Top 10 Romantic Things To Do In Tuscany

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Legend has it that Charlemagne originally founded the abbey. The current building dates from the 12th Century and was built in travertine stone with decorative elements in onyx that give a special golden light to the monument. The exterior is very simple, with interesting geometric shapes and fantastic decorations on the portals. There is a square bell tower with mullioned windows that is decorated with bas-relief. The interior has a Romanesque shape with three naves, and columns alternating with pillars. The central nave is covered with trusses, while the lateral naves have vaulted ceilings. The naves meet in a great apse with three radiating chapels. On the right of the altar is the staircase that leads to the crypt, decorated by a Roman plaque and a fresco from the 15th Century, showing Piety. Only the main room of the monastery remains, dating from before the church. During the summer, concerts are held in the abbey, mostly consisting of organ music.

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Finally, for fresh pastries, you can't beat Bini, behind the left flank of the Duomo at Via dei Fusari 9-13 (0577-280-207), where since 1943 they've filled the neighborhood with irresistible scents as they make their delicious sweets on-site--in fact, you can watch them at work through the next window down the street.

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Parco Sculture del Chianti has a great basic concept: to integrate art and nature. The idea is to give to this open area the same value of a cotemporary museum. Artists from all over the world are called upon to submit a site-specific proposal. Here each work is well-integrated with the trees and landscape. The grounds are open from 10a to sunset.

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Although the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Siena is managed by the University of Siena, it is located at another street. Tracing its history back to the year 1588, this garden found patronage under the Duke of Siena who encouraged the growing of exotic herbs and unusual plants. Within some years, the collection surpassed over a 1000 species which were arranged in flowerbeds based on country of origin. This garden is open daily and entrance is free.

Our Local Expert Says:

"You can see the hill town Fiesole and end of the Appennine Mountains from the Piazzale."

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The vista which one can see the whole valley of Florence and of the surrounding hills is a must see.  The climb up is rewarding, the view is breathtaking. There are buses available to take you to Piazzale Michelangelo. Tourists, tourist groups and tour buses all congregate at this panoramic view.  Vendors set up early in the morning with cool beverages for the parched tourists and souvenirs for the eager shoppers. A sunset visit is for the romantics, bringing a wine bottle and gazing at the Florentine sky as it ends another day. There is never a bad time to visit Piazzale Michelangelo, there is always something to see from this height

Our Local Expert Says:

Enjoy taking the time to taste each wine with a delicious bar of chocolate.

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Spend an afternoon visiting a traditional chocolate maker in the heart of Florence on this small group tour and savor hand made sweet delights, paired with Italian wines for the ultimate indulgence.

Today's tour (maximum 12 people) is set in a Cioccolateria, dating back to 1936. You'll view traditional methods of chocolate making before taking your place at the table where a feast for your palate awaits.

Sit back as you're presented with four chocolate dishes: plain chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate filled with vanilla, and hazelnut creams. Distinguish between the bitter, acidic, sweet, astringent and salty flavors, and note how each mouthful is accentuated by the accompanying local Italian wine. (Children can team their tastings with a choice of either soft drink, juice or water).

The afternoon is not complete without supplementing your sweet cravings with the multiple textures of Pan Forte and Panpepato, two cakes typical of the Tuscan region.

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"A peaceful place to read a book or write away from the bustle of the center."

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Giardino dell'Orticoltura was built by Giacomo Roster in 1879 for the Società Toscana di Orticoltura (the Tuscan Horticultural Society), this impressive steel and glass pavilion is used to display the flowers and plants that are grown each year. Marquis Pietro Torrigiani, the chief of the Georgofili Academia, founded the Tuscan society of Horticultural in 1859. Since then, the Florentines come to admire the flowers and plants grown during the month of April where there are exhibitions.  The grounds surrounding the pavilion are very serene with a playground for the children on a fall day. 

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An afternoon of wine tasting with a side of cheese is something you can really only enjoy fully in Florence. Part of the top ten tours of Florence, this tour is made for lovers of wine and connoisseurs alike. A delightful medley of cheeses and Tuscan wine favorite are paired together. It is a small group of maximum of 12 people in a local wine bar in Florence. The cheeses are combined with many flavors of Tuscany such as figs, truffle honey and strawberry vinegar.
Some of the selections could be something like this:

• 1 glass of white wine Vernaccia di San Gimignano accompanied by Brie and Acacia's honey
• 1 glass of red wine Chianti colli Senesi DOCG accompanied by Pecorino di Fossa Cheese and strawberry aromatic vinegar
• 1 glass of red wine Brunello di Montalcino Tiezzi accompanied by Pecorino Cheese and figs
• 1 glass of red wine Super Tuscan Noir accompanied by fruits of the forest and goat cheese

Our Local Expert Says:

Stop by around 5pm and hear the monks chant in the crypt.

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High atop a hill, its gleaming white-and-green facade visible from the valley below, San Miniato is one of the few ancient churches of Florence to survive the centuries virtually intact. San Miniato was an eastern Christian who settled in Florence and was martyred during Emperor Decius's persecutions in A.D. 250. The legend goes that the decapitated saint picked up his head, walked across the river, climbed up the hillside, and didn't lie down to die until he reached this spot. He and other Christians were buried here, and a shrine was raised on the site as early as the 4th century.

The current building began to take shape in 1013, under the auspices of the powerful Arte di Calimala guild, whose symbol, a bronze eagle clutching a bale of wool, perches atop the facade. The Romanesque facade is a particularly gorgeous bit of white Carrara and green Prato marble inlay. Above the central window is a 13th-century mosaic of Christ Between the Madonna and St. Miniato (a theme repeated in a slightly later mosaic filling the apse inside).

The interior has a few Renaissance additions, but they blend in well with the overall medieval aspect -- an airy, stony space with a raised choir at one end, painted wooden trusses on the ceiling, and tombs interspersed with inlaid marble symbols of the zodiac paving the floor.

Below the choir is an 11th-century crypt with small frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi. Off to the right of the raised choir is the sacristy, which Spinello Aretino covered in 1387 with cartoonish yet elegant frescoes depicting the Life of St. Benedict. Off the left aisle of the nave is 15th-century Cappella del Cardinale del Portogallo, a brilliant collaborative effort by Renaissance artists built to honor young Portuguese humanist Cardinal Jacopo di Lusitania, who was sent to study in Perugia but died an untimely death at 25 in Florence. Brunelleschi's student Antonio Manetti started the chapel in 1460 but soon died, and Antonio Rossellino finished the architecture and carving by 1466. Luca della Robbia provided the glazed terra-cotta dome, a cubic landscape set with tondi of the four Virtues surrounding the Holy Spirit to symbolize the young scholar's devotion to the church and to humanist philosophy. It stands as one of della Robbia's masterpieces of color and classical ideals. The unfinished bell tower seen from the outside was designed by Baccio d'Agnolo. In 1530 the combined troops of Charles V and Medici Pope Clement VII, who had recently reconciled with each other, lay siege to the newly declared Republic of Florence in an attempt to reinstate the Medici dukes. San Miniato al Monte was one of the prime fortifications, and an artilleryman named Lapo was stationed up in the tower with two small cannons -- he was basically bait, stuck there to draw the fire of the enemy where it would do little harm. The man in charge of the defenses was Michelangelo, who, the authorities figured, was so good at everything else, why not military fortifications? After throwing up dirt ramparts and cobbling together defensible walls out of oak timbers, Michelangelo helped poor Lapo out by devising an ingenious way to protect the tower: He hung mattresses down the sides to absorb the shock of the cannonballs fired at it and left the tower (and, more important, Lapo) still standing.

The siege was eventually successful, however, and the Florentine Republic fell, but while it lasted, Michelangelo spent his day up here and referred to the church of San Salvatore al Monte just below as "my pretty country maid." It's a simple 1400 church built by Cronaca, with a Giovanni della Robbia Deposition and a Neri di Bicci Pietà inside.