Archive for 'Tourist Attractions'

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.

For some people, being on holidays means doing very little of anything at all and just laying around and relaxing but for others staying as active as they are in their daily lives or as active as they wish they had time to be in their daily lives is key to a good vacation. If you fall into the latter category and you have been thinking of booking a vacation rental in Tuscany then you might be wondering about some of the best outdoor activities in Tuscany. There are lots of different options from water sports to zip-lining to orienteering and more but the activity that best utilises the great beauty of the Tuscan landscape has to be hiking. There are lots of excellent hiking routes all around Tuscany that take in the incredible and picturesque nature of the rolling hills, rows of cypresses, vineyards, impressive forests, towering peaks, lovely coastline, and beautiful medieval hilltop towns of the region. One particularly picturesque area to hike in Tuscany is the Pratomagno Mountain Range which is located between Casentino and the upper Valdarno so, if you like to hike and want to make Tuscany your next holiday destination then why not browse our vacation rentals in Casentino and holiday rentals in Valdarno and get ready to take on this charming mountain range?

Not far from Arezzo are two towns made famous by their most well-known sons, Anghiari and Caprese Michelangelo, where Da Vinci and Michelangelo, respectively, were born. In both of these places you will find museums dedicated to these two great pillars of the Italian Renaissance and they are must-sees for art-lovers who are travelling in Tuscany and want to delve further into the lives and works of two of the most important figures in the history of European art. The Michelangiolesco Museum is an easy outing for those who have found a vacation rental in Arezzo, located within the province of Arezzo and a short distance from the city of Arezzo in Caprese Michelangelo.

While the museum was opened in 1964, to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Michelangelo, it can actually trace its origins all the way back to 1875. The Michelangiolesco Museum is housed inside the Caprese Michelangelo fortress complex, which is made up of three main buildings, the Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo Clusini and the Corte Alta, as well as a garden that is open to the outdoors. Caprese came under the rule of Florence after the town submitted to the Florentine Republic in 1384 and from that point onwards Florentine podestàs, local magistrates, took turns residing in the town on an annual basis. It is in the residence of these local rulers, the Palazzo del Podestà, that Michelangelo was born on the 6th of March 1475 to Ludovico di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni, who was the reigning podestà, in the area at the time.

Tuscany is a place full of sleepy and pretty little towns that one could easily pass by without a second glance but which contain rich histories and unexpected surprises. Look more closely and you will be astounded by what you might see if you have found a vacation rental in Tuscany and are exploring the region. One such town, that you could easily miss and think nothing more of, is Pieve Santo Stefano, which is located between Florence and Arezzo and has a population of just over 3,000 people. Pretty and very typically Tuscan in appearance, you would think nothing unusual of it at first glance. However, there is much more to this fascinating town than first meets the eye. Back on August 5th, 1944, a year after Mussolini fell from power and the Nazis took control of Italy, the townspeople of Pieve Santo Stefano were abruptly awoken and marched north on pains of death with whatever they could bring with them while the town was completely destroyed. Bar a church in the centre of town, the rest was rubble. It was rebuilt but, if you look closely, you will see concrete in place of cobblestones and Renaissance gems replaced by modern facades.

Then came Saverio Tutino, a former member of the Italian Resistance and journalist who had explored the globe and found himself in town for an art exhibition in 1984. He had had the idea of instituting a place to house and elevate the stories of normal Italians, something he felt was lacking in the country’s rich story-telling heritage, and thought Pieve Santo Stefano, this town haunted so heavily by the past, a perfect place for a, “House of Memory.” And, so, the town became famous for a different reason as home to the Archivio Diaristico Nazionale, the National Diary Archive, and came to be known as the Città del Diario, the City of Diaries.

The concept of paid beaches is something that is foreign to a lot of people around the world but they are actually quite a common thing in Italy. They are just cordoned-off and privately-owned sections of a beach but there are also usually free sections that you can choose to use instead if you would prefer to save a little bit of money. However, if you want better facilities, such as sun loungers and umbrellas, cleaner bathrooms, beachside bars, etcetera, you often have to pay for them. Depending on your needs and interests and personality, you may choose to splash out on a paid beach or you may just opt to find a free beach elsewhere. However, if you have found a luxury villa in Tuscany and you’re going for a more luxurious experience of the region and don’t want to have to worry about anything, then the paid beaches are a stylish and carefree way to have a beach day in the region. Those who have found a vacation rental in Versilia, one of the most famous stretches of the Tuscan Coast, and are looking for a paid beach to go to and enjoy a relaxing day by the sea with all of the best amenities and highest quality services, should plan to spend at least a day at Versiliana Beach.