Archive for 'Localities'

If you have found a vacation rental in Siena and are enjoying the sights of the city but are looking to spend a day or a few hours getting lost in nature, enjoying beautiful natural surroundings, and relaxing away from the hustle and bustle of humans, then you should head to the small village of San Giovanni d'Asso. There you will find the Bosco della Ragnaia, or Ragnaia Forest, which is a rather special and unique public park.

This magical place was designed by the American architect and landscape designer Sheppard Craige and created in 1996. The park is made up of wooded paths, a natural amphitheatre formed from cypresses and hedges, plenty of little sculptures – many humorous – dotted throughout and hidden here and there, gardens, water features, and moss-covered plaques with interesting quotes and messages in several languages. It is the perfect place to get a little lost, wander, and stumble upon surprise after surprise along the way.     Read More

If you have found a vacation rental in Livorno and are driving along the coastal road by the Tyrrhenian Sea, you will round a corner 9km down the road and take in the incredibly evocative sight of the lovely Boccale Castle. Located just south of the Antignano district, along the road to Quercianella, the castle is romantically and dramatically perched on top of a stop cliff on the Etruscan coast in a cove called the Cala dei Pirati (or “Den of Pirates”).

This charming castle was originally built as a defensive structure that was intended as a method of protecting the area from marine attacks, particularly those by pirates and other clans or rulers that might be contesting ownership of the lands in the area at any given time. The oldest part of the building dates back to the 16th century and was a Medici-built lookout tower but the complex that exists as we see it today resulted from building works that took place in the 19th and the 20th centuries.     Read More

In the last post, we discussed the beautiful town of Asciano in the Crete Senesi, one of the most undoubtedly scenic and picturesque parts of Tuscany. If you have found a vacation rental in Tuscany and are looking for somewhere to spend a day, it is an ideal day-trip location. Or, if you want something a bit more relaxed, why not find a vacation rental in Asciano itself and spend your time surrounded by the most picture-perfect scenery imaginable. Then, if you're looking for things to see and do, why not browse our list of five excellent things to do in Asciano, continued from the last post...

2. Visit her Museums

Speaking of the fine exterior of the Civic Archaeological and Sacred Art Museum is attractive, the collections held inside are also appealing. It houses archeological finds dating from antiquity and art dating from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Everything inside is from the surrounding area but the sacred art section is particularly noteworthy quality, boasting a wooden crucifix by Giovanni Pisano, the Triptych of Rofeno by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and the great masterpiece that is the Nativity of the Virgin Mary by the “Maestro dell’Osservanza”, among others. In addition to this, there is the Cassioli Museum, which was established in 1991 with an extraordinary bequest of artworks by the family of artist Amos Cassioli. It is the only museum in the province of Siena that is dedicated entirely to Sienese paintings from the fourteenth century and also boasts excellent graphics and sculpture sections.     Read More

The Crete Senesi presents the most iconic and beautiful of Tuscan landscapes, those that one sees on postcards and in travel guides. These are the rolling hills, the hilltop towns made of stone, the long and lonely country roads lined by proud and tall cypress trees, the golden fields of hay, and the broiling fog sweeping over it all in the mornings, only to clear away and reveal infinite vistas across the whole thing by afternoon. These are the images of Tuscany that have captured the minds and hearts of so many over the centuries and continue to do so. If you have found a vacation rental in Tuscany, no matter where you are staying, in the countryside or a city, you should make sure to hop in a car, venture out into that landscape and take the magic perfection of it in for yourself.     Read More