Travel: Truly Tuscany

TRAVEL

Words & Photos: Andrew de Villiers

Truly Tuscany

View overlooking Florence and the Arno River from the Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset.

People in Tuscany know how to live. Here,

world-famous art, a rich history, fine food and ‘vino’ blend into a laid-back lifestyle that starkly contrasts the frenetic busyness of modern life.

Remarkably, this slow-paced province in Italy has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than South Africa, Australia and Argentina combined (and only one less than the whole of Egypt)!

It is also the birthplace of the Italian language and has produced some of the world’s greatest thinkers, artists and fashion designers the world has ever known: Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Donatello, Dante, Gucci, Raffaele and Roberto Cavalli to name but a few. Keen to experience this special region and way of life firsthand, my wife and I headed to Florence and Siena for a few glorious days under the Tuscan sun.

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Enjoying locally made and world famous Chianti red wine on the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence.

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Florence is extraordinary and arguably the most romantic and beautiful city in Italy. Almost a

third of the world’s art treasures are found here, including the Statue of David, and it has the most-visited building (Galleria degli Uffizi) and second-largest church (Duomo) in Italy.

We arrived in the city via a train from Rome. After negotiating the very confusing public transport maps, we reached Guelfi e Ghibellini, our comfortable and centrally situated bed and breakfast. Here we met Serena and her family, who were warm and friendly as they proudly told us about their city and all its incredible achievements.

They also helpfully earmarked the best sites and attractions in the area that they thought we should see.

First on their list for us to visit was the Piazzale Michelangelo on the other side of the winding Arno River. They recommended we take a picnic and some Chianti (the world-renowned soft red wine produced locally) and watch the fastapproaching sunset over the city.

This was a perfect way to begin our time in Florence. The views from the Piazzale were breathtaking and I highly recommend that any visitor coming to Florence make this a ‘must’ on their itinerary. As the dusk light danced across the Arno’s water and city’s rooftops, we sat and stared, eating our cheese and drinking delicious Chianti.

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Watching the Arno River meander through Florence.

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The next day, after a scrumptious breakfast, we headed to some of Florence’s other attractions: the

Duomo, leather market and Piazza del Signoria.

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The Duomo is an architectural masterpiece in the centre of the city. Everything about it is over the top and beautiful at the same time. We climbed the tall dome (second highest in Italy after St Peter’s Basilica) and were rewarded with stunning panoramic vistas of the city. The red roofs and lush green trees created a picturesque patchwork over the Tuscan capital that held us in awe. Entranced, we lost track of time and unfortunately missed the leather market in full swing, as we only got there when the last merchants were packing up their stock. The few stalls we did get to see were disappointing, with only inferior, cheap products available.

View of the Piazza del Signoria with Neptune in the background.

We agreed that it would be far more worthwhile to go into one of the many legitimate leather shops in the city and walk out with top-quality products at reasonable prices.

The climax of the day was visiting the Piazza del Signoria. This gorgeous public square is steeped in history and contains a wealth of beautiful 16th century statues for all to see. The most dramatic of these included the Fountain of Neptune, Hercules and Cacus, and Perseus with the head of Medusa. It was amazing to see these exquisite, old masterpieces and public life coexisting nonchalantly: summing up what makes Italy so wonderful and special.

After our time in romantic Florence, we headed deeper into Tuscany, to Siena and, more importantly, Villa Certano.

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Road leading to Villa Certano just outside of Siena.

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Siena is Florence’s little medieval sister city (but don’t tell her that because they have a long history of wars between them). This small city is built on three hills, much like Rome.

It is home to the world’s oldest bank, which was built in 1472, and hosts the Palio, a horse race that takes place in the Piazza del Campo twice a year. Navigating the narrow streets in the old city proved both enchanting and confusing. From there, we made our way to Villa Certano in the Tuscan countryside, about 7 km from Siena.

Certano is a quaint hamlet that is made up of a grand old villa, smaller farmhouses and a 10th century chapel. It is a breathtakingly beautiful working farm nestled in a tranquil landscape quilted with vineyards, olive trees, lavender and rolling hills. The farm even produces its own Chianti and olive oil. The setting couldn’t be more perfect.

We were welcomed by Annalisa, the lovely and friendly farm owner, Gratziella, our warm hostess, and Graham and Sally, a sweet South African couple helping out on the farm. The atmosphere on the farm and interactions we had with these people summed up the magic of the Tuscan country lifestyle and, for the first time on our two-week trip, we felt like we were truly on holiday.

Gratziella’s mantra was ‘rest’ and it was hard not to. In fact, it was hard to want to do or go anywhere else once we were on the farm. ‘Rest’ seemed to permeate the air, the warm sun and green vines.

After a few days at Certano, we felt fully rejuvenated and ready to tackle the rest of Italy.

Tuscany is intoxicating. It’s not hard to see why once people visit the region, they cultivate a deep and lifelong love affair with it. Here, you can marvel at both wonderful world-class tourist attractions whilst finding peaceful rest at the same time. Tuscany is unique, authentic and unreplicable. You owe it to yourself to go there and experience it firsthand. •

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Villa Certano: an excellent base to explore the Tuscan countryside from.

Things to know • Public transport timetables are tricky to decipher with routes changing on weekdays, holidays and weekends.

What to do

• Have a picnic at the Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset.

• Visit the Duomo and climb the dome.

• Spend time walking around the Piazza del Signoria.

• Rent a scooter and explore the Chianti countryside.

Where to stay

• In Florence - Guelfie Ghibellini B&B (www.guelfieghibellini.com) • In Siena - Villa Certano (www.borgovillacertano.com)

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