Situated along Italy's northwestern coast (just below where your knee would be if you were wearing the boot-shaped country as footwear), Tuscany is known for being the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, the majestic site of rolling green hills and fertile vineyards, and one of the most stunningly beautiful regions in Italy, if not the world.
Skirting the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tuscany is composed of 10 provinces, each named for its principal city. With its world-famous Duomo, Uffizi, Boboli Gardens, and Accademia dell' Arte del Disegno (residence of Michelangelo's statue of David), the Tuscan capital of Florence is the region's best-known city. But Tuscany's smaller towns bestow an equal, if not greater, amount of culture, beauty, and effortless charm.
While nearly every Tuscan town boasts a centrally located cathedral and town square, a handful of museums detailing the town's history, and an idyllic commercial area teeming with produce vendors, ristorantes, and, yes, the occasional souvenir peddler, most of the towns maintain distinct personalities by offering a noteworthy landmark or industry, or, in some cases, just an abnormally large supply of quaintness.
Whether it's Pisa's Leaning Tower, Siena's shell-shaped town square (Piazza del Campo), Arezzo's bounty of antique stores, or Volterra's alabaster urns, each town has a unique draw that sets it apart from its neighboring communities. Meanwhile, medieval hilltop villages like Cortona and San Gimignano, with their winding stone streets, stately castles, and delightful shops, attract the more adventurous, off-the-beaten-path type of tourist with their sheer storybook-esque loveliness.
The only vision more awe-inspiring than these Tuscan towns' magnificent architecture is the breathtakingly gorgeous terrain that comprises every vista as you navigate the 15 or 20 miles between each destination. The movies "Stealing Beauty" and "Under the Tuscan Sun" provide a sample of the rich visual splendors that Tuscany offers. But, of course, nothing can compare to seeing the centuries-old buildings, smelling the ripening grapes, and tasting the Chianti for yourself.
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