Discover Tuscany’s Blog: exploring Tuscany and all its hidden corners…

The weekend before St. Valentine’s Day, this year falling on Monday, has chocolate as one of its best protagonists. Love and chocolate are a perfect match, are they not?!

There are 3 chocolate-flavored events in Tuscany this Saturday and Sunday, February 12 and 13:

In Fiesole, a short distance from Florence’s historical center, on Sunday you’ll find the “Chocolate Festival”. The stands, located on the central Piazza Mino, will offer specialties prepared by master chocolatiers from all over Italy.

Piazza Santa Croce, in the historical center of Florence, hosts until Sunday the sweet temptations of the “Chocolate Fair”. The large square is animated by many stands full of sweets proposed by Italian and international master chocolatiers.

From this Friday until Sunday in Livorno you’ll find the sixth edition of the handmade chocolate festival called Chocolandia. Confectioners will involve visitors in tastings, new recipes and tips about chocolate.

Read full article >>

Here we are. The countdown for toasting the new year, 2011, has started. Florence has prepared several events for all those wishing to celebrate in the city’s main squares. These are the main events and squares:

Piazza Santa Maria Novella:
In front of the Santa Maria Novella train station will be the main concert of the Italian band Elio e Le Storie Tese which will start around 11.45 pm. Before, at 9.15pm, there will be two Florentine bands, Ganzi and Hacienda. Then from 1.45 am there will be a DJ set with Lorelei, Pulse and Gianpaolo D’Amico.

Contiue reading about New Year's celebrations »

Here we are, the last weekend before Christmas. Bells are ringing and weather forecasts predict snow… what better way to say Christmas than this? Joking aside, here are the main events in Tuscany for this third weekend of December if you’re fine with covering up well to deal with the low temps around here at the moment.

Florence:

On Saturday and Sunday, December 18^th and 19^th, you can head over to Piazza Santissima Annunziata to the Arts&Crafts market. There will be several craftsmen showing their works, you might find something interesting for a gifts or two.

Read more »

Traveling and eating out during the holiday period can be tricky as Italians themselves want to spend the main holidays with their families. There are many restaurants that will be open on the 24th and for lunch on the 25th as well as for New Year’s Eve (most restaurants offer a single “cenone” dinner at a fixed price and lasts well past the midnight toast. We recommend you make your restaurant reservations as soon as you can if you already know you’ll be here and dining out on those days, especially for New Year’s Eve.

Continue reading »

It’s almost mid-December but it’s still warm. After a couple of freezing days we came back to mild, gray weather. So let’s see the main events for this second weekend of December:

Florence:

This weekend, head to the German Christmas Market in Piazza Santa Croce, open every day from 10am to 8pm. Then visit Florence Noel at the Leopolda Station until Sunday.
In Piazza Santo Spirito on Sunday December 12^th there will be the monthly arts and crafts market, while within walking distance in Piazza Tasso, at the Ex-Leopoldine Mercanatale, you’ll find a market of local farmers selling only organic products.

Read more »

Here we are again with good and bad news about Tuscany taken from famous international and Italian newspapers and blogs. These are the best articles of last week:

Tuscany means agriturismo – A recent study by Toprural, specialized in country/rural tourism, revealed that 3 Italians on 10 think that farmhouse is synonymous of Tuscany. About 30% of rural  tourists come to Tuscany for spending a green and relaxing holiday. After Tuscany comes Sicily with 9% of rural visitors.

Read more »

Wow! Today is December 1^st and the countdown for Christmas has started! Florence has been lighted up with thousands of Christmas lights all around the city. As usual during the Advent there are several Christmas markets and lots of events all around Tuscany.

Christmas markets are the ideal places for finding unique Christmas decorations, handmade gifts and for tasting Christmas sweets and local products. Here you have a list of main Christmas markets in Tuscany 2010:

Read more »

1 x 1 Collection

From December 3^rd to 5^th the historical borough of San Frediano in Florence Oltrarno, worldly renowned for Florentine craftsmen workshops, will host an interesting exhibition of contemporary handmade jewels. At the workshop Laboratorio 28rosso in Via dell’Orto, 14 young female artists from all over the world, will show their last creations.

On display lots of jewels made of different materials in various shapes and with different techniques. Colorful wooden bracelets, aluminum rings, necklaces with ancient textiles. Each jewel is a unique piece of art, entirely hand made by the artist. The jewels on display are by Daniela Boieri, Catalina Brenes, Margherita de Martino Norante, Elinor de Spoelberch, Marina Elenskaya, Eugenia Ingegno, Maru Lopez, Lucia Massei, Geri Nishi, Marzia Rossi, Yoko Shimizu, Elena Spanò, Camilla Teglio, Gabi Veit.

The workshop will also be a temporary shop where you can purchase directly from the artists their creations and jewels. The exhibits will open on Friday at 5pm until 8pm and at 7pm there will be offered a delicious buffet. On Saturday and Sunday it will open from 10am to 10pm. For more information visit www.1x1collection.com.

The cold winter has come all at once. After weeks of heavy rain, it suddenly became cold. The weather has become unpredictable, even here in Tuscany. Even though the weather forecasts will predict rain for this last weekend in November, today we still publish the main events in Tuscany for the upcoming weekend that will likely still happen rain or shine. If you’re willing to be out and about, here are some ideas of things to do this weekend.

Florence:

On Sunday November 28^th there will be the 27th Firenze Marathon, an appointment for thousands of runners coming from all over the world.
In Piazza dei Ciompi there will be the monthly appointment with the large Antiques market that spills out onto all of the streets around the Piazza. Read more »

Good and bad news in and about Tuscany

We have decided to start a new blog’s column, if we can call it this way. Every week we’ll collect the most interesting articles about Tuscany and its cities and regions. News telling about its excellence and about its worst. The following are the main articles and news about Tuscany of the past weeks:

Chianti Waste-Less – Florentine Chianti municipalities -  Barberino Val d’Elsa, Greve in Chianti, San Casciano and Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, will start producing less waste following a revolutionary project. The municipalities will provide restaurants, offices, shops, accommodations, as well as events and fairs with a “waste-less” logo in order to promote their green attitude. They will also promote a healthier and greener lifestyle for citizens, as well as the re-use of packaging and the construction of new salvage centers.

Read more »