Tuscany (Italy)

For many years, the hilly area behind Livorno, Rosignano and Collesalvetti has been a "no man's land", inhabited only by local hermits, shepherds and excursionists. Luckily, though, the huge ecological and touristic value of these hills, that up to then had been managed through poorly co-ordinated and inconsistent interventions, has been recognized. A couple of years ago, at a meeting hosted by the Province of Livorno, the term "The Hidden Island" ...
...place. It is a fossil island, actually, which means a veritable island that used to be joined to the mainland in comparatively recent geological eras. The Livorno Hill Park has progressed from its project stage and we will soon be able to use all the tools (signs, tracks, facilities, maps) required to give the right value to this green island, a real excursionists' paradise. ...

giannit 07.10.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

On the way to Castelnuovo, a stopover in the nearby XV century town of Fosciandora is a must. The outlying wards that make up the municipality are all situated on the hills, along the scenic road that climbs up the steep slopes and gives visitors the opportunity to admire the castles of Perpoli, Palleroso e Fiattone. Fosciandora became the administrative centre only in 1846; before this time the territory was governed by the castle of Ceserana (today ...
...The small centre has kept its medieval aspect with the castle, the church and the tower. Summer here is enlivened by many festivals such as the pilgrimage to the shrine of the Stella of Migliano and the Festival of the "emigrant-tourist" held in the Moscardini Villa at Fosciandora. ...

giannit 10.10.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

Established in 1985, it occupies approximately 534 square kilometres and includes the whole Apuan ridge which, being oriented north/west to south/west, separates the Serchio valley from the coast of Versilia. The Apuan Alps are one of the most typical and unique mountain areas in Italy. Characterized by a harsh morphology, with deep valleys and steep slopes, within few miles, from the short flatland of Versilia or the bottom of the Serchio valley, ...
...The giddy, almost vertical, mountain walls, among which Pizzo d'Uccello, with its more than 800 metres' difference in height, stands out to the north, are mountaineers' and rock climbers' paradise. Thousands of excursionists flow every year to the tracks and huts spread all over the ridge. Known since time immemorial for the beauty of their marble, they are to be considered one of the utmost expressions of the karst phenomenon. Here are, actually, ...

giannit 03.10.2000 · Read full review
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For those coming from Lucca, it is the very first protected area along the way. The Natural Reserve of Botri ravine, actually, lies within the municipal territory of Bagni di Lucca, along the way flanking torrent Fegana from the trunk road no. 445 to Tereglio. The area includes the first part of two torrents (Marianna dn Rivellino) which flow deeply embedded into an extremely narrow canyon. Inside this canyon, you will find flowers arranged in strata, ...
...to the more and more tempered levels as you move upwards. The vegetation is arranged to follow the same peculiar microclimatic pattern: from ferns and moss, then, to primroses, columbines and catchflies. On the impassable walls builds its nest the golden eagle and, in the immediate vicinity of the canyon, there are typical Apennines' animals, such as deer, wild boars and small carnivores. All this often contrasts with the presence of man, who ventures ...

giannit 03.10.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

...the Apennines' ridge belonging to Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, where it borders on the Parco del Gigante in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Together with the latter, it forms a protected area of invaluable naturalistic value. On the opposite side opens up the Orecchiella Park, which lies completely within the Apennines' area. Comparatively limited in size (approximately 52 square kilometres), it is located at a level of 1,200 to 2,000 metres on the ...
...on the Parco del Gigante in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Together with the latter, it forms a protected area of invaluable naturalistic value. The Orecchiella Park is characterized by vast and luxuriant broadleaf woods, especially beech, making the most of the locally abundant waters. Over 1,700 metres, wide ridge grasslands open up and reach the highest levels. The heart of the protected area consists in three Natural reserves called "Pania di ...

giannit 03.10.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

As you get further away from the road flanking the river Serchio towards the valleys of torrent Freddana and Pedogna, you will enter the municipal territory of Pescaglia. Pescaglia was first mentioned in a ninth-century document. As early as the fourteenth century, it already had its own podesta and took part in the procession of Santa Croce di Lucca with a flowered candle. The village retains many traces of its mediaeval past; particularly noteworthy ...
...Solca", also called "Madonna of the Pebble", a very ancient fresco venerated in a little oratory north of the village. The present municipality includes some typical villages full of quite interesting Romanesque churches and towers: Fondagno, Gello (with a beautiful Romanesque belfry and an ancient baptismal basin font), Castel di Roggio, Convalle, Monsagrati (with an important Remanesque chuch) and, above all, Loppeglia, where you can admire the ...

giannit 02.10.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

...hour (tour number one) up to three hours (the complete tour, the longest-lasting one in Europe). At the ticket office: tourists' information, collection ore and fossil shop, postcards, print-outs and slides. There are also one pretty restaurant and one bar where you could eat the typical tuscany food. ...

giannit 29.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

Tuscan food has been defined as "elegantly simple"; local wine and oil, the indispensable accompaniment to each meal, are known the world over and add to the now universally-known pasta dishes. In this territory, food has a dual aspect: in the coastal areas, you cannot miss the "cacciucco" (a fish-soup), another specialty is mullets "alla Livornese" (stewed), fish fry, anchovy and sardine dishes, white fish cooked in different ways. Do not forget ...
...and different types of pizza. In the hilly regions, appetizers consisting of toasts of fried bread served with savouries, dressed pork products and pickles come before superb pasta dishes with hare or wild boar sauces or, alternatively, vegetables and beans soups. The main courses too are mostly based on game cooked in any possible way, such as the typical grilled pork ribs or grilled white meat accompanied by cooked or raw vegetables. And to top ...

giannit 29.09.2000 · Read full review
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Formed around the 12th Century, originally as a fishing village, today Viareggio (Versilia) is one of the most important port of the Tyrrenic sea, whose dockyards build very prestigious yachts. Along his promenade several are the 'bars', shops and restaurants available to tourists both in summer and winter. Thanks to its numerous palaces in the Liberty Style (or Art Déco) this town, famous not only as a seaside resort, but also the floats parade ...

giannit 09.09.2000 · Read full review
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There is a place in Tuscany, where, in every season, it's easy to choose. That's the reason why it is different. It is called the Etruscan Coast: here, time is holidays and desire to discover all year round, because, here, the sea and nature, art and history live together in one, harmonious plan. The Etruscan Coast is all to be temptingly chosen, to meet, then, its different souls, with love. First and foremost, the sea: crystal-clear, with hues ...
...never-ending beaches and cliffs smelling of salt and wind, sheltered by alluring pine woods. A lively corner of the Mediterranean. The sea is the soul of the Etruscan Coast: it is with you everywhere. It lives in the history, in the landscape, it gives light to sunsets, scents the air, makes itself seen from the villages and the hills, laps the thick pine woods, the vast green and bright areas of Mediterranean vegetation. Beaches of white, very fine ...

giannit 29.09.2000 · Read full review
Review of Tuscany (Italy)

Main attraction: seaside resort. The Versilia Riviera boasts an unbroken stretch of beach covering over 20 Km and served by over 400 bathing establishments, as well as a few kilometers of open beach, run by the municipal authorities . The climate is mild, due to the bulwark formed by the range of Apuan Alps. On average , the area has 270 days of sunshine per year and mean temperature of 24.5 in summer and 9.4 in winter. The Riviera is divided up ...
...Lido di Camaiore, Marina di Pietrasanta and Forte dei Marmi. Viareggio is a town of about 60,000 inhabitants whose history as a tourist resort dates back to the end of the 19th century, as it is proved by the many examples of Liberty architecture mainly found aling the promenade. The promenade is also an elegant shopping centre which is busy both in winter and summer. The town also offers two pinewoods, a tourist harbour, a conference centre and ...

giannit 03.11.2000 · Read full review
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Located on the banks of the Turrite stream, Gallicano has been actively involved in handicrafts and industry and has always used the resources of the sourronding territory to its advantage; in particular the waters of the Turrite and of the river Serchio, and the iron mines of the nearby Pania massif. It is believed that towards the end of the XIV century one of the first fire-arm industries of the zone was set up at Gallicano. In 1383 Giovanni Zappetta, ...
...However, the hamlet of Gallicano is much older. We can still recognize traces of the Roman installation on which this medieval hamlet was built. From an artistic point of view, the most important building of the village is certainly the parish church of San Jacopo, which stands above the inhabited centre. Perhaps built before the year 1000, it preserves many works of interest such as the great terracotta altar-piece, from the school of Della Robbia, ...

giannit 05.10.2000 · Read full review
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After leaving Castelnuovo, driving along the SS 445, we come to a detour for Careggine. This popular summer holiday spot is located in a wonderful panoramic position on the Apuan slopes of Mount Sumbra. The origins of this ancient town go back to the earliest times of the IX century. We can still admire the walls with the two entrance gates; from the main gate we enter the parish church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, founded in the VIII century ...
...an ancient medieval village in the vicinites, was chosen after the Second World War (l948-49) as an ideal location to build a dam. And so today Isola Santa rises on the banks of an artificial basin. During the Middle Age a popular hospice was to be found in this small hamlet. It is believed that the Countess Matildehad it built for the many pilgrims and wayfarers who travelled through this area, which had gained quite a reputation and whose inhabitants ...

giannit 30.09.2000 · Read full review
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It is the smallest municipality in the island, and also one of the most recent, since it was established in 1884. The village is situated in a small valley at the foot of mount Capanne, along the north-western coast of the Isle of Elba. At Marciana Marina, don't miss a visit to the ancient Saracen tower, belonging to the defensive system established by the Appians, seigneurs of the Isle of Elba and Piombino, and to the Cotone, the old fishermen's ...
...along the large seafront adorned by a row of centuries-old tamerisks, portrayed, together with the sailing ships of Marciana, by Llewelyn Lloyd, a painter of Welsh origins who used to stay at Marciana Marina at the very beginning of the twentieth century. Marciana Marina used to be one of the most famous marine centres in the Isle of Elba. Now, this sailing and navigation traditions lives on in Marciana Marina Sailing Club, which often holds national ...

giannit 30.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

With nearly ten miles of well-equipped beaches, sheltered by green pine woods and enclosed within the ridge of the Apuan Alps, the seaside resorts of Marina di Carrara, Marina di Massa, Ronchi, Poveromo, Cinquale, where holiday-makers have been coming since the beginning of the century, enjoy a unique natural and scenic position. As unique as its climatic conditions, which, due to the presence of sea and mountains, have short and mild winters and ...
...give hospitality to thousands of tourists in its accommodation and bathing facilities and can also offer leisure opportunities to cater for all needs: from night clubs to any kind of sport, to the discovery of simple, but intriguing, food, which combines fish-based recipes to typical local products, such as the rice cake, Candia wine, Colonnata bacon (Lardo di Colonnata). And then again, cultural events and shows for everyone: music shows and plays, ...

giannit 30.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)