Located in the centre of Italy, Tuscany is bordered by Lazio to the south, Marche and Umbria to the east, Emilia Romagna to the north and Liguria to the west.
Dipping its toes in the water of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tuscany’s coastline stretches 400km from the town of Carrara to the mountain region of Monte Amiata.
A region which defined the Italian culture and art scene, Tuscany has many cities appreciated all over the world for their monuments and ancient buildings. These towns include not only Florence, Pisa and Siena, but also many smaller and quainter villages.
There are ten different provinces located within Tuscany’s borders. They are: the region’s capital, Florence, Grosseto, Livorno, Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, Pistoia, Prato, Massa Carrara and Lucca.
A geologically diverse region, Tuscany has numerous reliefs, the Apennines, the Apuane Alps, some isolated mountains such as Mount Amiata and Mount Prato, and hills including the Metalliferous Hills, the Livornese Hills and the Chianti Hills, famous for the production of the DOCG Chianti wine.
Not just a region of hills and mountains, Tuscany is also home to its world-famous rolling fields and, thanks to its vicinity to the sea, a beautiful coastline.
The Tuscan Archipelago is also part of the region and is a group of islands immersed in the Tyrrhenian Sea and part of a National Park formed in 1996.
Italy’s artistic and cultural centrepiece, Tuscany has many sites which have been recognised by world body UNESCO for their cultural heritage including six cities which have been given World Heritage Status.
These include the historic centres of Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Pienza, Piazza del Duomo in Pisa and Val d’Orcia.
The capital region of Tuscany, Florence is located in the north-east of the territory.
A city full of gems, Florence gained UNESCO World Heritage recognition thanks to its extreme wealth of beautiful monuments scattered all over. These monuments include the very famous Uffizi Gallery; the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, a bridge as romantic for its place on the Arno River as for its stalls of priceless jewels; the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the second largest church in the city; the Medici-Riccardi Palazzo, once home to the Medici family; Bianca Cappello Palazzo; Strozzi Palazzo; and finally the Rucellai Palace, which dates back to the fifteenth century and was designed by architect Leon Battista Alberti.
Then, of course, there are Florence’s many visually stunning and architecturally astounding churches. One of the city’s many claims to fame, the Duomo is a major European church and was once the family church for the Medici family and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity. However, the Duomo is not the only beautiful church in the Florence. There is also the Church of Santa Croce, designed by a Franciscan; the Church of Carmine, whose chapel was painted by artists’ Masaccio and Masolino; the Baptistery of San Giovanni, with its famous frescoes; the church of Santa Maria Novella, the symbol of Florence’s art history; the Church di San Marco; the Church of San Gaetano, built in Baroque style; the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, rich in works of art dating back to between 1300 and 1800; the Church of the Holy Spirit, designed and built by Filippo Brunelleschi: the Church of All Saints, which was originally the church of Amerigo Vespucci’s family; and finally the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore.
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