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Regions

Central Grosseto

Tuscany now has 10 provinces: Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato and Siena. However, the regions can be described differently due to their geographic nature.

There is the Arno basin with the Arno river at its centre; the river stretches for 240 km and is the major Tuscan river. Most of the agricultural and industrial activity is sited in this area. The main output is farming, chemicals, glass-making (Pisa) textiles (Prato) and engineering (Florence).

The Apuan Alps are located north of the Arno river and are the home of the famous white Carrara marble. At the foot of these mountains lies the lovely sandy shoreline of the Versilia with Viareggio the most popular resort. At the southern end lies Livorno which is the only real commercial port in Tuscany with its major shipyards and oil refineries.

The picturesque landscape for which Tuscany is world famous lies in the Florentine countryside and Chianti district. Olive groves, vineyards, cypress trees and corn fields adorn the beautiful rolling hills. Fortified villages, majestic villas and farmhouses silhouette against the clear blue skies. South of Tuscany rise the Chianti hills extending between the main Siena road and the Autostrada ‘del Sole’ which runs the length of Italy. This area is characterized by clay soil home to the highly revered Chianti wines.

The hills south of Chianti are rather bare and have a pale golden soil. This is a quiet pastoral landscape with Siena at its midst.

Between the Florence area and the West Coast of Tuscany is an area of low lying hills known as the Metalliferous hills due to the fact that they are rich in iron-ore, lead, copper and zinc.

The Maremma is on the southern boundary of Tuscany, against the border with Lazio, where there are the first volcanic mountains of central Italy. This somewhat austere landscape was historically a land of spells and dark legends. The land is now cultivated with crops such as cereals, sunflowers, rice and market gardening and many modern farming cooperatives have emerged.