Tuscany suggested itineraries

Like a necklace of precious jewels which ends in a lily shaped pendant; Tuscany is home to a string of art cities, which is crowned with the region's marvelous capital city of Florence. This itinerary is devoted to a few of these gems.

Our tour of Tuscan art cities commences in Prato, with a visit to the Emperor's Castle, also known as the Fortress of S. Barbara or Castello Svevo, and the only example of Frederician architecture in the region. Constructed between 1237 and 1248, the castle was once the seat of the Imperial Viceroy of Tuscany. The "cassero", a super-elevated fortified walk, was built to unite the impressive stronghold with the city perimeter walls. Prato's Basilica of Santa Maria delle Carceri, just meters from the castle, is a splendid example of Renaissance architecture. The brightly colored majolica frieze running along the perimeter of the church has been almost universally attributed to Andrea della Robbia. The Romanesque-Gothic cathedral of Santo Stefano is embellished with frescoes by none other than the great Renaissance artists Paolo Uccello and Filippo Lippi. Prato has been famous since the middle ages for the manufacture and trade of textiles, activities to which the city's Textile Museum, located in the restored Ex Cimatoria Campolmi factory, is dedicated.

From Prato we proceed to Pistoia, a journey well worth making if only to see the city's stunning Piazza del Duomo, now used as open air venue for the annual "Pistoia Blues" music festival, held here each July. The square once represented the heart of both the city's religious and political life and, in fact, facing on to the Piazza we find not only the city's principal house of worship, the Cathedral of San Zeno, and the Palazzo dei Vescovi, but also the Palazzo del Comune and Palazzo Pretorio. The cathedral houses a masterpiece of medieval Italian silversmithing, in the form of the altar of San Jacopo, a work which took almost two centuries to complete.

Having completed our tour of Pistoia, we take a relaxing break at Montecatini Terme, in one of the city's many celebrated thermal baths. Those traveling with children should be sure to visit the small town of Collodi, where the writer of Pinocchio, Carlo Lorenzini, was born. The Pinocchio Park is a fun park in which numerous artists have worked to recreate the Adventures of Pinocchio. Within the park we find the garden of Villa Garzoni, which represents a beautiful combination of Renaissance geometric harmony and Baroque flamboyance, and the Collodi Butterfly House: a tropical garden which is home to hundreds of butterflies, from every corner of the globe.

Often referred to as the City of a Hundred Churches, Lucca is a veritable open-air museum. The most important of the city's churches is the Romanesque cathedral of San Martino, with its multicolored marble façade, embellished with works by artists of the caliber of Nicola Pisano. Inside the church we find the Tomb of the second wife of the merchant tyrant Paolo Guinigi, Ilaria del Carretto, who died in 1405 at the tender age of twenty-six, after giving birth to her second child. The tomb was realized in Gothic-Renaissance style by Jacopo della Quercia in 1407. Lucca's Renaissance perimeter wall is still intact and provides a stunning walkway and cycle path all the way round the city.

Our journey concludes in Pisa's Piazza dei Miracoli. The leaning tower, which shares the square with the magnificent cathedral and baptistery, is one of Italy's best-known tourist attractions. The cathedral, built between the 11th and 12th century is a splendid example of Romanesque architecture. The interior is divided into five naves, and houses the magnificent Gothic pulpit sculpted by Giovanni Pisano. Building of the cathedral's bell tower, now known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, commenced in 1173. The tower's gravity defying inclination, was caused by the sudden subsidence of the earth beneath the tower during its construction.