Despite being a rather larger region, Tuscany answers every tourist's expectation by offering a diversity of holidays, only a short journey away. The seaside, for those, who cannot go without a swim in blue, crystal clear waters; the countryside for those seeking relaxation and tranquility among green hills and scented woodlands; cities of art for those who love immersing themselves in the history and culture of the regions glorious past; the mountains, in winter and summer for keen skiers or dedicated hikers.

Tuscany's rolling hills are garlanded with cypress trees, lush vines and olive groves that make way here and there for sleepy villages and medieval hill towns. The area rests languidly in the middle of the Italian peninsula, with parts stretching to the coastline of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Snaking through the Tuscan landscape from Florence to Pisa and soaking its thirsty banks is the Arno River. Akin to the gentle flow of a river is the ebb of life in the region. People work in the fields in much the same way their ancestors did before them, producing some of Italy's finest wines and olive oils. From this same landscape emerges a profusion of art and architecture that has fashioned Italy onto the cultural map.

Tuscany was the birthplace of the Renaissance, a period of unprecedented innovation in art, architecture and humanist scholarship. The grandeur of the High Renaissance was enjoyed during the Medici family's reign when they commissioned the art and architecture that lives on within the elegant precincts of Florence.