What to do and where to go in our surroundings

Pisa means the tower, FALSE! Very nice but not the only structure that deserves to be seen in this unpredictable Tuscan city.

The beautiful Piazza del Duomo includes the main religious monuments of the city, earning the nickname of Piazza dei Miracoli: In addition to the Cathedral tower, the Baptistery and the Campo Santo.

But you just need to move a little to discover the complexity and the composure of all artistic wonders that make it one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. Buildings, monuments and museums help to keep alive the memory of a past in which Pisa has been a Maritime Republic and for a long time, undisputed mistress of the Mediterranean. In addition, it still keeps the title of Queen of Education, conferred by Florence, Pisa is a very young, dynamic and animated city.

Siena, a leap back in time, stands on three hills and is crossed by wide avenues and narrow alleys that lead to the heart of the city, the Piazza del Campo and all other precious buildings of which it is studded: the Cathedral, the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, the Basilica of St. Catherine, the church of Santa Maria dei Servi and countless other story angles that intersect at every turn, and so often that you have the impression that you can hear at any moment the noise of carriage wheels on the sampietrini.

A story that loses its memory in the centuries, says that it was founded by Senio (hence the name), son of Remus (brother of the founder of the “Eternal City”) and to the memory of this legend many columns and niches are embellished by the wolf suckling the twins. Famous for the Palio, the historic horse race, held every year on July 2 and August 16 in the shell-shaped square, Siena is also home to one of the oldest universities in Europe. In addition to the daily life that animates all day on the streets and squares of the city, Siena offers many cultural events, concerts, cinemas, theatres and a wide range of sporting activities. For those who come in Tuscany, a visit to this magnificent city is a must!

Lucca is one of the main art cities of Italy, famous even outside national borders for his walls belonging to the fifteenth-seventeenth century, making it one of the 4 Italian provincial capitals, with Grosseto, Ferrara and Bergamo, that has intact Renaissance walls.

To date, the same circle of walls, that was converted already, as early as the second half of the nineteenth century, in a pleasant promenade, is one of the best preserved in Europe, as never used in the past centuries for defensive purposes.

Consequently the historical centre of the city remained almost intact in its original form, thus being able to include numerous medieval churches of great architectural richness, hence the name “the city of 100 churches,” to which we must add towers, bell towers and palaces of the Renaissance of excellent stylistic linearity.

Curiosity: until the early years of the 90s of 800, The walls were used as a true ring road for the traffic around the city, the only example in the world of wall of this size and with this use.

Arezzo, an ancient city that has seen the development of the skills of many famous people of Italian history and literature, to whom it had given birth: the fervent and lively wit of Pietro Aretino with his satirical verses; the eclecticism of the painter, architect and writer Giorgio Vasari, who, though specialized in painting of windows, has left us some of the most beautiful and complete treatises on art; the sophisticated and elegant style of the precursor of Italian language Francesco Petrarca; the enigmatic poetry of the painter and writer Margaritone di Arezzo; the grandeur of Renaissance paintings of the most illustrious pupil of Piero della Francesca: Luca Signorelli and of his own master, and the list could go on!

In addition, those who have the opportunity to be in Arezzo between late August and early September can attend events that are rooted in history, as the Saracen Joust, one of the most popular events in Tuscany, which takes place in Piazza Grande in the background of the medieval old town. Another well-known and popular event is the Antique Fair, held the first weekend of every month, you can not miss the old furniture and objects exposed by the hundreds of Exhibitors arriving from all over Italy, where visitors flock to the streets of center, tireless, searching for some treasure! If you love wine and food tours, then you must know that the the cooking of Arezzo is tasty and varied.

Entering in the various eating houses and inns that are scattered in Arezzo, you can taste the chicken soup, the Arezzo eel (anguilla all’aretina), fried celery, grilled chicken and many other delicacies and then … bon appetit!