Italy Tuscany

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. Florence is famous for its history, a center of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions. The Historic Center of Florence was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments. The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries.

Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. The historic center of Siena has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. Siena is famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year.

San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls form an unforgettable skyline. Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with outstanding examples of secular buildings as well as churches. The Historic Center of San Gimignano is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town also is known for the saffron, the Golden Ham and its white wine.

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower (the bell tower of the city's cathedral), the city of over 88,332 residents contains more than 20 other historic churches, several palaces and various bridges across the River Arno. The city is also home of the University of Pisa, which has a history going back to the 12th century.

Lucca is a city and commune in Tuscany, Central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls. The walls encircling the old town remain intact, even as the city expanded and modernized, unusual for cities in the region. The town includes a number of public squares, most notably the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, site of ancient Roman amphitheater; There are many medieval, a few as old as the eighth century, basilica-form churches with richly arcaded facades and campaniles.

Montepulciano is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and commune in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a 605 m limestone ridge. Montepulciano is a major producer of food and drink. Renowned for its pork, cheese, "pici" pasta, lentils, and honey, it is known world-wide for its wine. Connoisseurs consider its Vino Nobile, which should not be confused with varietal wine merely made from the Montepulciano grape, among Italy's best. The main street of Montepulciano stretches for 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) from the Porta al Prato to the Piazza Grande at the top of the hill. The city is renowned for its walkable, car-free nature.

Torre del Lago is a town of almost 11,000 inhabitants, a frazione of the commune of Viareggio, in the province of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, between the Lake of Massaciuccoli and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Festival Puccini, an annual opera festival which attracts around 40,000 attendees, is held in its open-air theatre, a short distance from the Villa where opera composer Giacomo Puccini lived and worked. He is buried in a small chapel inside the Villa. The area of the village on the sea (Marina di Torre del Lago) is well known for being an important gay and gay-friendly summer resort of national and international appeal.

Grosseto is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany. The city lies 14 kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the center of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. Local sights include the Medicean Walls, St. Lawrence cathedral, Church of San Pietro, Palazzo Aldobrandeschi, Palazzo Tognetti and the Canapone Monument. Marina di Grosseto, located 12 kilometres from Grosseto, is a famous tourist destination. it is an important seaside resort in Maremma.

Massa Marittima is a town and commune of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany. There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, ironworks and olive-oil mills. MAin sights include the 13th century Saint Cerbonius Cathedral (13th century). The church is in Romanesque-Pisane style, and is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles divided by cruciform pilasters and cylindrical columns; In the frazione of Prata are a medieval castle with two towers and the Pieve of Santa Maria Assunta. The walled borough ot Tatti includes the medieval church of San Sebastiano and another Cassero.

Pienza, a town and commune in the province of Siena, in the Val d'Orcia in Tuscany, between the towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino, is the "touchstone of Renaissance urbanism".In 1996, UNESCO declared the town a World Heritage Site, and in 2004 the entire valley, the Val d'Orcia, was included on the list of UNESCO's World Cultural Landscapes.

Monteriggioni is a commune in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany. The town is architecturally and culturally significant; it hosts several piazzas, and is referenced in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Monteriggioni is a medieval walled town, located on a natural hillock, built by the Sienese in 1214–19. The roughly circular walls, totalling a length of about 570 metres (1,870 ft) and following the natural contours of the hill, were built between 1213 and 1219. There are 14 towers on square bases set at equidistance, and two portals or gates. The main piazza, the Piazza Roma, is dominated by a Romanesque church with a simple, plain façade.

Arezzo is a city and commune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is set on a steep hill rising from the floodplain of the River Arno. In the upper part of the town are the cathedral, the town hall and the Medici Fortress (Fortezza Medicea), from which the main streets branch off towards the lower part as far as the gates. The upper part of the town maintains its medieval appearance despite the addition of later structuresץ