It must not be seasoned before it is cooked. It must be of a certain weight, making it a thick cut. The meat in a bistecca fiorentina, a specialty of the region, must come from well aged Chianina beef. We're talking simple cuisine that depends upon fabulous ingredients, not easily replicated in a distant country that relies on corporate farms for its food.Ī simple 'Fiorentina' that looks for all the world like a common grilled t-bone or porterhouse steak you can buy at Safeway is far more complex than that.

It certainly will if you've ever been to a 'Tuscan' restaurant in America for sure expats in Tuscany overwhelmingly agree that a sign announcing 'Tuscan Cuisine' in America is an invitation to pass on it. As industrial crap food has taken America by storm, the difference in how home made Tuscan food tastes might astound you. Here people are still inclined to make their own food, wine, and olive oil-and do it expertly. The whole idea behind 'nostalgia travel' will become apparent to you (if you're old enough to remember real farmers and the good products they used to produce) when you visit the northern provinces of Massa-Carrara (the Lunigiana) and Lucca (the Garfagnana), or the southern historic area called the Maremma. It's the kind of 'hidden Tuscany' attraction we like to feature on Wandering Italy. You can walk on wooden walkways over the marshes of Lake Massaciuccoli, ducking into shelters where you can observe and photograph water birds close up, then visit a Roman Villa with fabulous views over the lake, then have lunch on the terrace of an inexpensive hotel-all in a half day with reasonable exercise and great eats. After all, there are 120 nature reserves in Tuscany.

It's a pity, because rural Tuscany can be every bit as compelling as the Renaissance cities whose names get millions of Google hits every year. All that art, that amazing countryside, the hilltowns and religious architecture, who wouldn't want that? But all this wealth piling up from tourism, Tuscany has an amazing tourism infrastructure the number of tickets to Tuscany's attractions you can purchase online is mind-shattering.īut what if the tourists and the hustle and bustle of Florence ruin your romantic sensibilities? Just down the road is Pistoia, which many consider a mini-Florence, a Renaissance gem that even allows you an underground visit of one of the world's oldest continuously operating hospitals.ĭespite the kudos these tourist magnets in Tuscany have garnered, there are still places hidden or barely accessible to non-residents, especially Americans with limited time to get outside the major art cities. Tuscany's capital, Florence, swells with 10 million tourists a year, all clamoring to line up to see the city's immense collection of Renaissance art and architecture, the largest in the world according to many experts. They include Florence, Siena, Pisa's Piazza dei Miracoli, Pienza, San Gimignano-the city of towers- and the Val d'Orcia. Many tourists can rattle them off from memory.

Within its boundaries you'll find six World Heritage Sites. Tuscany is Italy's fifth largest region at 22,994 square kilometers. Tuscany Maps and Travel Guide Tuscany Tourist Treasures From Cities to Provinces to Historic Territories

Italy wine maps