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Have you been dreaming about a vacation in Tuscany? Well, now is a perfect time to plan a trip as many new direct flights to the region have been added!

Traditionally, many choosing to holiday in the area had to fly into Bologna but Pisa and Florence are actually the two major international airports within the region itself and might be more convenient arrival points depending on where you will be staying. Thankfully, however, there are increasingly more and more direct routes opening to these two regional airports so if you want to plan a trip, you’ll have more options available to you. Book your villa in Tuscany and you’ll be able to easily organise your arrival thanks to these new direct flights...

The painter Masaccio was one of the most influential and important painters of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance, a key figure in moving from the more stylised and decorative aesthetic of Gothic art to something more naturalistic. Vasari, an artist and architect in his own right who was a great writer, historian, and chronicler of the Renaissance masters, notes that Masaccio was studied by all of Florence’s most celebrated painters and sculptors in order to, "learn the precepts and rules for painting well."

So, though his name is perhaps unfamiliar to many, his influence goes far beyond his life and work and his paintings, when viewed today, remain striking and impressive things to behold. Full of dramatic tension, stunning jewel tones, and impressive lifelike figures, his paintings and frescoes are a delight to devour.

If you are browsing our Tuscany Villas and are already a fan of his work, in particular, or are simply interested in the history of art and the Italian Renaissance, then this winter is an ideal time to plan a vacation in Tuscany as the master’s great works are returning to Masaccio’s home town of San Giovanni Valdarno for a very special exhibition!

For those interested in planning a truly intimate wedding in Tuscany that is completely without fuss and all about spending quality time and celebrating your big day with those you truly love, Alessandra Alla Poggetta is a perfect wedding villa in Tuscany and wedding destination in Tuscany that can cater to indoor receptions of up to 16 people and outdoor weddings for up to 40 people. A gorgeous and typical Tuscan villa that is located down a pretty lane on a spacious estate right by the famous Chianti wine region, this four bedroom and four bathroom property can accommodate up to 12 guests in the villa itself. 

Tuscany is full of incredible public gardens – from formal arrangements surrounding palaces, to leafy parks where one can wander endlessly, to botanic gardens bursting with plants from all over the globe that are waiting to be discovered, and more – but one of the most impressive and lesser-known of the region’s gardens has to be the Fineschi Rose Garden in Cavriglia in the Valdarno. An ancient town surrounded by a scattering of picturesque little hamlets at the foot of the mountains of Chianti, Cavriglia is a land of olive groves and vineyards that makes for an ideal place to come and enjoy local produce and wines while admiring the natural beauty of the area. And, while you’re enjoying all of that natural bounty, you should also make a point to see the cultivated natural splendour of the Fineschi Rose Garden. Browse our villa in the Valdarno and Tuscany Villas and come see this lovely corner of the world for yourself.

The largest private (though open to visitors) rose garden in the world, the Fineschi Rose Garden was established by Professor Gianfranco Fineschi, a surgeon and teacher of medicine at the Catholic University in Rome, and has been collecting rose species and hybrids from all over the globe since 1967. A living museum, it boasts more than 8,000 roses and among them 6,500 species and varieties – from antique roses to modern roses, ramblers and climbers – which are organised into 21 different sections spread across an acre of land, following the classification of roses. Each example and variety is also clearly labelled with little plaques in the ground next to them, telling you the name, age, and who created the particular type in question.