Even though the weather forecast says that there will be thunderstorms, and I highlight thunderstorms, I really hope that on Saturday and Sunday it will be sunny in Tuscany. I want to go to my beloved Maremma this weekend. Read the post »
From April 16 to the 25th the 12th European Culture Week will be taking place all over Italy and Europe and thus in Tuscany as well. The event, successfully organized by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Assets and Activities, opens State museums, monuments, archeological sites, archives and libraries, both for Italian and foreign visitors with free entrance.
In Italy there will be over 2900 events during the week, with over 200 just in Tuscany. Free guided tours, as well as special exhibits and events, will be organized across the region, such as the extraordinary opening of the Gardens at Villa La Pietra and its Acton Collection.
The European Culture Week is certainly a unique occasion to discover and visit unique Italian masterpieces, as well as hidden Tuscan treasures enriching your unforgettable holidays in Tuscany. Aside from free entrance into state museums, you can enjoy a full schedule of events.
In the area of the upper Maremma hills where we went to explore, an agriturismo (farmhouse) seems to be the most common form of accommodation. The area is largely cultivated and is home to the Montecucco DOC wine region and, while it is lesser known than its neighbors, the Brunello di Montalcino or the Morellino di Scansano, it is no less good and enjoyable. For our last minute trip to Maremma we searched online and finally decided on contacting the agriturismo Il Passo degli Ulivi which offered independent apartments.
We have just returned from a short vacation in Maremma: we decided at the very last moment to leave on this trip, taking advantage of the warm sun and nice days this mid-October was giving us.
We had never visited the upper part of Maremma close to Monte Amiata, between the Tuscan coast and Val d’Orcia. It was a nice surprise. The landscape reminds us of the Crete Senesi which so often are potrayed in postcards from Tuscany: soft hills of vineyards, brown and yellow fields with big, isolated trees in the middle of a cultivated field, woods with oaks and chestnut trees. There are few houses, mainly farms that often offer accommodation and may also have a restaurant where you can have a good typical meal.
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