Toscana stretches over the slope of the Apennines, in front of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Tuscan landscape is mainly mountainous and hilly, with a flat area besides the sea (the Maremma). The coastline presents different aspects, offering both long sandy expanses and headlands. In front of the coast there are the small enchanting islands of the Tuscan archipelago.
Florence is the capital of Tuscany. Other important cities are Siena, Pisa, Arezzo, Pistoia, Lucca, Livorno, Grosseto, Massa Carrara.
Tuscany is a charmed land, equally blessed by the genius of man and nature, and often by the combined efforts of both. Think of the vineyards: rows of baby green vines that manage somehow to march in arrow-straight formation up the gently rolling hillsides, bounded by single files of darker green cypress trees, snaking sandy roads leading to rust-colored farmhouses and moss-coated castles, symmetrically rounded hilltops surmounted by towns so homogeneous as to seem one single building. Every inch of land has been sculpted, first by the elements and then by generations of inhabitants whose goals were always twofold: make the land produce as much as possible, make the land as beautiful as possible. Tuscany enchants us today because it holds together as a region, from the tiniest hamlet to Florence the Magnificent. For the living proof, take a short walk one day along the sides of the Belvedere in Florence: you will leave behind the traffic and suddenly find yourself strolling down quiet lanes bounded by tall stone walls, cypress trees and creamy-colored villas. |
