The 20 Regions of Italy

Abruzzo | Aosta Valley | Apulia | Basilicata | Calabria

Campania | Emilia-Romagna | Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Lazio | Liguria | Lombardy | Marche | Molise | Piedmont

This is Italy's most famous region for good reason. Not only was it where the Italian Renaissance flourished, but it also gave birth to the sweet and poetic Italian language. To enjoy Tuscany's rich heritage and its superlative food and wine, come sit amongst the rolling Tuscan hills and explore its splendid cities and villages like Florence, Siena and Pisa.  

Florence was the most active center of the Renaissance, which flourished, at least in part, through the patronage of the Medici dynasty. Every eminent artistic figure from Giotto onwards - Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Alberti, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo is represented in Tuscany, in an unrivaled gathering of churches, galleries, museums.

Tuscany is filled with treasures of architecture, paintings, and sculptures that are renowned worldwide.

Siena is one of the great medieval cities of Europe, almost perfectly preserved, and with superb works of art in its religious and secular buildings. Its beautiful Campo - the central, scallop-shaped market square - is the scene of Tuscany's most unmissable festival, the Palio, which sees bareback horse riders racing around the narrow cobblestone streets.

It's the brightest display of pageantry this side of Rome.

Other major cities, Pisa and Lucca, have their splendors, too - Pisa its Leaning Tower, Lucca a string of Romanesque churches. To the west and south of Siena are dozens of small hilltowns that, for many, epitomize the region - tourism has yet to undermine their vibrant local characters.