, gentle and warm Tuscan countryside...