Archive for 'Localities'

  

Friday, January 25, 2019
Wine glasses
Tuscany is one of the great wine regions of the world, as beautiful as it is prolific, an ideal place to holiday, sip, sit back, relax, and enjoy. Throughout the year, there are all sorts of wine-lead events and festivals as well and there are several great times to choose to plan a wine-based vacation in Tuscany but, if we were to recommend one in the coming months, during the lovely springtime in the region, it would be the Orcia Wine Festival in April. Just browse our vacation rentals in the Val d'Orcia and plan to attend this amazing festival and try some delicious Tuscan wines for yourself in the stunning surroundings of this gorgeous part of the region.

Taking place each year during the last weekend in April, in the town of San Quirico d'Orcia, the Orcia Wine Festival is an event that was created in order to promote and celebrate the excellence of the wine production of the Val d’Orcia. Conceived and organised by the Municipality of San Quirico d'Orcia, the fair takes place in the beautiful eighteenth century rooms of the Palazzo Chigi and involves technical tasting sessions, food and wine tastings, specialist talks and the organising of visits to the wineries in which the excellent local wines that are showcased over the course of the festival are actually produced.     Read More
Posted in: April, Events, Food and Wine, Localities, Orcia Valley, Wineries & Breweries

  

Thursday, January 17, 2019
Daisies
The lovely medieval city of Lucca is full of surprises and intriguing little gems around every corner. One of the most fascinating, if somewhat macabre, things that you could stumble across is the mummified remains of Saint Zita, the city's patron saint. Famously kind and beloved, she spent her life working diligently as a maid for a noble family, attending church on a daily basis, and tending to the sick and poor in her free time.

Despite having died in the 13th century, when her body was exhumed in the 16th century, it was found to be uncorrupted and was eventually put on display in a richly ornamented glass coffin in the Basilica di San Ferdiano. Canonised in the 1690s, a cult of worship built up around the kindly saint, who remains especially beloved in the hearts of locals to this day.     Read More
Posted in: April, Events, Localities, Lucca

  

Wednesday, January 16, 2019
A couple in Florence
Tuscany, with her rolling, picturesque landscapes, excellent food and wine, pretty villages and impressive cities, beautiful coast, stunning buildings, and truly incredible works of art is an inherently romantic destination. It birthed great poets and writers of singular devotion to one beloved such as Petrarch and Dante. It boasts some of the most spectacular sunsets in the world. It is overrun with gorgeous palaces and cathedrals. The pace of life is perfectly suited for focusing entirely on someone special. Really, Tuscany simply is a perfect place to dash to for a little city break for a long weekend or to escape to for an extended getaway with your Valentine.

If you were considering planning a Valentine's getaway in Tuscany together or surprising your love with a
vacation rental in Tuscany this Valentine's Day, you're sure to make incredible memories that will last a lifetime. Here are a list of some of the most romantic things to get up to in this impossibly romantic location....     Read More
Posted in: Castles & Palaces, Florence, Food and Wine, Localities, Pretty Views, Spa, Tourist Attractions, Wineries & Breweries

  

Monday, January 14, 2019
La Foce
Many will have seen this image of the Tuscan countryside before. This striking and beautiful image of a sharply winding road, lined by cypresses and cutting through vivid lush fields and old stone buildings is the kind of almost unreal postcard-perfect corners of Tuscany that need to be seen with one's own eyes to be believed. If you are a fan of scenic settings and pretty views and want to see it for yourself, just find a vacation rental in the Val d'Orcia and come and take it in.     Read More
Posted in: Curiosities, Localities, Must See Attractions, Orcia Valley, Parks & Gardens, Tourist Attractions

  

Friday, January 11, 2019
Bottega Pecchioli is a highly-regarded family-run winery and vineyard in Carmignano, Tuscany, not far from Florence. If you have found a vacation rental in Florence and are thinking about setting aside a day to go wine-tasting and to learn some more about wine and Tuscan culture, then it is an ideal option.

The history of the winery is long and goes back to when the surrounding area of Poggio alla Malva was a small farming village. The first note of the family institution records the Bottega Pecchioli and its “storage area of salt, oil and wine, corn, candles and coal.” In the second half of the 18th century, it became a precursor to what we know a food store to be today and over the years it has been various kinds of business including a tavern, bakery, milk and butter shop, a post office, and wine bar.     Read More
Posted in: Florence, Food and Wine, Localities, Must See Attractions, Wineries & Breweries