Archive for 'Local Customs'

Food and drink are two of the big reasons that people choose to find a holiday villa in Tuscany and visit. No matter where you go in the region, you will find that culinary delights abound in markets, little family-owned restaurants and festivals, among countless other dining establishments.

Wine, in particular, is a speciality of the region with many varieties being produced. Most towns have their own types or brands for you to sample as you make your way around the region and some whole areas are world-famous because of their wines, such as Chianti.

Montepulciano is one such area and its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a very good reason to drop by.

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual arts festival in Florence, most notably important as an opera festival, which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui.

Gui wished to stage both contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions and his idea went on to become the first music festival in Italy. Today, it is a Florentine institution and is held each year usually beginning late April, continuing through May and into June.

Generally there are four operas staged over this period but lots of other events related to the festival also take place in the city over the two months. If you're a music lover and have a particular fondness for opera be sure to find a luxury villa in Florence and check this festival out for yourself.

Do you have an interest in learning about the history of places you visit? If so, then perhaps an enjoyable stay in the attractive region of Tuscany would be a perfect holiday spot for you! There are many available vacation rentals along the tuscan coastline and further inland that would be a perfect base for you to explore this fascinating area! Tuscany is a region in Italy whose name was inspired by the ancient Etruscan people known as ‘Tusci’ who thrived here from approximately 800BC until 390BC.

They were a powerful and prosperous civilisation that made their fortunes by exporting metals, mainly copper and iron which they mined from the area. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that the Etruscans dominated large areas of early Italy before forces from Rome began fighting them back within their borders. They eventually absorbed them into their territory during the Roman Republic Movement.