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Toscana / Tuscany

Italy has natural beauties and cultural treasures in abundance in every single part of the country which makes generally difficult to emphasize certain parts of the country. But this region has the extra notch that makes it stick out amongst the others. Nature has blessed Tuskany with an impressive mountain range to the north, the Apennin, beautiful rolling hills at the centre, more mountains to the east and a varied coast consisting of a mix of large sandy beaches, rocky shores with hills – if not to say mountains – meeting the Mediterranean Sea in a mixture of cliffs, bays and coves plus some of the most beautiful islands as icing on the cake.

Nothing special for Italy. Neither is the fact, that within this landscape there is embedded plenty of cultural highlights dating from Etruscan to Roman to Middle Age to Florentine to Napoleonic and modern times. But the sheer density and quality of cultural and artistic treasures in Tuscany is amazing even for Italy. The world renown towns of Firence (Florence), Pisa, Lucca and Sienna are worth repetitive visits of several weeks and besides these there is uncountable other towns and villages or just single buildings spread all over the province that host cultural treasures that would make them major points of interest in almost every other region on earth.

All this is embedded in a landscape, that is a world heritage by itself as it is shaped and cultivated since a few thousand years and has become a piece of art itself. And this landscape produces some of the best culinary treasures of the world with the Chianti vines, the olives, the ham and the cheese just the tip of the iceberg.

to be continued

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