Archive for 'Curiosities'

Tuscany is an incredibly popular and famous tourist and holiday destination but many do not think of, or know much about, her stunning coastline. Tuscany - in addition to being a perfect place for those interested in her history, culture, art, hearty cuisine, and beautiful and verdant landscap - makes for an ideal seaside getaway. The region is home to a long coastline and a cluster of gorgeous islands, all of which boast pretty little seaside towns, perfect beaches, interesting coastal walks, excellent seafood, and plenty of outdoor pursuits, activities, and watersports to keep you entertained. Whether you just want a quiet and relaxing break in which deciding what to eat and taking in the sea air are all that occupies your days, you want to stay active by trying new things and having adventures, you want to splash in the water and make memories with your children, you want to go for romantic strolls along the beach, or you want to photograph the diverse and beautiful landscape, a seaside vacation in Tuscany can offer all that and more.

One particular stretch of the Tuscan Coast that we would recommend, if you're thinking about a holiday in the area is Portoferraio. Portoferraio is a port town on the Tuscan island of Elba, an island most famous as the place to which Napoleon was exiled. The town was enriched by his presence, which drew visitors and made it more of a cultural hub than one might expect. Today, it remains charming, picturesque, fascinating, a little frozen in time, and quite surrounded by truly beautiful beaches including...

With a lot of our holiday rentals in Tuscany, there are special add-ons that the owners of our villas can offer to further enhance and to enrich your trip such as tours of vineyards, having private chefs sent to prepare dinner in the villa for you, and cookery lessons exploring the best of local Tuscan cuisine. For many, these cookery lessons, in particular, are a very special highlight of their whole holiday in Tuscany that helps them learn more about, and learn to better appreciate, Tuscan cuisine and learn how to prepare delicious and authentic local dishes that they can then go and reproduce at home.

But just because so many of us are stuck at home at the moment, and this is not an option in person for the time being, it does not mean that we have to miss out! We have found a way to bring the experience of learning to prepare excellent local dishes from Tuscany with an experienced Tuscan cook to you at home! Have an authentic Tuscan cookery class virtually by checking out this series of videos from Irene, a villa-owner based in Valdarno in Tuscany. Irene has carefully designed a series of virtual cooking classes that she streams live, allowing us all to have our very own Tuscan cuisine experience from the comfort and safety of our own homes!

If you are a wine-lover and you have ever considered Tuscany as a holiday destination then you are seriously in luck; the two couldn't possibly be more compatible. Over the years, we have written about the various incredible vineyards, wineries, shops, bars, experiences, and varieties of wines that you can look forward to upon visiting Tuscany but we thought it about time to compile a list of some of the most unique, interesting, and memorable wine experiences of all that can be had in this beautiful region of Italy...

We are obsessed with all things Tuscan here and, while we can't plan holidays in the region at the moment, we can read all about her unique traits and think ahead to better days in which a vacation doesn't seem so far away.

Tuscany has an incredibly rich historical and cultural heritage, shaped by shifting rulers, endless battles and wars over land throughout the centuries, influential art movements and artists, and a stunning landscape that both inspires and produces bountiful culinary delights. As such, the region also boasts more intriguing myths and legends and spooky tales than one might be aware of or expect.

If you have an interest in history, folklore, or the macabre, Tuscany is actually a surprisingly excellent holiday destination as it is awash with haunted castles and sites supposedly frequented by witches and much more besides. Today, we have rounded up some of our favourite tales of mystery and the supernatural and intrigue from Tuscany as we find ourselves with the additional time on our hands necessary to ponder the strange and unusual aspects of the world...

If you are a true art lover then you might be interested in art experiences in Tuscany beyond visits to the famous galleries and museums and churches; you may be interested in something more unique and something more behind the scenes. There are, for example, several childhood homes of great artists (like Michelangelo and Da Vinci) that are now preserved as museums and open to the public that you can visit. However, going even beyond the artist into the works themselves, there are sites and locations that have become famous as the backdrops of great works of art, which makes sense as the landscape of Tuscany is painterly in its beauty.