Archive for 'Small Towns'

Set in the lovely Maremma area of Grosseto is the unusual town of Pitigliano. Nicknamed ‘Little Jerusalem’ for the large volume of Jewish inhabitants who once lived here, Pitigliano has strong ties with this race which is well documented for tourists to learn about on their visit here.

The Jewish community have been here so long that much of their culture has been woven through with Italian traditions. Visit the stunning 16th century synagogue and other interesting religious buildings in Pitigliano as well as quite a number of artisan shops and stalls.     Read More

Tucked into the province of Lucca in Tuscany is the charming little town of Borgo a Mozzano. This peaceful riverside town is most famous for the impressive arched bridge that crosses the River Serchio here. Known by two names, the first is Ponte della Maddalena which translates as the bridge of Mary Magdalene. The second name has a much darker association as it is called Ponte del Diavolo meaning Devil’s Bridge.

Stay in a delightful vacation rental in the Borgo a Mozzano area where you can explore all the attractions of this peaceful place.     Read More

Come to Colonnata on a culinary trail of Tuscany to try a famous slow food delicacy here, delicious white pork lard. The village of Colonnata is situated high up in the Apuan Alps and has a busy marble quarrying industry. It dates back to around 40 BC when it was built to house slaves who excavated the marble to be sent to Rome. The quarries here are known as ‘Gioia Calagro’ and visitors to Colonnata can even see the veined marble being quarried during their visit to this industrious part of Tuscany.

Stay in a cosy villa rental in Florence, only twelve kilometres away from Colonnata where you can experience a wonderful Tuscan holiday experience.     Read More

Grassina, a lovely little village close to Florence is probably most famous for its Christmas and Easter parades but it has a whole host of other wonderful attractions to offer you too! Known as the ‘village of washer women’, Grassina was once where the wealthy of Florence and neighbouring towns sent their linen to be washed.

Two rivers flow past Grassina which dozens of washer women went to with donkey drawn carts of dirty laundry and spend hours scrubbing clean.

Stay at a picturesque villa in Grassina where you can explore this charming little place with ease for a few days. See some of the tools they used on display in Grassina village which can help tourists illustrate the hard work these women undertook to make a living for themselves. In the main square of the village there is a monument erected in honour of the laundress. This life size bronze statues depicts a women stopped over in an act of washing laundry.     Read More