Welcome to Choose Tuscany

Tuscany is a magical place with everything from a beautiful coast, to picture-book landscapes, mediaeval cities and a mouth-watering cuisine (not forgetting the wines!). This is why so many people travel to Tuscany to holiday in a range of accommodation from villas to apartments both in the famous rolling hills of the countryside and the picturesque historic cities and towns.

The Tuscan population is just over 3 million with a land area of 23,000 square kilometers. The region is bordered by the Tyrrhenian sea in the west, Emilia-Romagna in the north, Umbria in the east, and Lazio in the south. There are several famous larger cities including the art centre of Florence (the regional capital) in the north east, the picturesque mediaeval city of Siena in the south, and the cities of Pisa and Livorno in the north east. There are also a wealth of other beautiful mediaeval towns including Lucca, Volterra, San Gimignano, San Miniato and many more. The provinces of Tuscany are named after the principal cities which are: Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia, and Siena

In the late Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance, Tuscany was a centre for art and for learning. In fact the Tuscan spoken language became the literary language of Italy after Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, and Boccaccio used it. Notable schools of architecture, sculpture, and painting developed from the 11th century in many cities, particularly Florence, Pisa, Siena, and Arezzo. From the 16th century however, intellectual and artistic life was almost totally concentrated in Florence. Universities exist in Florence, Pisa, and Siena.

Key Facts about Tuscany and Florence

Climate

Average Temperatures:
January - 6 ^oC
August - 25 ^oC

Average Rainfall:
October - 12.4 cm
July - 3.5 cm
Annual - 89.4 cm

Geography:

Area of Tuscany - 22,972 square km
Highest Point in Tuscany - Monte Cimone at 2,165 m
Length of river Arno - 241 km
Altitude of Florence - 49 m above sea level
Height of Duomo - 91 m

Tuscany is the same latitude as Toronto in Canada and Sapporo in Japan

People:

Population of Tuscany - 3.5 million
Population of Florence - 405,000

Tourism:

Annual number of Visitors to Florence - 7 million
Most popular museum and gallery - Galleria degli Uffizi
Annual number of visitors to the Uffizi - 1.5 million

Site by Freestyle