Or San Michele, S. Michele in Orto, was till the middle of the thirteenth century a little church belonging, as it is said, to the Cistercians, who certainly claimed the patronage of it. About 1260, however, the Commune of Florence began to dispute this right with the Order, and at last pulled down the...

In every ancient city of the world, cities that in themselves for the most part have been nations, one may find some spot holy or splendid that instantly evokes an image of that of which it is a symbol,—which sums up, as it were, in itself all the sanctity, beauty, and splendour of her fame, in whose...

The Maremma is an area in Italy, consisting of part of southern Tuscany (partly coincident with the province of Grosseto) and part of northern Lazio (in the province of Viterbo on the border of the region). The poet Dante Alighieri in his places the Maremma between Cecina and Corneto, the former name...

Pontremoli is believed to have been first settled around a thousand years before Christ. It was known in Roman times as Apua. The commune later became an independent municipality in 1226 thanks to Federico II who charters the free municipality, partly because of its mountainous situation. This situation...

The image of the Lunigiana that comes to mind most readily is probably that of the old village nestling around its castle in a position commanding the routes along the valley bottom. For those arriving from the coast, in fact, the valley of the Magra is heralded by the villages of Vezzano Ligure on the...

Every time I write about Tuscany Italy, my heart and my whole body for that matter experiences an intense feeling of calmness. I know exactly that this feeling comes from the relaxed atmosphere that this part of Italy near Florence gives off. I have found a perfect balance of enjoying the fascinating...

Along the Costa degli Etruschi wine route there are numerous firms producing the local wines. The northernmost DOC wine is that of Montescudaio, between the rivers Era and Cecina. Around Bolgheri are the wineyards where the grapes for such outstanding wines as Ornellaia and Sassicaia are grown. Finally,...

Presently, in the afternoon, I shall follow Via Porta Rossa, with its old palaces of the Torrigiani (now, Hotel Porta Rossa), and the Davanzati into Mercato Nuovo, where, because it is Thursday, the whole place will be smothered with flowers and children, little laughing rascals as impudent as Lippo...

Nowhere in Italy do the wines so vividly reflect the countryside as in the central Italy region of Tuscany. The bold, full-bodied, mostly red wines are as hearty of the residents, the food, and the soul of this historic province. Chianti Perhaps, the best known of Tuscany’s wines, Chianti...

O rosa delle rose, O rosa bella, Per te non dormo nè notte nè giorno, E sempre penso alla tua faccia bella, Alle grazie che hai, faccio ritorno. Faccio ritorno alle grazie che hai: Ch’io ti lasci, amor mio, non creder mai. Florence is like a lily in the midst of a garden gay with wild-flowers;...