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LUCCA |
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Lucca has a collection of artworks that have made it well-known throughout the world, and it is also called the 'city of the hundred churches', some of which are truly beautiful. Outside the city walls there is the Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi, where there are paintings by artists from Lucca together with valuable sculptures, items of the so-called minor arts, and sacred furnishings.
The very distinctive Piazza del Mercato, which is oval-shaped because it was built over an ancient Roman amphitheatre, is circled by an uninterrupted ring of houses. The only access to the piazza is by four pedestrian entrances.
Places of interest in the area around Lucca include the famous Ville Lucchese, which were built between the 16th and the 18th centuries on hilltops, mainly in proximity to the supplies of water that were needed for the spectacular fountains in their gardens. These villas share a particular concern for aesthetics, both in terms of the buildings themselves and the parks they overlook. Another shared feature is the mixed Tuscan and Doric order of architecture, and the use of plaster and stone together.
The renowned Tuscan cigar, the Toscano, is also from Lucca; hand-rolled since the 19th century, they are produced by the Manifattura Tabacchi. Thanks to a concession by the Italian state, they are now also produced in America and Argentina.
Lucca include a wide area that extends from the Apuan Alps to the Garfagnana and reaches as far as the coastal strip of Versilia.
The countryside around Lucca produces a high-quality (and world famous) olive oil that is highly aromatic and easy to digest.
Besides the well-known Tuscan gastronomic specialties, in Lucca it is also possible to sample Buccellato, a sweet ring-shaped cake made according to a 15th century recipe; its name derives from the fact that its shape is reminiscent of a buccina, a Roman trumpet with a round-coiled shape.
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AREZZO |
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Places to visit:
Piazza Grande, also called Piazza Vasari. Of unusual composition with facades of different styles : the Palazzo del Tribunale, the Palazzo della Fraternitą dei Laici and the great Palazzo delle Logge.
Fortress, even though it has been remodelled more than once it remains an interesting example of 16th century military architecture.
Palazzo dei Priori, now the Town Hall, crenellated in 1300 and renewed in 1900. In has conserved the original facade with the ancient coats of arms of the Podestas and Commissioners.
House of Giorgio Vasari, a building acquired by the artist in 1540, where he lived for a short period. In 1911 it became State property housing the Vasariano Museum and Archive.
State Museum of Medieval and Modern Art, considerable collection of paintings, sculpture, majolica and porcelain donated by Arezzo collectors and from the stores of works of art; since 1958 arranged in the ancient Bruni-Ciocchi palace.
National Archeological Museum "Caio Clinio Mecenate", is situated in the 14th century building which is an ex-monastery of S. Bernardo. Modified in the 1700s for military use by Napoleonic troops it was badly damaged during the second world war. Since 1937 it hosts various archaeological collections relative to the prehistoric age, Etruscan and Roman. In 1973 it became State property.
Church of S. Francesco basilica founded at the end of 1200 and renewed during 1300 in the Gothic style ;changed and renovated at the beginning of the 1900s the internal single nave has a trussed roof, and one can admire numerous paintings by important artist one of which being Piero della Francesca, whose most important works are shown here, having been recently restored.
Parish Church of S. Maria a notable example of Romanesque in Toscana, initiated in the XII century had Gothic additions in the successive century until the contribution of Vasari in the 1500s. The architectural element which is most impressive is without doubt the heavy bell tower (1330) known as the "hundred holes" for the regular structure of the mullioned pairs.
The Cathedral. (S. Pier Maggiore) imposing Gothic structure which took two centuries to complete (XIII-XV) presenting a neogothic facade from the early XIX century which substituted the original which was never completed. The interior with three largely proportioned naves is characterised by the soaring lines of the pillars and one can again see numerous works of art among which a fresco by Piero della Francesca and various works by G. di Marcellat.
S. Domenico Gothic structure from the end of 1200s changed more than once in the course of the centuries. In the luminous single nave there are a number of frescos from the Arezzo and Siena schools.
S.S. Annunziata, or Madonna delle Lacrime Renaissance church, built on top of an pre- exiting building of the 1300s after a miraculous event. Near the church is the ancient boarding school of S. Caterina modified by Vasari.
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SIENA |
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Situated in central Tuscany, Siena was once one of the most important cities in Italy. Initially there was an Etruscan settlement here, on the route from Volterra to Arezzo. It then came under Roman rule and was declassified to minor city status. Its fortunes rose again under Lombard rule, when it was the only city on the Via Francigena between Lucca and Viterbo. It grew a lot in this period and became economically much stronger as a result of the commercial exploitation of its products. In 1200, the most important families of the city and the bankers of the Papal See started banking activity in the city. The most important sites for transactions were the urban strip along the Francigena, and in Piazza del Campo, the only large piazza in the city, which has its own particular and distinctive fascination even today.
After finally surrendering to Firenze in 1559, Siena became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, but having constructed a fort there, the Medici neglected the city for the next two centuries, the result being that Siena slipped into a deep economic and demographic crisis.
The arrival of the railway in 1850 gave fresh stimulus to the city and to the old university, with scholars coming from all over Europe to study. The pharmaceutical industry became firmly established here and its old banking activities were revitalised. |
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PISA |
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Near Pisa and on the coast south of the mouth of the Arno is Marina di Pisa, a beach resort whose layout dates back to the second half of the 19th century. There are a number of Art Nouveau buildings here.
A little further along the coast is Tirrenia, a modern beach resort surrounded by extensive pine woods. On the other side of the mouth of the Arno there is the Tenuta di San Rossore, which became a regional natural park in 1979 and stretches as far as the Lago di Massaciuccoli. This park comprises 23,000 hectares of alluvial plain.
Monte Pisano (also mentioned by Dante in his Inferno), is an extension tacked onto the end of the Apuan Alps, and consists of an isolated group of high hills that divide Pisa from Lucca. Appreciated since the 18th century for its olive groves, the summit of Monte Pisano offers one of the most beautiful views in the whole of Italy. The slopes of the mountain are dotted with fortresses, convents, and other monuments of great interest, including the Certosa di Pisa, a vast complex founded in 1366 as a secluded monastery. Its moment of greatest splendour came in the 18th century, but after various ups and downs it was finally abandoned in 1969. Part of the complex houses a museum belonging to the University of Pisa devoted to the area and its natural history. It's also worth making a visit to Vicopisano, which has a number of interesting historical buildings.
Besides fish dishes, the Pisa area also offers meat dishes like cinghiale in salmģ (jugged wild boar) and bordino, a tasty country soup made with polenta, bacon, creamed beans, black cabbage, and onion.
The wide valley of the river Elsa has always been a natural communications route within Tuscany.
Even now both a railway and a highway run through the Val d'Elsa. San Miniato is situated on three small hills controlling the main road and river network (the Arno and the Elsa). |
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Italiano
Monuments
Excursion