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Day Trips became the best way to visit and feel Tuscany, a good location will fill your vacation with substance

Tuscany, and its neighbours Umbria and Liguria, are incredible locations with perfectly preserved hill cities, fabulous art, essentially the most lovely countryside imaginable, virtually tropical coastal areas, nice cities (Florence, Siena, Perugia, Cortona, Montepulciano,Orvieto), high quality eating places and food shops, possibly the best cafes on this planet, and pleasant and exquisite public.

Tuscany is exceptional partially because of restrictions which were placed on development. New buildings are allowed only on the outskirts of certain towns. Very few new buildings are allowed in the countryside. Farmhouses could be remodelled or rebuilt on their authentic footprint and must be built within the unique style. Due to these growth restrictions, many vacation leases are remodelled barns or other farm out-buildings.

Tuscany is now a prosperous area and money has poured into the cities to revive them. Italians and citizens from other international locations are buying up the previous houses within the cities and restoring them to be used as vacation properties or for their own first or second homes. Tourism and the wine trade have introduced in good jobs, making this a affluent area that caters to tourists however has a full of life native life as well.

The style of farming in Tuscany makes the countryside beautiful. Farms are principally owned by households, which turned them into holiday farmhouses. Regularly they grow many various kinds of crops. In the Chianti area the hills are laid out like an exquisite quilt: straight rows of dark green grapes vines right here, a misty inexperienced olive grove splashed with brilliant red poppies there, a lush forest in-between, all of it topped with a perfect blue sky. Off in the distance a city sitting on the crest of a hill. That is the colour palette in June, it adjustments through the seasons.

To see all this you need a good location where you can stay in comfort and travel each day or second day to see all the lost retreats and at the same time not to drive for hours looking at the views from the car window.

La Mucchia farmhouse is the perfect place for your day trips, excursions of one or half day, can be done from this location, and still to enjoy a quiet evening by the swimming pool looking toward Cortona lights and have a "Fiorentine steak" over the barbecue in the garden.

Cortona:

Recently made famous by the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun", Cortona offers spectacular views and a true Tuscan feel. Here you will have time to explore the winding streets and small shops, enjoy a good lunch in one of the many "Tratorias" and soak up the Tuscan sun.

Visit up on top of the hill, the Santa Margherita Chapel and the fortress of the Medici, going down toward south you can see the Frances Mayes "Brama sole" home.

The "MAEC" is the Etruscan-Roman museum at the town hall in via Nazionale.

 Excursion one:  Montepulciano - Pienza - Monticchiello

Leaving from Cortona through the Tuscan most beautiful countryside to Montepulciano in the breathtaking area of Southern Tuscany.

Get out of the main road 2 km before reaching Montepulciano to Tana Gatta winery for a truly unforgettable wine tasting experience and light lunch featuring typical Tuscan products produced in the area at the main street of Montepulciano. After resting proceed 10 km to visit the town of Pienza.

Completely restructured on the orders of Pope Pius II to be the perfect Renaissance town, Pienza's architecture and charm will delight you. It is also famous for it's Pecorino cheese (sheep's cheese).

Make sure you take time to wander through the shops on the main street that offer free tasting. If you are not tired and want to proceed, you pay a visit to St. Anna Camprena where part of "The English Patient" was filmed before being treated to a spectacular dinner in the tiny hilltop town of Monticchello before heading back to your La Mucchia country home accommodation.

Excursion two:  Orvieto – Civita di Bagnoregio – Civitella d'agliano.

After breakfast at La Mucchia vacation farmhouse in Cortona, you'll head south, taking the A1 to Rome crossing Umbria, the region just below Tuscany. Here you will find Orvieto an incredible ancient town perched upon a plateau of volcanic "tufo" rock. Here you go on an amazing underground tour of the ancient Etruscan ruins upon which Orvieto was built. You will also visit Orvieto's cathedral, one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in all of Italy. It is a must to include a visit to Civita Bagnoregio, a tiny ancient town with few inhabited today. As you pass over the foot bridge (the only way to reach the town) you'll take a step back in time to a place where you can leave your modern worries behind. A wonderful dinner can be taken in the small village of Civitella D'Agliano.

Excursion Three:  Perugia – Assisi – Catiglion del lago.

Taking the road to Trasimeno lake, you are on the "Superstrada" to Perugia, a hill town, in Umbria, became famous for the 9-18–July Jazz festivals, with famous artists such as: Eric Clapton, Diana Krall, Sergio Mendes, Pat Metheny, James Brown, Paolo Fresu, Pino Daniele, Russel Malone, beautifull views, Churches and Perugina Chocolate factory.You are then continue on the same "superstrada" to Assisi, home of the animal loving Saint Francis. Visit the magnificent Basilica and many monuments dedicated to this legendary saint in this lovely small town just over the border from Tuscany, in Umbria.

Pilgrims from all over the world come to visit this special place every year. Dinner with fish dishes will be a true delight in Castiglione del Lago on Lake Trasimeno.

Excursion Four:  Lucca – Pisa – Carrara.

It will take you in the morning not more then 2 hours drive to reach Lucca, go toward Firenze on the A1 and turn to Prato, continue on this way till you reach Lucca, an ancient walled city known for it's splendid olive oil, shopping and fortress walls that are wide enough to go for a bike ride on. Here you'll have time for lunch, a stroll and if you feel like it a ride around the walls. Next stop Carrara. Michelangelo's Pieta in Rome, and David in Florence were both carved out of marble taken from right here.

Known for it's pure glistening white stone, Michelangelo spent several years here locating just the right blocks for his masterpieces. Carrara's long and proud history stretches back to the pre-roman period and marble is still quarried here today and shipped all over the world. 

At the Carrara musem you will learn all about the history, working processes, and the legends behind this unique Tuscan treasure. In the afternoon you can visit Portovenere (the port of Venus), and on the way back just stop for half an hour to see the tower of Pisa because there is nothing else to see there.

 Excursion Five:  Montalcino – Sant'Antimo abbey.

Leaving from La Mucchia casa vacanze you go to the the heart of Tuscany to discover the richness and flavour of the area. You will begin your gastronomic journey with "Brunello di Montalcino". Your tasting of this prestigious wine will be at Altesino, one of the most well known Brunello estates, which sits in an area so beautiful you'll call it paradise. From the garden you can see the majestic hill town of Montalcino and the surrounding vines that produce Sangiovese "grosso" along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. From here you will take the road for Castelnuovo dell'Abate on route you can have lunch in a local "osteria" of the nearby hamlet.

After lunch you will visit one of the best preserved Roman monuments in Tuscany, the abbey of Sant'Antimo.

In Sant'Antimo you can hear monks sing their daily Gregorian Chants as their voices eco off the ancient walls. Then you proceed to Montalcino to visit the small town.

At the entrance to this ancient town lies the "Fortezza". Built in 1362 this historical fortress has suffered many attacks on it's walls but has never fallen. This incredible example of medieval architecture offers 360° views on its walls and a lively "enoteca" inside.

Excursion Six:  Bagno Vignoni – Castiglione d'Orcia.

Two hidden villages of southern Tuscany are Bagno Vignoni, a fascinating village surrounded by castles and medieval ruins. It has been an important thermal hot springs area since Roman times. The hamlet was developed around a large open air bath which was used to cure and relax weary pilgrims, and the likes of Lorenzo de Medici and Saint Catherine.  Now you too can soak your feet in the healing waters of Bagno Vignoni. You will next visit Castiglione d'Orcia. This small medieval town looks and feels as it did some 700 years ago. Once a battle ground for the Florentines and the Sienese, Castiglione lost it's importance when Siena fell to Florence and the Medici family took over the area.  As this is a placed not usually visited by tourists you will get a special look at daily life in the Tuscan country side and have a relaxing place to sip coffee and stroll the ancient streets. After your visit to Castiglione d'Orcia you will head back.

 Excursion Seven:  Siena.

One of the most fascinating towns in Tuscany but is also in a particularly beautiful position, with lovely environs. The town is the capital of the Tuscan province of the same name.

It preserves its medieval character to a remarkable degree, and has been largely unspoilt by new buildings. Its beautiful Gothic buildings include the Cathedral and Palazzo Pubblico, as well as numerous churches.

The delightful Sienese school of paint ing produced, in the First half of the 14C, masterpieces by Duccio di Buoninsegna, Simone Martini, and Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, all of whose work is well represented in the Pinacoteca, Palazzo Pubblico, and Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.

The Campo is one of the most remarkable squares in Italy. The seventeen Contrade or wards into which the town is divided still manage to play an active part in the life of the city, culminating in the famous Palio horserace which has survived as perhaps the most spectacular annual festival in Italy, in which the whole city participates.

The town is built on a Y-shaped ridge and spreads into the adjacent valleys; the streets are consequently often steep, and to pass from one part of the city to another it is often necessary to cross a deep valley. For this reasonv and also because its treasures are unusually scattered, several days are needed for an adequate visit. From the town there is an extensive and varied panorama which includes Monte Amiata and the metalliferous hills, as well as the clay downs of Asciano and the wooded district of Montagnola. To the north, the scenery changes once again, with the densely cultivated hills of the Chianti.

Excursion eight: Firenze

Only by train, from Terontola or Camucia train station, and within one hour and twenty minutes you will be in the centre of this important town, fresh and happy to start your walking.

 

About the Author

Born in 1947 in Poland, for 3 years and during the 6 days war served the Israeli army as photographer in the infantry, in 1970 studied at the faculty of Medicine in Padova, Italy, writing, painting for himself, worked for 20 years as building contractor with his brother, co- owner of Art Gallery and Hotel in Cortona, Tuscany, where he lives.