Tuscany – one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy and throughout Europe as a whole. Some come to Tuscany for the Mediterranean beaches and warm sea, others – to wander through the charming medieval cities and townsMany - to pay tribute Tuscan cuisine and famous guilt, almost everyone – to see outstanding works with their own eyes arts, generously scattered throughout Tuscan museums, churches, palaces and simply along the streets.

Tuscany is, of course, FlorenceTuscany is one of Europe's largest and most ancient cultural centers, a museum city, and a unique treasure trove of world art. But Tuscany is also much, much more.

There are no breathtaking natural beauties here: glittering peaks and bottomless chasms, waterfalls, azure grottoes, a riot of tropical colors. But this region somehow imperceptibly and firmly captures your heart – with the measured rhythm of the hills, the restraint and surprising harmony of colors, the alternation of vineyards and olive groves, beech and chestnut forests, fields and pastures, fortresses and castles overlooking the valleys from commanding heights, and the man-made beauty, boldly and at the same time carefully integrated into the restrained beauty of nature by many generations of energetic and highly talented people.

Tuscany's territory is small – 23 square kilometers. Its population is just over 3,5 million, of which almost a million live in the so-called "Greater Florence." For comparison, the Leningrad Region, small by Russian standards, is almost four times larger (83,9 square kilometers), while "Greater St. Petersburg" is home to 6,5 million people. Two-thirds of Tuscany's territory is hilly. A quarter is mountainous. Plains make up only one-twelfth of the territory – this is the Arno River valley, on the banks of which stands FlorenceFrom Rome to the southern borders of Tuscany is an hour's drive by motorway.

This is the land of the richest stories, which began with the Etruscans long before our era, continued as part of the Roman Empire, and experienced the medieval desolation and flourishing of trading city-republics, numerous foreign invasions and struggles for independence, wars and armistices, Napoleon and Mussolini...

Tuscany is a land of people firmly rooted in their generous soil, who know how to make excellent wine, cheese, and olive oil. But we also admire the small Tuscany because it has given the world a rare number of great people, especially artists. It is the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci и Michelangelo, Giotto и Botticelli, Petrarch, Dante Alighieri и VasariThe names associated with Florence are Raphael, Filippo Lippi, Donatello, Cilinni and Boccaccio, Savonarola and Nicolo Machiavelli. Tuscan rulers (Medici) generation after generation patronized the best artists and encouraged art in its highest manifestations.

It is to Tuscany that the world owes its origin Renaissance, which laid the foundations not only for Western European art but for the entire modern Western way of life. The Renaissance, of course, meant new approaches and great masterpieces of painting, sculpture, and architecture. But Revival It is also a monumental spiritual revolution, when humanity turned away from the vertical structure of feudal power, the worship of force and coercion, class rigidity and religious fanaticism, toward freedom and the beauty of human nature in all its manifestations. There is much to think about and feel here, especially for people in Russia, and right now.

And one more thing. There's plenty of help now. literature on Tuscany – including online. Our goal with this website wasn't to create yet another comprehensive guidebook. We simply love traveling the world and know full well: what makes us happy with travel isn't the number of museums or churches we've visited in a single day in a foreign city. Memories that can nourish us, perhaps for the rest of our lives, are often formed from just a few amazing moments – a suddenly revealed landscape or, conversely, a cozy courtyard, a mood that overwhelms us at a café table in one of the ancient squares, a thought that strikes us with its poignancy, a painting or statue that moves us to tears.

We fell deeply in love with Tuscany back in the day, and we still do. We want to share with you the Tuscan moments that have enriched us. Perhaps we can show them in such a way that these moments become yours too?

For those who decide to travel, we offer practical soviet.