Tuscany, originally the Etruscan homeland, still impresses visitors with its delightful landscape and its wealth of cultural treasures. Churches, monasteries,and palaces dominate the heart of historic cities such as Florence, Pisa, and Siena. Tuscany was home to Giotto, Botticelli, and Michelangelo. It brings to mind palio and Puccini, not to mention exquisite wines and a vigorous modern cultural life.

The Cultural and Artistic Landscape of Tuscany

Tuscany in a Nutshell

Massa

 The White Gold of the Apuan Alps

Carrara

 City Map

 A Bohemian and His World-Giacomo Puccini

Lucca

 City Map

 Between Papacy and Empire the Interminable Conflict between

 Guelphs and Ghibellines

 Duomo San Martino

 Mighty Trees, Paintings, and

 Bubbling Water - the Tuscan Villa

Barga

Pistoia

 City Map

 In a Colored Robe of Marble Tuscan Incrustation

Pescia

Collodi

Villa Celle

 Arte Ambientale - Twentieth-Century Art

 in Tuscany

Prato

 City Map

 The "Self-Made Man" of the Middle Ages

 City Republic and the Haute Bourgeoisie

Poggio a Caiano

Carmignano

Florence

 City Map

 Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore

 Orsanmichele

 Galleria degli Uffizi

 Machiavelli - Patriot and Politician

 Dante Alighieri and Italian Literature

 Palazzo Pitti

 Tuscan Futurism

 Dormitorio di San Marco

 Florence's Conscience- Girolamo Savonarola

 Accademia della Crusca - Guardian of the Language

Fiesole

 City Map

 Withdrawal from the Secular World-

 Monasteries in the Tuscan Uplands

Arezzo

 City Map

 Petrarch - Poet Laureate and

 Celebrated Humanist

Sansepolcro

Monterchi

 The Mysterious People of Etruria

Cortona

 City Map

Siena

 St. Catherine of Siena - Mystic, Politician, and Saint

 City Map

 The Palio- a race in honor of the Virgin Mary

 Duomo Santa Maria Assunta

Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Pienza

 City Map

Montepulciano

 City Map

 A Memory of Ancient Rome - the Hot Spas of Tuscany

Chiusi

San Quirico d'Orcia

Montalcino

Chiusdino

Monteriggioni

 Rivalry in Stone - Dynastic Towers

San Gimignano

 City Map

 Ten Days of Tales - Boccaccio and the Decameron

Grosseto

 City Map

 Religion and the Etruscan Cult of the Dead

Massa Marittima

 City Map

Pitigliano

 Elba and the Emperor in Exile - Napoleon

Livorno

 City Map

 Tuscan Festivals and Celebrations

Pisa

 City Map

 Campo dei Miracoli

 The Narrative Art of the Pisani

 La Torre Pendente - the Leaning Tower of Pisa

 Of Comets, Heavenly Portents, and Phases of Venus-Galileo "s Proofs

Volterra

 City Map

 A Remarkable Stone - Alabaster from Volterra

Appendices

Elements of Architectural Form

Glossary

Chronological Table

Artists' Biographies

Further Reading

Index of Places

Index of People

Credits