Tours of Italy with Dario

Tour Tuscany Italy 

Tuscany is probably the most renowned of all Italian regions. Why? If we had the possibility to pose this question to the millions of travelers who for centuries have chosen to pay a visit to this central Italian region the multitude of replies probably couldn't fit into an entire encyclopedia. There isn't any doubt that whoever has had the pleasure to visit Tuscany returns home with a sense of fulfilled completeness. This flourishing region contains an incredible bounty of world famous sites and scenarios, cities so close in distance but yet so far apart in terms of culture, tradition and architecture.

Florence is the heart of the Renaissance and is today a hustling bustling busy cosmopolitan city crowded by tourists who flock to admire the treasures left behind by its world famous natives such as Leonardo, Michelangelo and Brunelleschi just to mention a few. Siena stood for centuries as a counterpart and can probably boast one of the best preserved medieval centers of Europe. Walking through its Gothic alleyways one suddenly seems to be transported back in time. And can we not mention Arezzo, Lucca and all the other cities and hilltop villages and hamlets that have a distinct history and tradition of their own and that also require many days to be appreciated in full? Of course we can't.

Tuscany today is also world renowned for its unique cuisine its breathtaking countryside views and contrasting landscapes; the valleys of Chianti covered by thick oak forests and vines, the gentle rolling moon-landscape hills of the Crete Senesi, the flat plains of the Maremma, the hot and cold water spas, the marble mountains in the northern part of the region and the archipelago of islands off the coast.. A region that was first settled by the mysterious Etruscans, then colonized by the Romans, and that suffered the invasions of the Goths and the Lombards, and absorbed the influences of the Franks before the rise of the city states governed by influential families such as the Medici.

The countryside is studded with great forts and castles that were erected to withstand each others onslaughts. The heart of Christian traditions still beats in medieval monasteries, abbeys and village churches in a region where the panorama of civilization still unwinds among vineyards and olive groves. This is an earthy region where life seems to spring out of the ground. The scent of living things is in the air we breathe and the food we eat. Everywhere there is a sense of completeness-a completeness of people and their environment. It is a place to visit to stay a few days, weeks or couple of months. Passing a day in Tuscany is also a fascinating adventure which can leave incredible effects , even more incredible if one realizes that all this happens only a few hours drive from industrialized central Europe. An experience for anyone who wants to penetrate not only into history but even into the soul of this ancient and civilized region

Kurt Erich Suckert better known as Curzio Malaparte quoted in a famous book that "Italy would be better off if there were more Tuscans and less Italians, a dead Tuscan is worth more than all of the living Italians put together" Obviously we must not take this quote too seriously knowing the wit that was a major characteristic of the author.

But let's laughingly pretend he was right because Life in Italy is proud to announce that we have put together a team of selected authentic passionate Tuscan locals that we have invited to accompany our guests on a series of tours studied to make you enjoy the region under expertise eyes. A team selected by Dario Castagno best selling author of books such as Too Much Tuscan Sun-A Day in Tuscany & Too Much Tuscan Wine who for years accompanied small groups of tourists through his beloved hills before retiring to living has a hermit.

We somehow have managed to "convince" Dario not only to participate in the tours but to put together a team of licensed guides that will have the pleasure to accompany through these legendary lands whoever is interested in discovering one of the most desired destinations on the planet. We invite you to visit, to stay a few days, weeks or months. Why not come?