Northwestern Tuscany
Sharpen your map-reading skills: this farmhouse, 8.6km south of Lari, is hidden in the hills at the end of a dirt track. Five rustic-chic rooms feature handmade beds and wrought-iron fittings – one even has an open fire. Cots, triples, a playground, a pool, farm animals and fantastic home cooking (dinner per person €30) including delicious homemade pasta strengthen the family appeal.
The property is 35km northeast of Castiglioncello, 2km outside Casciana Terme.
22.3 MILES
Parts of San Gimignano's Romanesque cathedral were built in the second half of the 11th century, but its remarkably vivid frescoes, depicting episodes…
17.7 MILES
One of Italy's signature sights, the Torre Pendente truly lives up to its name, leaning a startling 3.9 degrees off the vertical. The 58m-high tower,…
17.75 MILES
Pisa's magnificent duomo was begun in 1064 and consecrated in 1118. Its striking tiered exterior, with green-and-cream marble cladding, gives onto a…
23 MILES
Lucca's predominantly Romanesque cathedral dates from the 11th century. Its stunning facade was constructed in the prevailing Lucca-Pisan style and…
17.81 MILES
Pisa's unusual round baptistry has one dome piled on top of another, each roofed half in lead, half in tiles, and topped by a gilt bronze John the Baptist…
22.31 MILES
The 13th-century Palazzo Comunale has always been the centre of San Gimignano's local government; its magnificently frescoed Sala di Dante is where the…
23.43 MILES
Lucca’s monumental mura (wall) was built around the old city in the 16th and 17th centuries and remains in almost perfect condition. It superseded two…
23.35 MILES
Fire the romantic in you with a stroll around this beautiful 17th-century palace where parts of Portrait of a Lady (1996), starring Nicole Kidman and John…
3.54 MILES
Here's an interesting fact for you: the Barilla company makes as much pasta in 20 minutes as this family-run factory makes in a year – Martelli Pasta…
10.12 MILES
The Vespa, Italy's iconic scooter, revolutionised travel when Piaggio launched it from its factory in Pontedera, 25km southeast of Pisa, in 1946. The…
12.26 MILES
Crenellated Castello Pasquini was built in the late 19th century. Today it is surrounded by lovely tree-shaded grounds and a great play park.
4. Santuario della Madonna di Montenero
12.32 MILES
The story goes like this: in 1345, the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd, who led her to monte nero (black mountain), a haven of brigands. Needless to…
14.48 MILES
Laid out in 1854 to prettify the wasteland around the city's great water cistern (unveiled in 1842), this lush public park is a peaceful green oasis of…
6. Museo di Storia Naturale del Mediterraneo
14.66 MILES
Livorno's Natural History Museum is beloved of school groups and families. The highlight of the permanent collection is a 20m-long whale skeleton called…
14.83 MILES
This Neo-Gothic Protestant church was built in 1864 for the use of Livorno's Dutch-German community. It's now permanently closed.
14.97 MILES
Built for the Medicis between 1590 and 1604, this hulk of a red-brick fort in Piccola Venezia is a pale shade of its 17th-century magnificent self…