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An authentic ‘ art mine’, Tuscany Italy brings the dead back to life. The troubled history of Italy, including the Tuscany area, has generated great ‘ Art Cities”. Rome is filled with ruins of the past imperial while Florence and Venice offer a concentrated dosis of Renaissance Art. And far from the cities, there is something for everyone’s liking: frozen walls in the Alpes to climb or Turkish coves in Cerdena, trekking in the Apuanos Alpes or exploring etruscian fields in Saturnia and Sovana which are in remote places away from the typical tourist tours in the Tuscany area, hang gliding over the plain of Piano Grande in Umbria or full contact with nature when staying at a Tuscany farmhouse not far from holiday villas.  And if you had a car rental, then Tuscany Italy is under your control!
Appetizing Wines in Tuscany Italy
When doing a Tuscany tour, whether you approach the area by car, bus or plane, you will know because the Toscana countryside has abundant rolling hills, almost all covered with vineyards. So after a few days in the city of Florence, my suggestion is to calmly get into your car rental and drive about 20 km. south of Florence to Greve. And you may say, ‘Greve’ , we have never heard of it! Precisely that, so I will tell you all about it from my personal experience. Its Piazza Matteotti, which is surrounded by arcades, has a good resemblance to a Florentine square. And from here you can go to the Piazza delle Cantine to go on an excellent wine tasting tour at the bar called Le Cantine di Greve in Chianti. For 10 euros you can taste up to 100 different kinds of wine.
No Overheating with Tuscany Car Rental. After a good lunch and maybe a nap, I set trail to Pisa and Siena, two of the most enchanting cities in Italy. While Florence shows endless signs of Renaissance art, Siena fills us with Gothic. I first went to check in at the Hotel Le Tre Donzelle which was originally a tavern from the 13th c. I had reserved a double room with a shared bathroom which was very simple but clean for 47 euros.  I did this booking well in advance because I wanted to be in Siena around the 30th of June, a few days before the spectacular event of Il Palio begins. This event is held twice a year : on June 2nd and August 16th. For weather and better priced plane tickets I chose the June second event. This event goes back to medieval times in honor of the Virgin Mary and includes parades and an amazing horse race in the IL Campo Square, which is shaped like an oyster and the main meeting place in the city. The days preceding this festive event you can get a close-up look at the horses and the way the jockeys prepare all. After the event, there are numerous museums to take in.
According to the people from Siena, the ‘toscana’ food is found here. I tried the ribollita ( a bean soup ), the panzanella ( summer salad with bread, tomato, onion and albahaca ) at midday and for dinner the pappardelle con la lepre ( pasta with rabbit ) and panforte ( an almond, honey and nuts pastry ). I could go on writing, but as I know I will be back, I will leave it for another of my Tuscany Italy adventures.
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