Can eight “simple” cities contain beauty, elegance, history, and art, all while transporting
you back in time?
Embark on this journey to discover the eight most interesting Tuscan cities to visit in
this amazing travel guide.
This is the first of three parts.
Art, culture, and history are just a few things Tuscany is famous for.
This region is famous for not only these three things but much, much more.
With its surface of just under 23,000 square km, Tuscany is the ideal destination for a
holiday filled with unique experiences thanks to its great historical and artistic heritage.
The Theater of Great Dynasties (from the Medici to the Lorraine) was the birthplace of renowned
geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei, Giacomo Puccini and throughout
the territory, you can breathe the art and science of the great masters who made history.
Each Tuscan city of art hosts works by renowned artists, museums with unique masterpieces,
monuments, historical villas, cathedrals and various sites recognized as UNESCO World Heritage
Sites.
Today, eight of the most enchanting cities have been selected.
People throughout the world have known Florence for its artistic treasures ranging from the
middle ages to the renaissance.
A visit to the city includes works of incredible beauty.
Some of the timeless masterpieces of Dante Alighieri’s birthplace include Palazzo Vecchio
and the Uffizi, the Duomo with Brunelleschi’s dome and the Accademia Gallery which houses
the David statue.
In the Uffizi, one of the most important museums in the world, you can admire masterpieces
by Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Piero della Francesca, Tiepolo, Caravaggio
and many other world-famous artists, as well as ancient sculptures and tapestries from
the Medici collections.
The city of Pisa is renowned for the wonderful and iconic “Leaning Tower”, the most unique
bell tower in the world housed in the Piazza Dei Miracoli.
In the beautiful square there are also cathedrals with statues and columns on the facade and
the Baptistery.
You can climb the Leaning Tower and also visit the Monumental Cemetery which houses ancient
sarcophagi.
To fully visit the city, continue to the Piazza Delle Vettovaglie and on the Lungarno where
the Gothic-style Church of Santa Maria Della Spina is located as well as important museums
such as the Sinopie and the national museum of San Matteo.
Near the station, there is an interesting mural by Keith Haring, with bright colors
that interprets the theme of peace.
Siena, a city famous for the Palio, offers
a particular example of medieval architecture that is still perfectly preserved today.
To admire the city, we start from Piazza del Campo with the Torre del Mangia, the public
building with the Civic Museum.
The visit of the city continues with the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Romanesque- Gothic
style, with characteristic striped facade in black-and-white marble while, inside, it
houses frescoes by Pinturicchio.
Just behind the cathedral, you can also admire the baptismal font by Jacopo della Quercia
in the Baptistery of San Giovanni.
Among the museums, the Pinacoteca Nazionale with works by Duccio di Boninsegna is worth
a visit.
An almost intact 16th century wall protects the city of Lucca with its historic center
and villas.
Lucca is often defined as the “City of a Hundred Churches” and here you can certainly
admire, among others, the Cathedral of Lucca in Piazza San Martino but also the Basilica
of San Frediano and the Church of San Michele in the homonymous square.
Also not to be missed is the Guinigi Tower, whose house has a garden right at the top,
the Palazzo Ducale in Piazza Napoleone and the elegant Via Fillungo for shopping.
Arezzo is another beautiful art city in Tuscany, known for its Piazza Grande and for the splendid
frescoes by Piero Della Francesca.
To visit the city, you can start from its historic center with the Piazza Grande to
discover the birthplace of Francesco Petrarca now the seat of the Petrarca Academy of Letters,
Arts and Sciences.
We then continue to admire the church of San Francisco where, in the main chapel, there
are the Frescoes of the stories of the true cross by Piero della Francesca.
The visit to Arezzo can continue with shopping and the local shops dedicated to Valdichiana
ceramics, wrought iron, Sansepolcro lace or pieces of antiquity at the Antiques fair (every
first weekend of the month).
In Tuscany, great architectural works recall Renaissance grandeur such as the Medici Fortress
in Livorno.
In fact, Medici themselves built the historic center of the city.
To visit Livorno, you can start from Piazza Giuseppe Micheli with the statue of the Four
Moors, one symbol of the city.
The Venice district is very charismatic, crossed by navigable canals, with the Church of Santa
Caterina.
Towards the sea, you can enjoy the panorama from the gorgeous view of the Mascagni Terrace,
while on the promontory overlooking Livorno, in the Montenero district, you can visit the
sanctuary of the Madonna di Montenero with the ex-votos of pilgrims.
Pistoia is an art-rich city in Tuscany, with an abundance of Romanesque monuments and Renaissance
churches.
The Piazza del Duomo in Pistoia, houses the Cathedral of San Zeno, the Baptistery of San
Giovanni in court and the bell tower.
The churches of Pistoia with facades in two-tone marble are lovely, such as the Churches of
Sant’Andrea, San Bartolomeo, San Pier Maggiore and San Giovanni Fuorcivita.
Among the museums, the Palazzo Comunale and the Ancient Palace both contain important
collections from Pistoia and are absolutely worth visiting.
In addition, Pistoia is the home to the Palazzo Rospigliosi a Ripa del Sale, as well as several
interesting museums such as the Clemente Rospigliosi, the New Diocesan, the Embroidery, and the
Mariano Marini Foundation.
In the historic center of Prato, enclosed in medieval walls, you can admire the Emperor’s
Castle with Swabian architecture, and the Cathedral of Santo Stefano in Duomo square
with the external pulpit by Donatello and Michelozzo where, inside, there are frescoes
by Filippo Lippi.
In the center of Prato, you can then visit the Museum of Palazzo Datini and Palazzo Pretorio,
the Basilica of Santa Maria Delle Carceri by Giuliano da Sangallo, and the Churches
of San Francesco, San Domenico, Sant’Agostino, and Holy Spirit.
Also worth a visit, is the Textile Museum and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo with
works by Filippo Lippi, Donatello, and Michelozzo.
Contemporary art lovers will enjoy the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art.
Also not to be missed is the Fontana del Bacchino, the symbol of the city, and Piazza Mercatale,
one of the largest medieval squares in all Europe.
But does Tuscany finish there?
Absolutely not!
Tuscany is not only made up of large cities of art but also of many small villages with
ancient small ports or well-preserved city walls, medieval towers and castles.
The historic villages of Tuscany are also fascinating for their legends and the craft
shops that preserve the knowledge of tradition.
Throughout Tuscany there are testimonies of the various civilizations that populated it
from the Etruscans on the hill of Fiesole, to Volterra with its tufa walls and finds
in its archaeological sites of the necropolis on the Livorno coast.
The tower houses and protective medieval walls of San Gimignano and Monteriggioni, the villages
of Chianti and Val D’Orcia, and the castles of Casentino and Lunigiana are also very beautiful.
Click the following video to watch the second part of this “travel guide” and immerse
yourself in a world full of breathtaking views and Tuscan history.