Tuscany is one of the most beautiful and visited areas in Italy. Due to the popularity of Florence, Pisa and Siena, some beautiful towns in Tuscany remain in their shadow. Visiting non-commercial places where you meet mainly locals is a great way to feel the atmosphere of the area, to see how people live there, to learn some local customs, and to immerse in the glorious past, imagining life back then. Although they are not visited as much, the following Tuscan towns have a lot to show us:
1.Vinci
As its name suggests, the small town located in the hills of Tuscany is the birthplace of the great Leonardo. Vinci is a wonderful combination of picturesque scenery and rich history. Here you can enjoy overwhelming tranquility due to the lack of tourist crowds, and this makes sightseeing extremely pleasant.
For a start, you can visit the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, which presents in an interactive way the inventions of the great scientist and provides very comprehensive information about his work in almost all spheres of life, proving undeniably his genius. In addition, from the tower of the Castello dei Conti Guidi, situated just next to the museum, you can enjoy the endless Tuscan fields that have been cultivated to the last piece of land.
If you like walking, Leonardo’s home is 3 km away from the center of Vinci. In the house through multimedia presentations you can learn about his life and one of his most famous paintings, namely “The Last Supper”. Don’t miss the opportunity to touch the world of one of the greatest minds of the mankind.
2.Pistoia
Pistoia is a small town, but it holds a pearl – the Cathedralof Saint Zeno. The Duomo impresses with its beautiful interior. Here is the silver altar of St. James the Great (the largest in Italy), weighing about 1 ton, which with its 628 sculptures depicts scenes from the Old and New Testaments. Opposite the cathedral is the baptistery – it is the last large baptistery that was built in the Middle Ages in Italy. Moreover, walking through the park of the town, you will reach the Santa Barbara fortress built by the Medici, which is quite large and well preserved.
If you love beautiful top views, don’t miss visiting the bell tower on the left of the Duomo. In the past, it has served as a watchtower to the fortress walls of the town. Today, you can enjoy the Pistoia mountains to the north, where the locals go skiing in the winter, while in the distance you can see the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The city is scarcely visited by tourists, so you are likely to climb up the bell tower only with your guide. The chance to have the door in the tower unlocked just for you will definitely make you feel special. Another building makes a strong impression with its colorful mosaics on the façade. This is Ospedale del Ceppo, a hospital built in the 13th century, turned into a museum where you can explore the rich collection of surgical instruments.
3.Collodi
This town is the birthplace of the author of The Adventures of Pinocchio, a novel written by Carlo Collodi. Here, you can visit the Pinocchio park, which is a beautiful combination of greenery and attractions. So, an ideal place for children of all ages. The museum in the park impresses with the large collection of books with the novel, translated and published in different languages. An outdoor chess, a green maze, a crab splashing water when you walk on the path, a whale head in which you can enter, are just some of the attractions you can enjoy.
Opposite the Pinocchio park is situated the beautiful baroque garden of Villa Garzoni. The villa is a private property and is not open to visitors but the garden can be seen. Because there are no tourists, here you can enjoy the incredible silence and harmony, broken only by the song of the birds.
Entering the garden, you will see the Butterfly house, where you can meet some of the world’s largest butterflies, flying freely in the building. The house takes you to a tropical world where, besides butterflies, you will also find parrots, centipedes, mantis, various types of spiders and plants. Of course, the insects are in glass aquariums and have no direct contact with the visitors. Certainly, in the house you can see all stages of the butterfly’s life cycle- from an egg to an adult, but keep in mind that this can happen at any time of the year except the winter season.
4.Cortona
By visiting this town you will have the chance to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages – stone houses, narrow and steep streets. Passing along the only horizontal street in the town – Via Nazionale, you will reach the central square of the town – Piazza Garibaldi, where the statue of the general is located. If you are a movie fan, the romantic film “Under the Tuscan Sun” was shot here in the Villa Bramasole. Therefore, you can enjoy the beautiful views from the movie by going up to the Fortress of Girifalco, which is situated at an elevation of 600 m.
Whether because of the steep streets or for some other reason, most tourists gather in the square. Instead of this, you’d better go to the area of the fortress where it is quieter in terms of visitors. Despite the great effort of climbing up the steep streets, finally you will be rewarded – a magnificent view of the Lake Trasimeno, surrounded by mountains and hills. Right there, in the distance, between Cortona and the lake, the largest ambush in the military history, led by general Hannibal – The battle of lake Trasimene, was once held. On the way to the fortress, you will pass by St. Margaret of Cortona Church, where, unlike most other churches with saints in the area, her body really lies in a glass sarcophagus.
5.Prato
The town is known as the center of the textile industry in Italy. For a period of 500 years, it was the capital of the trade with wool fabric. Today, Prato continues to be a leader in textile manufacturing and a place where new types of fabrics are tested. Therefore, you can learn about the technological progress in textile industry by visiting the Textile museum, located in an old textile factory, where you can see modern fabrics and touch pieces of them – corn fabric, milk fabric, technical textile in steel and polyester, fiber optic fabric.
Also, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the well preserved Emperor’s castle. A splendid view of the surrounding area opens up from the castle walls. Not far from it, the Prato cathedral impresses with the fact that the green fabric belt of Virgin Mary is strictly kept in the Duomo. For this reason, only a few times a year (on big holidays), the bishop appears on the outer pulpit and shows the belt in front of the thousands of pilgrims gathered on the square. During the rest of the year, the tourists are not that many and the town enjoys tranquility. Besides, if you are a foodie, Prato is the birthplace of the Cantucci biscuits, also called Biscotti di Prato. They are hard almond biscuits that Italians consume with liqueur. Don’t miss to taste them! They are worth it!
6.Sansepolcro
Sansepolcro is the birthplace of the painter Piero della Francesca. You can see his most famous painting – The Resurrection at the city museum. The English writer Aldous Huxley defines his work as “the most beautiful picture of the world.”
If you are interested in herbs, I strongly recommend that you visit the Aboca Museum. Certainly, this unique museum will take you through the thousand-year history of herbs and the treatment with them and will show you the development of pharmacy. It is also interesting to see the little nook with different types of poisons, which, of course, are locked behind an iron gate. The museum has a shop from which you can buy valuable medical books, most of them in Italian.
Moreover, if you are a fan of handmade products, the lace museum /Spazio del Merletto/ is situated on Garibaldi Square. It can be visited only after you have booked in advance. A small and quiet town, perfect for those of you who do not like tourist crowds.
