VISIONS OF TUSCANY

VILLAGE FESTIVAL

VISIONS OF TUSCANY

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Village Festival is a look at some the enchanting villages in Tuscany, click on the links belowto discover more about each of these chrming location and learn some of there history. Please enjoy!! ANGHIARI Anghiari is a lovely medieval town lying between two rivers, the Tiber and the Arno. The powerful thirteenth century walls made the town an invincible fortress which constituted an important reference point and kept the Tuscan flag flying during the many historical events that occurred in this delicately balanced border area. Read More CHIANTI CLASSICO The Chianti Classico's territory, for the most part, the Chianti Classico zone, situated between Florence and Siena. Its inhabitants have enhanced the natural beauty of the countryside through their labor and dedication. Because of the characteristics of its climate, soil and altitude, the Chianti Classico zone is particularly suited to the production of premium wines. The pride of this region is Chianti Classico wine. Here we explre nine villages in the province.. Read More CORTONA Arriving in Cortona from the bottom of the valley allows you to take in the layout of the city, which is situated on the slope of the mountainous ridge dividing the Valdichiana from the Tiber valley. The most striking features are the city walls, joined up by the Fortezza del Girifalco, and the compactness of the city centre which comprises just part of the area included within the walls. At a glance it's possible to see the important role the city has had since Etruscan times. Read More CASENTINO VALLEY Casentino, in the upper Arno valley, is a land of castles, Romanesque Pievi (Parish Churches), Della Robbia terracottas, Dantesque places and spiritual spots. We explore the beautiful villages of the Casentino Valley and look at its intriguing history. There is so much more than meets the eye in Casentino! Read More MONTALCINO For a small city, Montalcino has a large share of history. Her citizens were proudly anti-fascist in the 1920s, and they stubbornly resisted the Germans during World War II. But her proudest moments occurred during the frequent clashes of the Renaissance's great city-states. Historical Background - Italy was not then a nation but a territory warred over by powerful foreign neighbors and her own city-states. Read More MONTEPULCIANO Montepulciano still offers the same characteristics today that it had when it first formed as a medieval town: its stone and brick houses "cling" to the top of a hill that rises up between the Val di Chiana and the Val d'Orcia. Legendary tradition maintains that Montepulciano was founded by the Etruscans' mythical King Porsenna. Yet it most likely originated as the property of the Roman gens Publicii, who would have given it the original name "Monte Publiciano". After it became a free municipality at the beginning of the 14th century, Montepulciano was contested at length between Siena and Florence before it finally became the established property of the Medici family in 1511. Read More MONTE SAN SAVINO Monte San Savino overlook the green undulated fields of the Chiana Valley from the top of its hill. The first urban settlement as origin around 1100, but a further century had to pass before Monte San Savino could be considered centre of a certain social, political and cultural importance of Tuscany in those times. Read More PIENZA The village that saw the birth of Enea Silvio Piccolomini and that was supposed to disappear with the rose of Pienza, was called Corsignano, and it was a senese fortress. Some documents around the year 1000, testify its story in the war events of the major towns nearby. In 1251 the town was involved in the dispute between Guelph and Ghibelline, and, in 1269 there are some very heavy questions with a rich land owner called Bertolo that cutted provisions at the inhabitants of the village. Read More POPPI The castle of Poppi is one of the most important medieval monument of the whole Casentino area. Unlike all the other castles and architectures of the zone it wasn't wasted deteroriated time or ruined by men, having always been used as residence of the local political or administrative power, in fact it is still today seat of the Commune of Poppi. Since its origins the history of the castle was strongly tied to that of the biggest feudal family of the Casentino Valley, that made Poppi the centre of their great fiefdom and lived in this castle for almost four hundred years: the counts of the Guidi family. Read More SANSEPOLCRO Sansepolcro is situated in an area of Italy populated first by the Etruscans, then by the Romans. The Etruscans had their principle cities in Perugia, Cortona and Arezzo (all towns within a 40 mile radius of Sansepolcro) and the used the Valtiberina (Valley of the River Tiber) as a source of timber - at that period (c. 1000 BC) the valley was covered in walnut trees. However, toward 700 BC the might of the Roman army had destroyed all the Etruscan empire and a group of Roman centurions chose the site where Sansepolcro is today to build a camp - Birtugia. A number of other Romans, including Pliny the Younger, build their summer villas in the Valtiberina. Read More