The unique allure of Tuscany
Tuscany
The Italian region of Tuscany is well-known to travelers from around the world, but it is hard to precisely pin down the reasons behind its popularity. This doesn’t happen because there are only a handful of them, but more because they are all so intertwined that it becomes really difficult to name just one thing that makes the region so alluring.
If one were to try and focus on one thing that characterizes the region as a whole, and possibly act as the reason for its seemingly eternal popularity, it would be culture. Not culture in an elitist manner, but culture as a word of describing the entire atmosphere which includes the architecture, the decorations, the gastronomy, everything coalesces to create a special type of place and experience.
While this type of thing is not absent from other parts of Italy, which in fact are a large part of the country’s charm, Tuscany seems to have a particular concentration of them, from a Pierlo della Francesca fresco to a bow of ribollita soup served with a spiral of freshly pressed olive oil, and everything in between exude the spirit of a region that has spent its money for a long time focusing on beauty and quality.
This particularity of the region couldn’t have been maintained however it it weren’t for the fierce pride, care for detail, and why not even sacrifices that the inhabitants make in order to maintain it as it is, for instance olive groves are still well-kept despite the fact that the crop bring very little money nowadays, and the strict building regulations enacted to keep Tuscany looking Tuscan are a real annoyance to second-home owners.
For those who are first-time visitors to the region there are several places that they should definitely consider in order to get the quintessential Tuscan experience, and these places are Siena, Pisa, Lucca and its surroundings, Arezzo and the Piero della Francesca trail, Chianti and San Gimignano, the Val d’Orcia and Montalcino; going to any of these places will surely provide you with one of the best vacation trips that you have ever had.
