VOLTERRA

Advantages: Lots of history, character and ambience - uncrowded
Disadvantages: None

...'s dominated by Palazzo dei Priori, which dates from the early 13th century and is apparently the oldest town hall in Tuscany. In fact most of the sides of the square are lined with ancient Palazzos, each seemingly more impressive than the last. One side is home to the rear of the Cathedral - it seemed a shame that the front elevation wasn't present in this magnificent piazza. Having said that, the adjoining Piazza San Giovanni is a treat on its own. It's a tiny little square which is home to the Cathedral and its green and white marble Baptistery. With the lack of crowds, you could hardly find a more serene and reflective little corner anywhere. A short walk along the medieval Via dei Sarti leads you to the Roman Theatre which dates from the 1st century BC. It still being excavated and there's not really an awful lot to see - a few columns...

proxam 02.04.2006 (04.05.2009) · Read review
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Review of Volterra, Tuscany

Tuscany food

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giannit 29.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

When too much self-analysis spoils the broth

Advantages: Some great food writing and accounts of Tuscan life
Disadvantages: Boring analysis of their marriage

...I first encountered Marlena de Blasi a couple of years ago when I read (and reviewed) "A Thousand Days in Venice"; in that book the food writer and restaurant critic recounts how she met an Italian bank manager and left her home in St Louis to marry him and live in Venice. I wasn't very complimentary about the book; this was partly because it didn't meet my expectations (I had anticipated more recipes and information about food) and partly because I found Marlena de Blasi's writing too descriptive, drowning in adjectives. Nevertheless when I chanced upon a copy of "A Thousand Days in Tuscany" I resolved to give the author another chance. Now the couple's story moves to Tuscany, to the backwater of San Casciano dei Bagni where Marlena and Fernando rent an old stone house. There, with the expert guidance of their self-appointed teacher...

fizzytom 04.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of A Thousand Days in Tuscany - Marlena De Blasi

Grotta del vento (Wind cave)

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...In the "GROTTA DEL VENTO" (the "Wind Cave"), stalagtites, drippings, alabaster drapes and stalagmites can be admired along a safe and easy path, climbing up overhanging walls, passing over crystal-clear ponds and running along an underground stream. The visit is divided into five different tours taking from at least one hour (tour number one) up to three hours (the complete tour, the longest-lasting one in Europe). At the ticket office: tourists' information, collection ore and fossil shop, postcards, print-outs and slides. There are also one pretty restaurant and one bar where you could eat the typical tuscany food....

giannit 29.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

Colleoli - the ideal base for exploring Tuscany

Advantages: ideal place to stay in Italy
Disadvantages: car required

...A hot tip for all travellers to Italy's Tuscany region. We spent one week of our summer vacation this year in Tuscany / Italy, in the small village of Colleoli. After checking the Internet site in early June, we were lucky that there was still an apartment available for the first week in August (which is the high season). BOOKING You will find a lot of information (in English, Italian and Japanese) on the Internet at their homepage www.colleoli.it. Enquires and bookings can be made via the link at the homepage, by e-mail to info@colleoli.it or by telephone +39 0587 622010 (Matilda speaks English very well). We have booked by e-mail, and we received answers within 24 hours. HOW TO GET THERE It is only possible to get there by car. Via Florence or Pisa you have to take the SGC FI-PI-LI. This is not a secret code...

Michael-S 18.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: Italy

Escaping from Tuscany.

Advantages: has all the usual airport things, and good transport links, unlike some airports I've frequented!
Disadvantages: a bit boring if you are there for more than an hour.

...Pisa Airport was a lot smaller than I was expecting. Don't expect to kill a great deal of time here! It is 'officially' the Airport of Tuscany rather than just Pisa specifically, and accordingly, most of the flights for Florence come into Pisa Airport (because Florence Airport, itself, is even smaller!). This does mean that there are good connections to Florence though. There are about 5 check-in desks so it isn't desperately hard to find out where you are supposed to be going. The announcements are in both English and Italian and there is a helpful information point that sells telephone cards, and from which you can buy train tickets to Pisa or Florence (if you want to buy a ticket for anywhere further afield though, you have to go into Pisa and buy it from the train station there). The train station is literally next to...

womble 10.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Pisa Airport (PSA)

The New Tuscany

Advantages: Good writing, amusing comment and invaluable advice
Disadvantages: Sometimes out of date?

....99 but discounted. See Amazon £9.87 plus delivery. I like the Cadogan Guides and as I am planning a trip to Italy and/or Rome this was my first choice book. I have to tell you that it makes a cracking good read and has certainly helped me to decide what and where I want to go. This guide is bursting with practical information and gives some clear and what can only be described as local in-depth knowledge. I think I would like their job researching, traveling and then writing all about it. This is Cadogans first complete guide to central Italy and covers an area what is sometimes described as the new Tuscany. Dana and Michael, our Italy expert guides, well they feel like your personal guide, lead you through Rome's famous attractions, Lazio's lake district, the isolated mountains of Abruzzo, and the natural parks of Molise. This...

cjsingleton 13.02.2003 · Read review
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Review of Cadogan Guide to Rome & the Heart of Italy - Cadogan

Orecchiella Park

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...On the opposite side opens up the Orecchiella Park, which lies completely within the Apennines' area. Comparatively limited in size (approximately 52 square kilometres), it is located at a level of 1,200 to 2,000 metres on the Apennines' ridge belonging to Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, where it borders on the Parco del Gigante in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Together with the latter, it forms a protected area of invaluable naturalistic value. On the opposite side opens up the Orecchiella Park, which lies completely within the Apennines' area. Comparatively limited in size (approximately 52 square kilometres), it is located at a level of 1,200 to 2,000 metres on the Apennines' ridge belonging to Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, where it borders on the Parco del Gigante in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Together with the latter, it forms...

giannit 03.10.2000 · Read review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

The beaches of the apuanian coast

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...bacon (Lardo di Colonnata). And then again, cultural events and shows for everyone: music shows and plays, art shows, debates, folk festivals. The easy connections by motorway and railway as well as the airport and tourists' ports also make it possible to take quick and picturesque tours to Lunigiana and Garfagnana, uncontaminated places with an antique atmosphere, as well as to the art towns of Tuscany, Lucca, Pisa and Florence....

giannit 30.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)

Cortona and its surroundings

Advantages: Weather and sightseeing
Disadvantages: ...................

...later to move here. I have not looked back for one second. If you happen to visit Pienza and decide to have lunch there then I STRONGLY recommends a small cozy restaurant called 'Sperone Nudo'. It is located in Via Marconi which is a small side alleyway from the main street. I recommend that you try the Pasta with Porcini mushrooms. It is the best version of such a dish that I have tasted. They also have a good selection of wines for your taste buds too. In these areas are many antique shops and you will find an Antique fair in Arezzo once a month. This is very popular and can get very busy. On the whole this area makes a good holiday location for the family, couples and groups on tour. It has something for everybody. Cortona is located in the South-East of Tuscany. On the boarder of Tuscany / Umbria. The two nearest...

gixxer_loui 26.03.2004 · Read review
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Review of Tuscany (Italy)