Discover Tuscany's Movie Sets

Tuscany, with its beautiful, artistic landscapes, has always been one of the favorite settings for various movie and commercial directors.

One of the first great directors who used Tuscany as a movie set was the world renowned Federico Fellini, who chose the towns of Chianciano Terme and Bagno Vignoni for his award-winning film 8 � and who described Tuscany as the ideal set for his movies.

However, Tuscany�s most famous movie set is, without a doubt, the city of Florence, which has been used as the setting in countless films, since its palaces and streets are capable of creating unique settings. Just think of A Room with a View or the film Hannibal, which starred Anthony Hopkins. Other important actors such as Marcello Mastroianni and Vittorio Gassman have also strolled through Florence in various movies, as well as film director Brian de Palma.

Another very important actor/director who has chosen Tuscany for his movies was Robert Beningni, who chose Arezzo and Cortona to film his masterpiece, Life is Beautiful, which won various Oscars. Most recently, the town of Cortona was used as the setting for another famous movie, Under the Tuscan Sun.  

The director Franco Zeffirelli has also chosen Tuscany for various movies, including Tea with Mussolini.

To end with one of the most recent movie sagas, one of the films in the famous Twilight Saga was filmed in Montepulciano.

Finally, my friends, Tuscany is Tuscany, a unique and marvelous landscape which certainly makes everyone dream�

 

Kind regards,

George

The "Unknown" Val d'Orcia

Dear Friends,

In the previous blog entry, I talked about the villages in the Val d�Orcia that are well-known, so in this entry I would like to tell you all about some of the lesser-known towns which are in this beautiful valley.

Let�s start with my favorite town in this valley, La Foce, which is easily reached via a white road from Montepulciano. This town is definitely one of the most magical places in the valley. In fact, in La Foce is where you�ll find one of the most famous images of Tuscany, which you can see here in this entry. The image is of the marvelous mansion of the Origo family, who helped shelter many children seeking refuge from the war and the bombing of cities in Italy during the Second World War.

For the garden lovers reading my blog, I would recommend visiting this splendid villa which opens its garden to tourists every Wednesday afternoon (all year long) and every first weekend of the month (in September, October and November) for a few hours.

Another magical and unknown town of the valley is, without a doubt, Radicofani. This town is famous as the refuge of the infamous bandit, Ghino di Tacco, who, in the Middle Ages, managed to kidnap an abbot and convince the Pope to pardon him. This town is located on top of an immense hill and overlooks the valley from its walls. A visit to the tower of Radicofani will literally leave you breathless once you�ve reached the top of it, where you�ll enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view.

Another town which conserves its beautiful medieval heritage is undoubtedly Castiglion d�Orcia, where a stroll through its streets will return you to the Middle Ages. You will definitely love visiting this town.

A drive through these three places, whether in a car or on a motorcycle, in the winter, spring, summer or autumn, with rain or shine, will not leave you listless. Throughout all the seasons, this valley maintains a beautiful energy which is impossible not to catch while passing through these three towns which are not as well known as the others, but just as beautiful.

As always, I hope that all this information has helped you plan, in the best way possible, your vacation in Tuscany.

Kind regards,

George

The Val d'Orcia

Dear Friends,

Today, I would like to talk to you all again about this beautiful valley in the south of Tuscany, called the Val d'Orcia, a place that, in my opinion, everyone should visit on their trip to Tuscany.

This valley, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located between Monte Amiata and the Trinoro Valley, and the rolling hills of Pienza and Montichiello, and offers various sites of interest which one should not miss if they're doing a route through Tuscany.

The most distinguished town in the Val d'Orcia is, without a doubt, its "imaginary capital", Pienza, which overlooks the whole valley with its towering walls. Pienza is located in a place so beautiful that even the Pope fell in love with the area and spent a significant number of Church funds in order to create a project for the �Perfect Renaissance City�. If you would like to learn more about this wonderful place, I would recommend that you check out: Pienza

The second famous town in this valley is, without a doubt, San Quirico d�Orcia. Before talking about this place, it�s important to point out that the road that connects these two towns passes through a landscape of immense and incomparable beauty and which cannot be missed. The scenery that you�ll witness passing through here has been used as a setting for such blockbuster movies as Gladiator, the English Patient, and Twilight, among others.

San Quirico, like Pienza, has a number of sites of cultural, artistic and religious interest that you could visit. For more information, check out: San Quirico d'Orcia

Once you have visited Pienza and San Quirico d�Orcia, the route through this part of Tuscany continues towards Bagno Vignoni, an ancient village famous for its thermal waters. The road between San Quirico and Bagno Vignoni passes through some of the most magnificent scenery that is still beautiful at any time of the year, and I would recommend that you drive slowly and carefully because I�m sure that you will find tourists who have stopped alongside the road in order to immortalize this beautiful landscape with their cameras.

Bagno Vignoni, unlike the other towns, does not have a historic center, but it does have two incredible thermal baths (one of which is only open to the public in the summer) which are worth visiting, in order to enjoy a 35 degree bath surrounded by gorgeous scenery. To learn a bit more about this town, you can read this: Bagno Vignoni

If you wish to see more photos of the towns mentioned in this post, I would recommend that you visit our Facebook page: Tuscany Blog. There you�ll find a lot of photos from these beautiful places. Also, if you become a fan of our page, you can become a part of our group and be able to use our forum to ask questions, advice or comment about your own experiences in Tuscany.

In the next post, we will talk about the �unknown� Val d�Orcia and its less touristy towns which only we Tuscans know about.

Kind regards,

George

Christmas in Florence

Dear Friends,

Spending Christmas in Florence is quite possibly the best way to experience Tuscany and its capital during this magical and special time. All of the towns in Tuscany, especially Florence, have this certain enchanting and captivating glow during Christmas.

The Florentines tend to celebrate this festive period with various open-air markets, which the Italians call "Mercatini di Natale", or "Christmas Markets", where artisans from all over Italy come to sell their products, and in particular, delicacies.

In Florence, these "Mercatini di Natale" can usually be found in Piazza di Santa Croce, and you'll meet artisans from the north of Italy, as well as from Germany and other Northern European countries, selling various artisanal products and food.

For those of you who love shopping, I would recommend visiting the famous Via Tornabuoni, where you will find the most exclusive Italian fashion shops and international labels. Of course, during Christmas, all these shops are all the more elegant than usual because of their luxurious and lavish Christmas decorations.

Another place where you'll find shops worth visiting is Florence's permanent market, located in Piazzale San Lorenzo, near the Duomo. This market is open all year long and is the ideal place to shop for the finest leather, which Florence is famous for.

During Christmas, enjoying a stroll across the beautiful Ponte Vecchio is a must, the oldest and most famous bridge in Florence, where all the Italian Jewish jewelers sell their jewelry and collection pieces.

During Christmas in Florence, I also recommend visiting the many churches and cathedrals of the city, being that Italy is a Catholic country, it's interesting to enjoy the various Christmas preparations at the sites of worship.

Finally, my friends, I hope that you'll find a lot of useful information in this post, and that it'll help you discover Tuscany and Florence during Christmas.


Kind Regards,

George