Unforgettable hotels and inspirational travel ideas.

Of all the regions of Italy, Tuscany has by far the greatest concentration of artistic and architectural masterpieces: artworks dating from medieval times to the Renaissance and beyond, which are proudly displayed within the walls of both the region’s magnificent old cities and the tiny hilltop towns which punctuate Tuscany’s much painted landscapes.

For many, Tuscany is associated with the gently undulating profile of the Chianti hillside, the taste of fine wine, and the golden green color of its rolling fields and highly prized extra virgin olive oil. For others, memories of Tuscany are linked to the sweet perfume of the countryside surrounding Siena and the shimmering sea of Versilia. For all who come here, or dream of doing so, Tuscany represents a magical place in which both man and nature seem to have been inspired by the same quest for perfection. Whether it be a landscape, a cathedral, or a painting; in Tuscany everything appears to have been blessed with the same gift of beauty.

The homeland of great masters of 14th, 15th and 16th century art, such as Giotto, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo; Tuscany is the birthplace of the Renaissance. It was here also, in the midst of great cultural and political ferment, that the writings of Dante, Petrach and Boccaccio led to the birth of the Italian Language, a language now studied and protected by the "Accademia della Crusca". In Tuscany every village, town and city is still happy to tell the story of its glorious past: whether it is in Florence, the Tuscan capital and city of the Medici; in Pisa, once home to the powerful Marine Republic; enclosed within the massif perimeter walls of Lucca; in the contrade which compete for the Palio of Siena; or in the shadow of the soaring towers of San Gimignano.

Italy's Piedmont is an incredibly varied borderland region characterized by soaring massifs, immense lakes, rolling hillsides, fertile plains and historic towns and cities, the latter all filled to the brim with historic buildings, art, and ancient legends.

For much of the year carpeted by a thick layer of snow, the Alps of Piedmont have defeated all but the most intrepid of mountaineers. The more accessible mountain slopes, equipped with chair lifts and cable cars, provide a quite spectacular high altitude playground for the world’s skiers and snowboarders. Where there are mountains there are lakes and it is then, no surprise that Piedmont has so many "laghi", the largest of which is Lake Maggiore, its shores lined with sumptuous period residences, magnificent landscaped gardens, and luxury hotels. Today, it is hard to imagine how the beautiful countryside of Monferrato and Langhe, where Piedmont’s marvelous Barolo and sparkling spumante wines are produced and the venerated truffles of Alba grow, once provided the stage for some of the saddest chapters in recent Italian history. Indeed, as often brutally recounted in the works of Fenoglio and Pavese, much partisan blood was spilled in these very hills.

Piedmont and, in particular, its capital city, Turin, has always played a major role in the history and evolution of Italy. A key player in the unification of Italy, in 1861 Turin was proclaimed first capital city of the Kingdom of Italy. The city’s Lingotto car factory, once the largest in the world, became a symbol of Italian industrialization. Home to the Egyptian Museum (for many second only to that in Cairo) and to the Holy Shroud (on display in the cathedral), Turin, like other cities and towns in Piedmont, conserves both ancient memories and many, as yet unsolved, mysteries. Rooted in tradition, Piedmont is where Italy’s oldest Palio takes place; the horse race contested by the districts of Asti. Once home to the Savoy dinasty, the landscape of Piedmont is still littered with the family’s sumptuous royal residences.