Planning a vacation to Italy? More specifically, are you planning your vacation in Tuscany? One of the most important places that you could witness is the region of Tuscany. If you love the art, or you just want to enjoy the scenic countryside, or you love the flavours of Tuscan cuisine – this is the place you want to visit, as Tuscany has everything in it and you choose.
Geographically, the rough paths of the mountain, the hills, the beaches, the small towns and the architecture of Florence, Tuscany has a lot to offer you. Tuscany covers an area of 8,800 square miles and has a population of about 3.6 million. The regional capital of this province is the city of Florence.
Almost triangular in shape, and lying between the northern side of Tyrrhennian Sea and the centrally situated Apennines, the region of Tuscany and has a large number of mountain chains,consisting of the hills and only 8.4% are the plains.
The climate in the region of Tuscany is quite mild in the coastal side whereas, as we proceed to the interiors, it gets a little harsher and rainy. There is a large fluctuation in the temperatures between the summer and the winter.
If it is the history about the region of Tuscany that is intriguing you, then you need to know that this region was once upon a time known as ancient Etruria, which was later conquered by the Romans in the 4th century BC. The Romans established the cities of Lucca, Pisa, Siena, and Florence. These regions claimed themselves to be Republics by the 11th to 12th century BC and this made way for trade and arts to flourish. It was in the 1400s that the rulers of Florence annexed the land surrounding them to declare the region of Tuscany.
The region of Tuscany is now divided into ten administrative provinces and these are Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato and Siena. The places you can visit in Tuscany are really confusing because you will not know where to begin. It is best if you start from the capital city of Florence, then move on to Siena and Pisa. The cities which form the centre for arts like Florence, Arizzo, Cortona, San Gimignano and Lucca will give you immense pleasure if you are an art history enthusiast.
With rich, fresh cuisine and lovely wines, Tuscany is the most romantic place for the gourmands and romantics among us, if you wish to spend your vacations in the beauty that is Tuscany.