Description: This spectacular and eagerly awaited guide to Tuscany takes you effortlessly through one of the most popular and culturally rich areas in the world. The breathtakingly beautiful rolling green landscape punctuated with cypress is the setting for the hilltowns and cities, the birthplace of those 15th and 16th-century artists and architects -- Masaccio, Michelangelo, and Brunelleschi among them -- whose influence is still being felt today.

The 2000 color illustrations point up the flora and fauna and differences in terrain as well as the rich history and lifestyle. There are sections on the Medicis, traditional crafts and cooking, and the distinctive architecture of: towers, palazzos, castles, including Gothic Renaissance, Mannerist, and Baroque buildings.

Eleven detailed itineraries realistically divide the area. Wisely, culture-packed Florence is on its own with visits to the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, and the Museo del Bargello as well as nearby sights including Fiesole and surrounding hill towns; another itinerary takes you to Pisa with its spectacular Piazza del Duomo and Lucca a secret favorite with its Renaissance walls and quiet streets; to Massa and Carrara including the Italian Riviera; to Prato and Pistoia; to the elegant town of Arezzo with its newly restored fresoces of Piero della Francesca in the church of San Francesco; to Chianti and to Siena with its amazing Piazza del Campo, site of the Palio and to the town hall and duomo; from Voltera to Livorno, and Grasseto to Maremma.

Portable, practical, and lavishly illustrated, the guide also includes information on getting around Tuscany, finding the best restaurants, nightlife, and cultural spots. And as always, thereis a section on the region as seen by artists and writers.

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