Tuscany is the region in Italy, which precisely matches the visitor's expectations about the clean, unspoilt landscape of Mediterranean country under the sun hot enough for grapes to produce nice wine, jet not too hot, so the green areas do not turn into the empy desert.


The valour of the place has already been appreciated by Etruscans, who exploited ore deposits from the slopes of Monte Amiata and Monte Civitella.
Romans established new towns like Pistoia, took a bath here and there, but didn't left many of spectacular traces, like for example in adjacent region Lazio.
There is quite a big number of interesting Romanesque and Gothic buildings, like the spectacular towers of San Gimignano, but Tuscany is known for its art treasuries from Renaissance.
The region's capital, Florence is so packed with art masterpieces that you need several days at most to comprehend and digest all the artistic experiences.
It is better then to stay for a few days in a hotel here, and even better, spend some time for research and select an apartment to rent which has 'A Room with a View'.
Popular area for villa rentals is Chianti, there Francis Mayes has found her villa to restore, and Hollywood cameramen setting for some shots of 'Gladiator'.
Many more movies were made here, like 'Under the Tuscan sun' based on book by Mayes, 'English patient', or going back to Florence, 'La Vita e Bella' and 'Hannibal' with Anthony Hopkins.
Renting a luxury villa here is a good choice, and with splitting the costs among group of friends allow to have a holiday cheaper than while staying at a hotel.
More villas can be found between Viareggio and La Spezia, also in another wine district called 'Super Tuscan'. Less packed with historical buildings is Maremma tempting with unspoilt landscape in Natural Park and perfect conditions for sailing and diving near island Elba.