The Italian and Tuscan Kitchen Style

Warm colours, fine finishings, hand-painted tiling around the cooking area, maybe marble...

Yes, because Tuscany kitchens are mainly thought to please who is in them, cooking. By trying to enhance the comfort of the cook, the kitchen is actually enhancing the cooking abilities.
I guess you know how important kooking is in Italy and mostly in Tuscany, a region which has always kept its culinary roots very deep into the farmer tradition of simple ingredients.
Since the ingredients are simple they have to be good and the cook has to pair them up wisely, or the result will be just poor.

For example: Tuscany kitchens rarely have (or should not have) the so-called island, a very en-vougue feature of modern kitchens. Why?
The reason lay in the Tuscan cooking itself: with so many erbs to mix, garlic to chop and minch, vegetables, broths, little ingredients and so many passages between one stage of the cooking and another, do you really think a kitchen island is a good idea?


It is not, because you need continuity between the stove and the sink, with a large clean space in the middle where to work, let the ingredients rest, or works-in-progress be ready to enter into action. The island would just take up space from Tuscany kitchens.

In addition, let's not forget that traditionally, Tuscany kitchens are a free space where the family used to gather, warm up, discuss. That is why the Tuscany kitchen should be large enough to be elevated at the rank of eat-in kitchen.

So, your Tuscany kitchen will be "L" shaped, against the colder wall of the kitchen (fridge loves cold, the stove warms up the colder walls), entirely in wood or with wooden finishings, large and with a big entrance that embraces family and guests.

Tuscan Lighting

The sober look that represents Tuscan lighting has nothing to do with what is usually meant as Tuscan lighting.


The Rococo look of some over-worked, over-embellished crystal lamps that you see at some shop bare the style that is much more proper to those parts of Italy that have been exposed to Byzantine culture, such as the North East of Italy, with Venice being the capital of Byzantine art in Italy.

So if you are looking for real Tuscan lighting, look no further than those humble looking lamps that truly represent the traditional character of Tuscany and of Tuscan people in general.

That is not to say that there in anything esthetically wrong with much more elaborated lighting; however if you are looking forward to having a truly Tuscan feeling in your home, set your mind to letting go all the cliches that are usually thought of as truly Tuscan.


In the case of a table or floor lamp, Tuscan lighting is mainly composed of a wooden body and a no-frills shade, or no shade at all. The body of the lamp may be painted with pastel colors, or antique gold or silver paints.

In the case of a ceiling Tuscan lighting, you will be surprised how little you can find to be truly originally Tuscan, since up until the 1960s Tuscan economy was mainly supported by agriculture, and the living conditions in the Tuscan countryside were far from worrying anyone about carving out a great looking ceiling lamp. Most likely, if you were to enter one of those poor houses, you would have seen hanging from the ceiling an anchovy or sardine used to give taste to cornmeal by rubbing it on top of the hung fish. That way it would last much longer.

This is just to give you an idea of what is behind traditional Tuscan lighting. Some richer people surely did have much more elaborated lighting. Some exaples are those of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopoldo, which are characterized by a wooden body with curved movable arms and decorated with achantus leaves. This is as elaborated as it gets.


Of course, contemporary Tuscan lighting has a completely different character.
It is hard to distinguish it from any other contemporary style as everything nowadays is very linear and functional. However, some artisans still create wrung iron lamps and hand carved wooden lamps that remind of the antique Tuscan lighting.

Tuscan's - Outlect Factory near Pisa

Tuscan's Creations

Another great factory outlet all to be discovered is Tuscan's Creations S.r.l., which features great prices and splendid designs created for more pricey brands such as Prada, Gucci, or Fendi.

You can find Tuscan's Outlet Creations in Ponte a Egola, near Pisa. The address is Via Corridoni 20/22 Ponte a Egola - Pisa. The phone number is +39 0571 49424 and the email is tuscans@tuscans.it

When you get there ask anyone in the fashion outlet how to get a fidelity card, which will allow you discounts of up to 40% on the already discounted prices. You can create a card and then start shopping. There is no need to shop first.


Tuscan's has been a stable in the Italian landscape since the mid Seventies, with an excellent producion of soft python and leather handbags, purses, accessories and more.


Tuscan's is a discount outlet conveniently located in Tuscany, but with several other outlets in the Europe, in cities such as Turin, Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Athens, and Florence.

Directions:
On the A1 Highway take exit Firenze Signa and then follow the directions to the FI PI LI Freeway. Take the FI PI LI in direction to Pisa, and exit at Santa Croce sull'Arno.
Once you are on the two lane road, take a left until you find a rotary. Take the first right exit off the rotary and then the first left turn. Follow the signs to Tuscan's