Vinci, where Leonardo was born.

If you are staying at the North of Tuscany, or near Florence it is worth dedicating half a day to visit the town of Vinci, where the famous Leonardo da Vinci was born.

The town is very small. It comprises 4 houses, a church, a gift shop, a trattoria, which bears the name of the master of the Italian Renaissance, and a most interesting museum, home to many of Leonardo�s writings and some of his scale models. I remember visiting this museum with my school when I was a very small child and being overwhelmed by Leonardo�s brilliant ideas and his vision 300 years ahead of his time.

Leonardo designed many of the machines we use nowadays. One of the most fascinating one was the war tank he designed in 1500, that is to say, 400 years ahead of time.

I am uploading a video in English, which I have found in Youtube. It is an almost professional and quite comprehensive and it offers a panoramic view of the town.

Sovana

Sovana. The Etruscan and the Roman. The splendor of a city as tiny as peculiar.

The picture you see belongs to the remains of the �Tomb ILdebranda�, the biggest Etruscan mausoleum ever found. The impressive funerary monument was decorated with 12 columns at the time and the access to it was through two stone staircases, and an underground one, which led to the large funerary chamber. The �Tomb ILdebranda� is found in the fabulous Etruscan necropolis, in the Tuscan territory of Maremma, near the border with Lacio. The �Tomb ILdebranda� as well as the whole necropolis is excavated in volcanic tuff rock. The access was and still is through �vie cave�, paths with high walls the Etruscan opened in the rock to move from one area to the other or to use as trenches at times of war.

�Tomb ILdebranda� dates back to the III y II centuries B.C and it was discovered in 1924 by the Rosi brothers. Not knowing to whom the impressive temple had been originally devoted, it received the name of the most illustrious son of the city of Sovana: Ildebrano de Soana, born around 1020 and elected pope in 1073 under the name of Gregory VII, who is known as one of the most cultured and spirited popes of the middle ages, protagonist of the most important reforms in the Church at those times. His unprecedented reform is essentially contained in the 27 axioms, which make up his �Dictatus Papae� of 1075, where he clearly defines the powers of the Emperor (Sacred Roman Empire) and those of the Pope, in which the former cannot interfere. Thus, he faces Emperor Henry IV, who he excommunicates twice. In 1080 the Emperor, supported by the German clergy highest ranks and Lombardo appoints Clement III pope and make the antipope excommunicate the legitimate pope. Gregory VII dies exiled in Salerno in 1085. He is canonized in 1606. One way or the other, we have introduced ourselves into the peculiar city of Sovana, a beautiful city loaded with history. Nowadays Sovana is a tiny city with a main street with houses and beautiful mansions and a marvelous main square. However, its interest only resides in its splendid and homogeneous medieval architecture, perfectly preserved, which visitors revere with the enthusiasm of those marveled before a sanctuary attached to a glorious past.

Suana, as it was called, was one of the most relevant Etruscan centers of that civilization, whose epicenter was the territory of Maremma. The Etruscan unified different settlements by the river Flora, at the top of a volcanic tuff hill between the tributaries of Calesine and Folonia, and there they founded Suana.

The city immediately became the most important one in the area, where a huge number of farmers and hunters settled. Thanks to emblematic roads carved into the rock these dwellers could communicate and trade with other major centers such as Satonia, Saturnia, Chiusi and Cetonia.

To confront the unstoppable expansionist policy of Rome, Suana was allied to the not less powerful Vulci until III century BC, time when Cayo Tiberto adjoins the territory to the Empire. The Romans give Sovana the rank of �municipium� and continue boosting the growth of the city to the point that Suana becomes one of the richest cities in the territorial area, experimenting a significant commercial expansion due to the development of the agricultural and farming activities and the growth of a prosperous craftwork industry, which is still nowadays one of its most relevant commercial characteristics. However, Suana was reluctant to abandoning its original Etruscan culture to such an extent that even inscriptions from the I century BC were still written in the original language.

The first glimpses of Christianity only reached the city in the IV century AC. Saint Maximiliano, the patron of Sovana, was one of the protagonists of the evangelization. The new faith must have had a deep impact on the people and the saint must have been really influential and exceptional as at the turn of the century, in the V century AC Soana was elected as the Episcopal venue.

How many prodigies happened in Old Times!

Sylvia

Tuscany by motorbike

Tuscany is one of the best places to explore on motorbike during the summer months. Germans were the pioneers in this kind of tourism quite a couple of years ago and nowadays it is more and more tourists who choose this means to travel through the region.

Tuscany by motorbike is an excellent option since our land has lots of winding roads and landscapes, where motorbike lovers can enjoy unmatchable views. For that reason in particular, and for those who are thinking of traveling round the region on two wheels, here comes the recommendation of two wonderful places:


Itinerary 1 La Valdorcia

In this blog we have talked a lot about this spellbinding region, world patrimony of the Unesco, located in the south of Tuscany. If you�re planning to visit the area we suggest the following:

Pienza, Montepulciano, Bagno Vignoni, Montichiello


If you�re looking for a good restaurant, you�ll find it in Montichiello (La Porta restaurant, 30 euros per person); while a much better and cheaper one is Oasi La Foce, an eating spot in the area of la Foce. Reaching la Foce from is complicated because you have to take a gravel road from Montepulciano. To make it easier for you I�ve attached the google map.

Even though reaching Oasis la Foce is not that easy, the trip to the location is really worth it as you�ll get the chance of passing by the area where the most typical pictures of Tuscany are taken!

Itinerary 2 Chainti

Chianti is also a spectacular region due to its breath-taking landscapes and its rolling hills, ladened with medieval towers and castles.

Thus, we recommend the following itinerary:

Castelnuovo Berardenga, San Gusm�, Monteriggioni all the way to San Gimignano.

Here I recommend the Bar dell Orso, a cute Tuscan restaurant, offering cold cuts, chesses and wines, located at the foot of Monteriggioni village.


A tip for motor bikers: gas stations opening hours differ from those in Spain, as they are not open 24 hs. per day. Many of them close at 7 or 8 pm., an in some cases are close on Sundays. Therefore, we suggest always having enough petrol, especially when passing by small villages.

As usual, I hope you �bikers� find this information useful.

Regards,
Giovanni.

One day excursion to Florence

As many of you who travel to Tuscany have only a few days to explore the area, I�d like to suggest an itinerary so you won�t miss the most important and outstanding places in a one day excursion to Florence.

Our first piece of advice is to reach the city by coach or train (there are many, and with high frequency from almost every town in Tuscany) so as not to waste any of your precious time as parking in Florence is not easy at all, I can assure you.

Arriving in the morning at the station you�ll find yourself practically in the city center.
The first stop could be the stunning Basilic of Santa Maria Novella. 10 to 15 minutes should be enough to get an overall view of the church. Then you could head directly to the Cathedral (or Duomo, as we call them in Italy) better known as Santa Maria in Fiore, which is only 5 minutes� walk from the basilic.


The visit to the Cathedral obviously demands more time due to both its beauty and magnitude. Those who have the courage can go up Brunelleschi�s grandiose dome, from which, after a few minutes� climb up a narrow stairway, you�ll be overwhelmed by one of the most beautiful and spectacular sights in Florence.( advice: not for claustrophobics)

Once the visit to the Duomo is over, you have two options: either to visit the Galleria degli Uffizi or the Galleria dell�Accademia. Going to both of them in one day could be really stressing, so I recommend choosing just one of them. The former is home to Michelangelo�s David, among other works, while the latter hosts the best Renaissance works of art in the world.

The next stop, I suggest should be lunch at Mario (for further information you can click the link), a very good and very cheap restaurant I never get tired of mentioning in this blog. This eating spot is not more than 15 minutes� walk from any of the two sights you have just visited.

After eating and drinking a good Tuscan wine, it�s worth spending some time at the San Lorenzo Market (which is next to the restaurant), a typical city market, which is open every day and is a typical place in the city.

Following our itinerary, you should go back to the center, along Via Tornabuoni (with its extremely exclusive stores) as far as the river Arno. On the left, you�ll find the stunning Ponte Vecchio, where Jew Jewelers have been exhibiting their precious works for centuries.

Passing the Ponte Vecchio, and walking straight on for 200 meters is the famous Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace) with its wonderful Boboli Gardens. The visit to the gardens demands quite a lot of time and that will depend on you and the energy you�ve got left. As many of you will have just a few hours left to catch your train or bus back from the outing, my advice is you should go back on your steps towards the amazing Piazza della Signoria and keep on going heading for Santa Croce Church, right behind it. In my opinion, the church demands time to visit as it keeps the sepulchers of many illustrious protagonists in the history of Florence and the World such as: Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo, Maquiavelo, as well as unmatchable works of art by Giotto, Donatello and Cimabue.

After the visit you�ll have the exact time to get back to the bus or train� So you know� Dart to Santa Maria Novella. (20 minutes� walk.)

Well, friends, I hope you�ll find all this information useful when planning your trip.

For more information about Florence I recommend this free guide I have found in the Internet, which you can find in the following link: Florence

Regards,

Giovanni.