Southern Tuscany
Twenty-two oversized Gaudí-influenced sculptures tumble down a hillside at this fantastical sculpture garden created by Franco-American artist Niki de…
Must-see attractions in Tuscany
Val d'Orcia
The serenely beautiful Romanesque Abbazia di Sant’Antimo lies in a valley just below the village of Castelnuovo dell’Abate, 11km from Montalcino. The…
Santuario della Madonna di Montenero
Livorno
The story goes like this: in 1345, the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd, who led her to monte nero (black mountain), a haven of brigands. Needless to…
San Gimignano
It may seem strange to highlight contemporary art in this medieval time capsule of a town, but there's good reason to do so. This is one of the best…
Val d'Orcia
Pienza's duomo was built on the site of the Romanesque Chiesa di Santa Maria, of which little remains. The Renaissance church with its handsome travertine…
Volterra
The vast collection of artefacts exhibited here makes this one of Italy's most impressive Etruscan collections. Found locally, they include some 600…
Southern Tuscany
Presiding over photogenic Piazza Garibaldi (aka Piazza Duomo), Massa Marittima's asymmetrically positioned 13th-century duomo (cathedral) is dedicated to…
Southern Tuscany
This spectacular regional park incorporates the Uccellina Mountain Range, marshy plains and 20km of unspoiled coast. Access is limited to 12 signed…
Museo Archeologico Etrusco di Chiusi
Chiusi
Small but outstanding, Chuisi's Etruscan museum boasts a bevy of ceramics, pottery, jewellery and cinerary urns (for cremation ashes) dating from between…
Pistoia
This cathedral with beautiful Pisan-Romanesque facade safeguards a lunette of the Madonna and Child between two angels by Andrea della Robbia. Its other…
Lucca
The bird's-eye view from the top of this medieval, 45m-tall red-brick tower adjoining 14th-century Palazzo Guinigi is predictably magnificent. But what…
Parco Archeologico 'Città del Tufo'
Southern Tuscany
The picturesque towns of Pitigliano, Sovana and Sorano form a triangle enclosing a dramatic landscape where local buildings have been constructed from the…
Southern Tuscany
Set in the wild surrounds of Seggiano, this sculpture garden is the passionate project of Romanian–Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri (b 1930), who created many…
Pisa
For an alternative bird's-eye perspective of the Leaning Tower and grandiose Piazza dei Miracoli rooftops, take a walk atop Pisa's medieval city walls,…
Arezzo
Art lovers will adore visiting this conservation laboratory. The base of Art Angels Arezzo (www.artangelsarezzo.org), a group of professional art…
Museo Archeologico e d'Arte della Maremma
Southern Tuscany
Grosseto's major tourist drawcard features an archaeological museum on the ground floor and a museum of ecclesiastical art upstairs. Items unearthed from…
Eastern Tuscany
The town's flagship museum is home to a small but top-notch collection of artworks, including two Piero della Francesca masterpieces – Resurrection (1458…
Val d'Orcia
Built in four stages between 1924 and 1939, these formal gardens were commissioned by Anglo-American expat Iris Origo and her Italian husband Antonio…
Val d'Orcia
Set in the Palazzo Borgia, this museum displays an intriguing miscellany of artworks, illuminated manuscripts, tapestries and miniatures. Highlights…
Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra Volterra
Volterra
Offering an innovative and particularly satisfying museum experience, this collection of sacred art is housed in the still-functioning Chiesa di San…
Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Experience
San Gimignano
San Gimignano's famous wine, Vernaccia, is celebrated at this museum and enoteca next to the rocca (fortress). Interactive exhibits on the 1st floor trace…
Pistoia
A teahouse, an aviary and other romantic 19th-century follies mingle with cutting-edge sculptures and art installations created by top contemporary…
Pistoia
This tiny 14th-century chapel, frescoed Gothic-style from top to bottom by the School of Giotto, is a dramatic guardian to Marino Marini's monumental…
Cortona
Highlights of this small museum in the decommissioned 16th-century Chiesa del Gesù include a number of works by Pietro Lorenzetti, a Madonna and Child (c…
San Lorenzo & San Marco
Considered one of Florence's most harmonious examples of Renaissance architecture, this unfinished basilica was the Medici parish church and mausoleum. It…
Oltrarno
The facade of this Brunelleschi church, smart on Florence's most shabby-chic piazza, makes a striking backdrop to open-air concerts in summer. Inside, the…
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pieve
Arezzo
This 12th-century church – Arezzo's oldest – has an exotic Romanesque arcaded facade adorned with carved columns, each individually decorated. Above the…
Museo Archeologico Nazionale 'Gaio Cilnio Mecenate'
Arezzo
Overlooking the remains of a Roman amphitheatre that once seated up to 10,000 spectators, this museum – named after Gaius Maecenas (68–8 BC), a patron of…
Lucca
The cathedral museum safeguards elaborate gold and silver decorations made for the cathedral's Volto Santo, including a 17th-century crown and a 19th…
Oltrarno
Astonishing. Behind the unassuming facades of Via de' Serragli lies a vast, secret garden – Europe’s largest privately owned green space...
Pisa
Pisans claim that Campo dei Miracoli is among the world's most beautiful urban spaces. Its walled lawns provide a photogenic setting for the candy-striped…
Oltrarno
Dating from 1345, iconic Ponte Vecchio was the only Florentine bridge to survive destruction at the hands of retreating German forces in 1944. Above…
Boboli & San Miniato al Monte
Turn your back on the bevy of ticky-tacky souvenir stalls flogging David statues and boxer shorts and take in the spectacular city panorama from this vast…
Duomo & Piazza della Signoria
This 1km-long covered passageway, currently closed for restoration work, connects Palazzo Vecchio with the Uffizi and Palazzo Pitti. Vasari designed it in…
Pisa
Soil shipped from Calvary during the Crusades is said to lie within the white walls of this hauntingly beautiful resting place for many prominent Pisans,…
Duomo & Piazza della Signoria
This 11th-century baptistry – the oldest religious building on the vast cathedral square – is a Romanesque, octagonal-striped structure of white-and-green…
Boboli & San Miniato al Monte
This 17th-century villa and garden was named after 19th-century antiquarian art collector Stefano Bardini (1836–1922), who bought it in 1913 and restored…
Chiesa e Museo di Orsanmichele
Duomo & Piazza della Signoria
This unusual and inspirational church, with a Gothic tabernacle by Andrea Orcagna, was created when the arcades of an old grain market (1290) were walled…
Northwestern Tuscany
Head up the mountain to this dusty, truck-busy cava de marmo (marble quarry), through a dramatic series of tunnels used by trains to transport marble from…
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
San Lorenzo & San Marco
Beyond the Basilica di San Lorenzo ticket office lie peaceful cloisters framing a garden with orange trees. Stairs lead up the loggia to the Biblioteca…
