Archive for 'Localities'

Pienza is a small village in the Val d'Orcia in southern Tuscany. Set high atop a hill, overlooking the Orcia Valley, it has extraordinary views, and is often known as the "ideal Renaissance city”.

The creation of the great humanist Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who later became Pope Pius II, the town was his birthplace, originally called Corsignano. He transformed it into his idea of a Utopian city, what would eventually come to be known as Pienza. If you want to wander the streets of an ideal town for yourself find a luxury villa in Pienza!

The Papal Palace, or Palazzo Piccolomini, is located to the right of the Duomo has a large loggia with hanging garden from which there are breathtaking views across the Val d'Orcia Valley. This is the highlight of the town, the garden in particular.

If you have found a luxury villa in Florence and are planning to take in the art and culture for which the city is so famous, you have, no doubt, pencilled in a visit to the Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi Gallery, or Galleria degli Uffizi, in Piazza della Signoria is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in Europe and the world and was originally begun under Vasari for Cosimo I de' Medici in 1560. The name comes from the Italian word for “offices” which is what the building was intended to house when it was first constructed.

Wine is a good reason to visit Tuscany but, if it's of particular interest, where should you go to try it? Lucky for you, we've compiled a list of some of the best places to learn about, taste and fully experience wine and the culture of wine in Tuscany.

Castello di Ama is a famous winery located in the medieval Tuscan village of Ama in the middle of the Chianti wine region.

The setting is picturesque and the village, itself, is an incredibly charming collection of buildings largely dating to the 18^th century and is almost entirely owned by Lorenza Sebasti and Marco Pallanti, the couple who run the winery.

You may be planning a trip to Tuscany and looking at the kinds of activities that you can enjoy while there. There are plenty and a rather wide variety to choose from but you probably haven't considered mummy spotting as one of them. Yet, there are a few that can be found in rather unlikely spots. Here are two that you might find interesting if you're intrigued by history and the more macabre things in life.

Catherine of Siena was a Dominican tertiary, philosopher and theologian. Born in the 14th century, she began having visions of Christ at the age of five or six. At seven, she had decided to devote her life to God. She resisted marriage as a young woman until she was eventually allowed to join the Dominican Order.

She was known for helping the sick and poor and launching reform campaigns among the faithful. Catherine even went so far as to become involved in political matters like swaying the loyalties of cities back towards the papal armies.

Her writings spread her word further and gained more followers but she also became known for extreme devotion, eventually dying due to her refusal to eat. In 1461, she was canonised by Pius II and is now one of the two patron saints of Italy.

Siena, her birthplace, still remains the best place to see evidences of her life and works. The most intriguing of these is her head, which was separated from her body after her death in Rome when followers wished to return her to Siena. Unable to sneak her full body past guards in Rome, they settled for just her head which they smuggled out of the city. It is set in an ornate reliquary in the Basilica San Domenico (also known as Basilica Cateriniana, after the Saint) in Siena.

The Maremma is one of the most truly beautiful parts of Tuscany and Italy with its rolling countryside, dotted by historic towns and villages, incredibly views and seaside location.

The Tyrrhenian Sea, which lazily laps her lovely shores, it the sea that travellers dream of and the sea that visitors to Italy expect: crystal clear, rich blue and teeming with life and excitement.

Just browse our stunning villas by the coast and find the perfect option to suit you and yours and you can begin exploring this fascinating place.