Agriturism in Tuscany

http://www.querciarossa.net/


We spent 5 nights at with some friends on September 2006. We have been travelling for 7 days in the gorgeous Tuscan countryside. We arrived to Quercia Rossa late and concerned to be lost in countryside but we were pleasantly surprised by the accommodations. In Tuscany we had the small town and the big city experience. At Quercia we were looking for the Italian summer country villa experience: and we got it! We enjoyed quiet breakfasts with the view. We were pampered by what we can only imagine is traditional country hospitality in Italy. Also, I recommend that you take your dinners at Quercia. When we were there they served veal, wild boar, deer, quail, and, of course, great pasta, salad and Italian desserts... with good wine: it�s a great value at �28. The houses are beautiful and fit excellently in with the nature. The rooms are beautifully decorated and very comfortable and of course very clean. The owners have done an amazing job restoring the buildings: every room is different with antique furniture, beautiful light fittings and terrific bathrooms. The pool is just faaaab! The Quercia Rossa farmhouse is the most peaceful possible place, with truly fabulous views of rolling hills and grazing sheep. At night the stars are beyond belief. We decided to stay over. And we hope to return and stay longer next time.

29-September

By Alex from Spain

Where to Bike around Siena

Biking Tuscany

The view that one commands from the Torre del Mangia, or Mangia Tower, is a majestic and unforgettable one. From here you can see all the lands where biking is the perfect way to discover Tuscany and enter in contact with blissful nature.
The Val d�Elsa is distinguished thanks to San Gimignano and the silouette of Volterra nearby. From Poggibonsi to Castellina, the road enters Chianti the vinyards passing by castles and villas. Nature here almost annihilates the sign of man. The unforgettable Crete Senesi ara magical land of lunar-like hills. The crete and ridges of the territory are bordered by gravel roads. The wind has sculpted this land along with water and man made fields. The idillyc scenery continues going south in the Val d�Orcia, such a singularly beautiful place to deserve itself to be a national park dedicated to nature, art and culture. The town of Montepulciano can be touched on the Val di Chiana road to Siena and crossed by the Highway A1. The Etruscan culture has dominated this land and their presence is still very much felt here. Chiusy is the highest point of felicity for those bykers interested in discovering the Etruscans. The Mount Amiata rises in the southern most part of Tuscany, a mountain of vulvanic origins that rises amongst the planes where one can find many chestnut and beech trees groves. Here the population still is truly Tuscan, entrenched in their decision not to be paired with the rest of Tuscan people, and they live in the way of the mountain, loyal to their mountain traditions. One side of Amiata belongs to Grosseto and the other to Siena. From here one can reach the sea in front of the archipelago of Tuscany (Isola d'Elba). The town of Montalcino sets itself at the feet of Mount Amiata along with the river Ombrone and Orcia.
From here you can follow the river Merse-Farma and the atomosphere changes to wild and more misterious. This part of the Siena territory is more unknown than the rest, and somewhat more challenging. It surely satifies those bikers that want to discover the "uncharted" Tuscany. Going towards Murlo one can discover more secrets of the Etruscans. Immensely worth your paddling is a bike stroll to the basilica di San Galgano, immensely renown for its roofless church. This region also gives you the opportunity to discover the peace of the Montagnola where you will be able to ride in unmatched soliloquy on the roads where the extra virgin olive oil of Tuscany.

Your Etruscan Holidays

The cities to explore on the Tuscan Coast

Sure enough we have all heard, at least once about the Etruscans. Many might not know that this pre-Roman people lived and thrived in Tuscany, along the coast and in northern Lazio. They used to call their land Tuscia, from which came the name of Toscana, Tuscany, that is.
The origins of this people are quite misterious as their language. Some say they came from the Eastern regions and were a group of Arians, others say they were indigenous, others say they were from Greece, and others say that they were indigenous merchants that during their exchanges mingled and mixed with all the other peoples (Greek, Arians, and Arabs perhaps?).
Anyhow, the most important thing nowadays is to discover them at the many museums and cities present all over Tuscany. Some of these cities are Chiusi, Roselle, Quercianella, Bolgheri, Suvereto, Piombino, San Vincenzo, Monterotondo, San Quirico, and Cortona.
What better way to discover these places but staying there for at least a week? Thankfully there is a portal that suggests many accommodations in this area. The name of the portal is Etruscan Holidays, and here you will be able to find the accommodation satisfactory for your needs to discover the Etruscan Riviera and the Etruscan history and culture.

Adler Thermae

The Adler Thermae hotel in Tuscany, offer a relaxing and rigenerating holiday in its termal center. I stayed there about one month ago for my summer holidays, and i think that next year i'll come there. The service and the organization are simply perfect, relax is the principal actor. The hotel isn't expensive, sure, but the price is regular for that services.
If you want some additional informations about the hotel and its services, with prices, images, descriptions and availability informations contact this website,

Italian Holiday Villas & Apartments

Tuscany and Italy can mean a lot of things to different people. If you ask why people go and in what period of the year they like to visit Tuscany, you will have a various range of responses. If you are looking for some serious advice, it may then be a little tricky to get the word of friends and acquaintaissances. Do you prefer the sun and relaxing poolside days gazing at the Tuscan countryside, or would you rather be near lots of cultural cities, maybe in low season to save some money and avoid the high density tourism?
Whichever your preference is you need to find the right authentic Italian villa and apartments to rent in Italy, whether that is Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Sardinia, Sicily, Lake Garda, Amalfi Coast, Cilento, Liguria, Veneto, Rome, Florence, Lucca.
The site to visit is then http://www.authentic-italy.co.uk.

All about Tuscany

If you are looking for another source of information on Tuscany, you need to visit http://www.choose-tuscany.com, where you will be able to find a website with information on Tuscany, travel, food, wine, weather, geography, history and accommodation.
The site pays particular attention to describing the aspects that make Tuscany a cradle of civilization and why Tuscany is so loved and visited by millions of tourists each year. Dense with detailed information on the region, its people, the economy, tourism, and not least, its gorgeous recipes and wines, this site is a must-visit.

A directory on Tuscany would also be http://www.tuscany.org/ and www.giralarete.it

Montalcino and the hunting season

The center of this small town offers a perfect example of the architecture of the late Middle Ages. The nearby Musei Riuniti (Civico and Diocesano) contain pieces of a wooden cross painted by an unknown artist in the twelfth or thirteenth-century -one of the oldest Senese works. Wooden Annunciation sculptures from the early fifteenth- century and a Madonna done in Robbian terracotta are also worth a visit.

Montalcino is famous in the world for its Brunello and Vino Nobile. Brunello is a full bodied and aromatic wine perfect with game and grilled meats. The red, called vermiglio, played a small role in the siege of 1553. Legend has it that the garrison commander, tense and hungry, rubbed it into his cheeks, to simulate a healthy complexion and reassure his troops.

On the second Sunday in September don't miss the TOURNAMENT FOR THE OPENING OF THE HUNTING SEASON, a Middle Ages "must do" among the nobility.
The FEAST OF THE THRUSH, on the last Sunday of October is the most important hunting event of the season. If you are not a hunter, you can still "shoot" pictures of the colorful celebrations!