Tuscany (Italian "Toscana") is a region in central
Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria to the east, Emilia-Romagna and
Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. It is often regarded
as among the most beautiful parts of Italy.
Tuscany was perhaps the region in which the Italian Renaissance produced its
best results. The unique artistic patrimony of this region includes
architecture, painting and sculpture, collected in dozens of famous museums like
the Uffizi in Florence.Tuscany is also known for its wines (most famous of which are Chianti,
Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino) and has 120 protected regions
(nature reserves).
Tuscany is one of the regions in Italy that attract the highest number
of tourists, as a result of its excellent position on the peninsula, seaside
resorts and health spas, and most of all to the great variety of environmental,
scenic, artistic, cultural and historical attractions. The traditional image of
Tuscany, of gentle hilly slopes covered with olive groves and vineyards, must be
sought in the heart of the region, for example, in the upper Era basin. The
famous Florence is situated on the banks of Arno River.
The city earned its fame
for numerous historical monuments as well as for being an active centre of
culture, and organizing periodical exhibitions and art festivals. It hosts
Antiques Biennial, Music in May, Opera and Theatre Seasons, Fashion shows,
Festival dei Popoli in December, as well as many other events.
This great region, including the mountains and sea, has a thousand of faces, colours, scents and flavours.
The extraordinary variety of the landscape traditions, superb artistic and
cultural patrimony, make Tuscany the emblem and the synthesis of Italy in
general.
Tuscany means mountains, from the rocky peaks of the Apuanas Alps to the snow
covered peaks of the Apennines.
Tuscany means uncontaminated nature, with its national parks.
Tuscany means country, with its gentle and green hills.
Tuscany means sea, with its white beaches and summer resorts.
Tuscany, of course, means genius, culture and art.
In the late Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance, Tuscany was a center
of the arts and of learning. The Tuscan spoken language became the literary
language of Italy after Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, and Boccaccio used it.
Notable schools of architecture, sculpture, and painting developed from the 11th
cent. in many cities, particularly Florence, Pisa, Siena, and Arezzo. From the
16th cent., however, intellectual and artistic life was almost wholly
concentrated in Florence. There are universities at Florence, Pisa, and Siena.