Where are you when you are in Florence? You are in Tuscany. I get so many requests for trip planning saying we are going to Florence and then want to go to Tuscany. I am never really sure what they mean. I assume they mean they want to go to the countryside. Probably Chianti.
But let me show you Tuscany. Can you identify the regions? This map of Italy has all the regions mapped out.
Here is a list of the 20 regions
Valle d’Aosta, Piemonte, Liguria, Lombardia, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia- Giulia, Emilia Romagna, Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicilia, Sardegna.
The Tuscan region is divided into 10 provinces. But within the Provinces there are also other borders. This website has the list of the Commune which are under the Florentine government.
Most people go from Florence south to the area around Siena, which is where Chianti wine is made. I have created a guide to visit the area with the Thatch app. Here is a link to my shop online.
Pisa and Lucca are two other popular stops and a trip to the marble quarries in Carrara are incredible.
South of Siena is another famous area where Brunello wine and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano come from. Visit Montalcino, Montepulciano and Pienza, which is famous for their sheep’s milk cheese and being the perfect Renaissance city built for Pope Piccolomini. The landscape is beautiful. Don’t forget to stop at Bagno Vignoni and San Quirico. Sant’Antimo and San Galgano are two of my favorite churches down in that area.
On the Tuscan Coast you find Livorno where the cruise ships dock and the coast then heads down to Maremma, where we have cowboys and long horned cattle as well as a large national park. Some of the big Tuscan wines come from down near Bolgheri.
Another wonderful area is around Arezzo which is the gateway to the Casentino area, famous for their woods.
What about Cortona, located off the A1 highway up in the hills almost down in Umbria.
The island of Elba is popular and a short ride away, but you need to reserve place for your cars on the ferry in season. They control the number of cars on the island.
Visiting Italy is like being on a treasure hunt and always fun to get lost and explore. Tuscany is really so large, I hope you get a chance to explore it.
Personally, we keep a list of smaller sites we want to go and when the weather is nice we head out to explore.
Mostly for me, it is seeing how recipes also change. Italy was only united into a country in the 1800’s. Recipes were not codified and so house to house they can change. Valley to valley.
That makes it hard to eat out and order food as a name in one village is not the same dish in another.
Be brave! Venture out! Tuscany is HUGE and then there is the rest of Italy to explore.
I have been going to Sicily and Puglia myself. Have visted Umbria quite a bit. Drove through Le marche to get to Puglia.
Then discovering the hillside communities outside of Lucca.
Did you know that there is a Pilgrim’s trail through Tuscany? It is called the Francigena. The Tuscan part of the walk which also goes to Spain which starts in Cantebury England and ends in Jerusalem.
Right now I am studying some of the recipes served along the way to feed the pilgrims. Recently I made a bread and bean soup which I really adored.
It is called Minestrone di Pane and is related to the Ribollita recipe, using vegetables, beans and bread. This is a perfect example of how recipes change region to region.
Here is a little video for the recipe which I have on my youtube channel.
Let me know where you have been in Tuscany and enjoy this recipe.
What a great post this is. I could certainly have used something this concise and informative over the years I have never seen Tuscany so well broken down. Great Job, Judy.
Lets keep Mugello & Casentino to ourselves ☺Please Judy 😘
true! even maremma! it’s good news- bad news that people just go to the same places all the time. Takes more than one trip to Italy, more than one trip to Tuscany.Takes a lifetime.
Maremma is great! Have been going there for 10 years now. So different from the north of Tuscany.
it is special! still pretty much untouched.
Wonderful explanation of diversity and wonders of Italy. Brava, Judy!
I love the idea of a treasure hunt where we can get lost and explore, Judy! Thanks for sharing this great explanation of the possibilities!
As always, Judy, you are a great guide to a region and a country that you have made your home If anyone asks me about their upcoming trip to Tuscany I will definitely send them to this post! Thanks again for being the wonderful guide and for me and others, cook, you are! And…thanks for bringing back some memories…without a doubt Tuscany is a magical place. The countryside alone is simply breathtaking and each time we are there we can hardly believe how stunning it is! I’ll never, ever forget the first time I saw the mountains of Carrara, or my first taste of Ribollita!