The Metalliferous Hills separate the Maremma region from the Gulf of Follonica to the depths of Tuscany, partly in an area designated as the “Upper Maremma” and neighbouring the lands of Pisa and Siena. They have a full personality, having lived long from the exploitation of metals including silver and copper until 1990, but also iron, lead, zinc, mercury, pyrite and gems.
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Carrara in Tuscany
Presentation Since antiquity, Carrara has been famous for its white marble, extracted from the hundreds of quarries that surround the city. Little visited, however, you can still find the testimonies of its industrial and mining past, when marble extraction attracted workers from all over Italy. Activities that are much less likely to provide jobs today. […]
Versilia region
The Versilia is a coastal portion of northern Tuscany, almost 20 km long, between its long sandy beaches on the seaside coast, and the relief of the Apuan Alps suitable for hiking and mountain biking, as well as hills of olive trees and vineyards with pretty villages, or the lake of Massaciuccoli. On the coast […]
Populonia in Tuscany
Populonia was one of the 12 city-states of the Etruscan Dodecapolis, and the only major coastal city of this civilization, called Pupluna or Fufluna in antiquity. On the acropolis a beautiful medieval fortress protects today the small fortified village, just steps from the ancient acropolis located 180 meters above sea level north of the promontory […]
Val di Cecina
The Val Di Cecina refers to the territory crossed by the river Cecina, from the interior of the land with the city of Volterra to the Tuscan coast with its seaside area, bordered by the “Etruscan coast”.
Volterra is the most fascinating destination of the territory, marked by the Middle Ages, but also by its Etruscan and Roman heritage.
Val di Cornia
The Val di Cornia is a hilly area to the southwest of the Metalliferous Hills and south of the Cecina valley. Rather unknown to tourists, it is however a beautiful region with multiple charms, its varied coast to the wooded hills, or its small villages to the remarkable archaeological remains of Populonia or the mining park San Silvestro.
To the north lie the long sandy beaches and their pine forests, further south the Gulf of Baratti and the rocky promontory of Piombino.
The most charming villages in the hills are Suvereto and Campiglia Marittima, and beautiful vineyards are the source of good wines.
Garfagnana region
In the north of Tuscany and in the province of Lucca, Garfagnana is a little known but pleasant region that deserves to be discovered. It stretches between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines, at the foot of peaks exceeding 2000 meters. It remains little touristic, and can discover its authentic lands, several wild valleys, lakes […]
Mount Amiata
The Mount Amiata is an extinct volcano in the Apennines, which culminates in southern Tuscany at 1,733 metres, between the Maremma to the west and the valleys the Val d’Orcia and Val di Chiana to the east, close to Umbria and Lazio. The eight municipalities in its territory are part of the province of Grosseto […]
Massa Marittima in Tuscany
Massa Marittima is a historic village located in the heart of the Maremma in the province of Grosseto, inland contrary to what its name would suggest, 20 minutes far from the coast of Follonica, in the Metalliferous Hills of which it is the main urban centre. It preserves a beautiful medieval center with a beautiful […]
Val d’Elsa in Tuscany
The Val d’Elsa, more simply called Valdelsa, runs along the river Elsa between Florence and Siena, a tributary of the Arno. It is divided between its upper part, called “Alta Valdelsa” in the Siena province, and by its lower part called “Bassa Valdelsa” in the province of Florence.In the Alta Valdelsa, we can mention Colle […]
Montagnola Senese in Tuscany
The Montagnola Senese is a hilly region located west of Siena, up to the Val d’Elsa, on the municipalities of Casole d’Elsa, Monteriggioni, Siena and Sovicille. They are very wooded, with oaks, maple, chestnut. Its highest relief is the Montemaggio with its 671 meters high. It is also a deposit of marbles, especially yellow marble, […]
Tarot Garden
At the foot of the village of Capalbiole, the Tarot Garden is an extravagant place created by the French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle inspired by Gaudí’s Parc Güell in Barcelona and the Park of the Monsters in Bomarzo. An extravagant route crosses a Mediterranean maquis passing through the colorful sculptures that represent the Major Arcana of the Tarot.
La Verna Sanctuary
The La Verna Sanctuary (Santuario della Verna in Italian) is located in eastern Tuscany, on a wooded hill of the Mount Verna in the Apennines. It was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi at the beginning of the 13th century, on land which he received as a gift from Count Orlando Cattani. The place stands […]
Radicofani
Radicofani stands out for its imposing medieval fortress, one of the most beautiful in Tuscany that dominates the Val d’Orcia with its beautiful eminence. It was long a strategic position for the control of the valley, on the border between the Papal State and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, situated on the Via Francigena which […]
Lucignano in Tuscany
Lucignano is a pleasant little medieval village in the province of Arezzo, called “The pearl of Valdichiana”, recognized with the «orange flag» and ranked by the «most beautiful villages of Italy», historically at the crossroads between Arezzo, Siena and Perugia.It is perched on a small hill, elliptical in shape with a walled area and a […]
Chiusi
Pleasant village of the Valdichiana in Tuscany, located at 400 meters altitude, Chiusi is also very close to Umbria. Without extraordinary charm at first glance, it was an important Etruscan city and keeps substantial testimonies, like necropolis of the surroundings. Around the Piazza Duomo, you will discover the interesting cathedral, the Etruscan museum, an interesting […]
Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore
In the woods near Asciano, the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore is a rather unknown place in terms of its importance. Founded in the fourteenth century, the Gregorian songs animate it and monks have been making wines for a long time, which can be tasted and purchased in the cellar of the monks. It is […]
Certaldo in Tuscany
Certaldo is one of the most characteristic villages in Valdelsa, located along the Via Francigena, also known as the village of Boccaccio, Italian writer of the fourteenth century considered as one of the fathers of the Italian language. Its interest lies in its suggestive medieval village, called Castello, or Certaldo Alto, located on top of […]
Casole d’Elsa in Tuscany
Ancient Etruscan city, Casole d’Elsa is a charming village built on the plateau of a hill, near the high Valley of Elsa. The surrounding hills are cultivated with vineyards, olive trees and cereals. There is also wood. It was a fief of the bishops of Volterra in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, before coming under […]
Colle Val d’Elsa in Tuscany
Colle Val d’Elsa is a small town with about 20,000 inhabitants in the heart of Tuscany, between Siena and Florence, along the Val d’Elsa, and on the Via Francigena and among beautiful hills. It is located in the triangle made of Siena 30 km, Volterra 35 km, and Florence 50 km. It lends itself to […]
San Miniato
San Miniato is a town of character perched on a hill, located in the Arno Valley, at the bottom of the Val d’Elsa, between Florence and Pisa, on the Via Francigena.It is known for the white truffle typical of its lands. In the Middle Ages, the village was called San Miniato al Tedesco, Otto I […]