Province of Arezzo
Casentino
The Forest Valley Where the Arno Begins
The Casentino is Tuscany's deepest green valley — home to UNESCO ancient forests, Poppi's castle prototype of Palazzo Vecchio, La Verna sanctuary, Camaldoli her…
Tuscan Embassy
The Tuscany most travelers never see
Independent, in-depth guides to Tuscany’s lesser-known regions — the valleys, towns, makers and food that standard travel guides skip.
Researched in Italian
Every guide starts from Italian-language sources — municipal archives, Pro Loco pages, local historians and newspapers — not from other English guides.
Beyond the postcard
Valleys, villages and stories that rarely appear in English, and honest corrections to the ones that do.
Practical and current
Seasons, driving times, reservations and the small changes on the ground that make or break a day.
Start with a region
Each guide covers the towns, food, makers, history and the best time to go.
Province of Grosseto
Colline Metallifere
The Hills That Powered Five Thousand Years
The Colline Metallifere hide 5,000 years of mining history, a UNESCO Geopark, geothermal moonscapes, a secret Siena, and Tuscany's best free beach.
Province of Lucca
Garfagnana
Tuscany’s Mountain Valley That Looked North
Garfagnana Tuscany: four centuries under Ferrara's dukes, a village under a lake, farro, chestnuts, and two mountain parks. Plan your visit.
Province of Massa-Carrara
Lunigiana
The Land of a Hundred Castles at Tuscany’s Forgotten Edge
Lunigiana is where Tuscany meets Liguria and the Middle Ages never quite ended. Prehistoric stone warriors, Malaspina fortresses, and the oldest pasta in Italy…
Province of Grosseto
Maremma
Tuscany’s Reclaimed South
Maremma Tuscany beyond the clichés: tufa towns, working butteri, a Spanish coast and drained marshland. Start planning your trip with our region guide.
Province of Grosseto, Province of Siena
Monte Amiata
Tuscany’s Volcano of Springs, Chestnuts, and Fire
Monte Amiata is an extinct volcano ringed by spring-fed villages, where chestnuts, mercury, and geothermal heat shaped daily life and winter is marked by fire.
Metropolitan City of Florence (formerly Province of Florence)
Mugello
Florence’s Green Backyard Nobody Told You About
Mugello is the mountain-ringed valley 30 minutes north of Florence where the Medici originated, Giotto was born, and tortelli di patate are a way of life. Your…
Province of Siena
Val d’Orcia
The Landscape Siena Designed
Val d'Orcia Tuscany beyond the postcard: Francigena castles, a villagers' theater, and shepherds' pecorino. Start planning with our guide.
Province of Arezzo
Valdichiana
The Valley They Reversed a River to Save
Valdichiana stretches from Arezzo to Chiusi — a valley where Leonardo studied swamps, engineers reversed a river, and the world's oldest cattle breed still graz…
Province of Lucca
Versilia and the Apuan Alps
Marble, Medici, and the Sea
Two Versilias share one coast: the four comuni a Medici pope gave Florence in 1513, and today's resort strip. Here is how to see both.
Ready-made routes
Day-by-day itineraries with bases, driving times and where to eat.
4 days · Versilia
4 Days in Versilia
From the Marble Mountains to Puccini’s Lake
Four days from Pietrasanta's foundries to Puccini's lake, with a quiet morning at Sant'Anna di Stazzema and an afternoon inside a marble mountain.
4 days · Monte Amiata
4 Days on Monte Amiata
A Chestnut-Season Loop Around the Volcano
Four days around Monte Amiata in chestnut season, from the Siena side's abbey and mercury mines to the Grosseto side's springs, prophets, and olive groves.
5 days · Val d'Orcia
5 Days in the Val d’Orcia
Along the Francigena
A 5-day Val d'Orcia itinerary along the Via Francigena: castles, hot springs, pecorino, oil, and a walk. Plan your route with our guide.
Meet the makers
The people keeping local crafts, food and wine alive.
Maker · Versilia
Meet Levigliani
The Village That Owns Its Mountain
Since 1794 the people of Levigliani have owned Monte Corchia together. Today their cooperatives run its cave, mines, quarries, and museums.
Maker · Versilia
Meet Cantiere Del Carlo
Three Generations of Wooden Boats in Viareggio
A Viareggio family boatyard, founded in 1963 by a former Codecasa foreman, that now gives old wooden boats, some over a century old, a second life.
Maker · Monte Amiata
Meet La Casina di Giannetto
Olivastra Oil Named for a Donkey
A family olive farm near Seggiano, on the slopes of Monte Amiata, making Seggiano DOP oil from centuries-old Olivastra Seggianese trees.
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Browse every town, village and maker we have written about, and filter by region.