Tuscany is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, artistic legacy and its influence on
. It is regarded as the birthplace of the
and has been home to many figures influential in the history of art and science, and contains well-known museums such as the Uffizi
and the Pitti Palace
. Tuscany produces
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Morellino di Scansano
and Brunello di Montalcino
. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is sometimes considered "a nation within a nation". Seven Tuscan localities have been designated
World Heritage Sites
historic centre of Florence
(1982); the historical centre of Siena
(1995); the square of the Cathedral of Pisa
(1987); the historical centre of San Gimignano
(1990); the historical centre of Pienza
(1996); the Val d'Orcia
(2004), and Medici Villas and Gardens
(2013). Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves
, making Tuscany and its capital Florence popular tourist destinations that attract millions of tourists every year.
In 2012, the city of Florence
became the world's 89th most visited city, with over 1.834 million arrivals.
Tuscany has a western coastline on the
, containing the
, of which the largest island is
. Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 square kilometres (8,878 sq mi). Surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains, and with few (but fertile) plains, the region has a relief that is dominated by hilly country used for
. Hills make up nearly two-thirds (66.5%) of the region's total area, covering 15,292 square kilometres (5,904 sq mi), and mountains (of which the highest are the
), a further 25% (—5,770 square kilometres (2,230 sq mi)). Plains occupy 8.4% of the total area 1,930 square kilometres (750 sq mi),—, mostly around the valley of the
. Many of Tuscany's largest cities lie on the banks of the Arno, including the capital
The climate is fairly mild in the coastal areas, and is harsher and rainy in the interior, with considerable fluctuations in temperature between winter and summer,
giving the region a soil-building active freeze-thaw cycle in part accounting for the region's once having served as a key breadbasket of ancient Rome
) created the first major
in this region, large enough to establish a transport
infrastructure, to implement agriculture
and to produce vibrant art.
The Etruscans lived in Etruria
well into prehistory.
The civilization grew to fill the area between the Arno River
and Tiber River
from the 8th century BC, reaching its peak during the 7th and 6th centuries BC, finally succumbing to the Romans
by the 1st century.
Throughout their existence, they lost territory (in Campania) to Magna Graecia
Despite being seen as distinct in its manners and customs by contemporary Greeks,
the cultures of Greece
, and later Rome, influenced the civilization to a great extent. One reason for its eventual demise
was this increasing absorption by surrounding cultures, including the adoption of the Etruscan upper class by the Romans.
Soon after absorbing Etruria, Rome established the cities of
, endowed the area with new technologies and development, and ensured peace.
These developments included extensions of existing roads, introduction of aqueducts and sewers, and the construction of many buildings, both public and private. However, many of these structures have been destroyed by erosion due to weather.
The Roman civilization in the West collapsed in the 5th century AD and the region fell briefly to Goths
to be re-conquered by the Byzantine Empire
. In the years following 572, the
arrived and designated Lucca
the capital of their Duchy of Tuscia
travelling along the Via Francigena
brought wealth and development during the medieval period
The food and shelter required by these travellers fuelled the growth of communities around churches and taverns.
The conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines
, factions supporting the
and the Holy Roman Empire
in central and northern Italy
during the 12th and 13th centuries, split the Tuscan people.
These two factors gave rise to several powerful and rich medieval communes
in Tuscany: Arezzo
Balance between these communes was ensured by the assets they held; Pisa, a port; Siena, banking; and Lucca, banking and silk.
By the renaissance
, however, Florence had become the cultural capital of Tuscany.
One family that benefitted from Florence's growing wealth and power was the ruling Medici Family. Lorenzo de' Medici
was one of the most famous of the Medici and the legacy of this time is still visible today in the prodigious art and architecture in Florence. One of his famous descendants, Catherine de Medici
, married Prince Henry (later King Henry II) of France in 1533.
epidemic hit Tuscany starting in 1348.
It eventually killed 50% to 60% of Tuscans.
According to Melissa Snell, "Florence
lost a third of its population in the first six months of the plague, and from 45% to 75% of its population in the first year."
In 1630, Florence and Tuscany were once again ravaged by the plague
, is regarded as the birthplace of the
. Though "Tuscany" remained a linguistic, cultural and geographic conception, rather than a political reality, in the 15th century, Florence extended its dominion in Tuscany through the annexation of Arezzo in 1384, the purchase of Pisa in 1405 and the suppression of a local resistance there (1406). Livorno was bought as well (1421).
The Sienese commune was not incorporated into Tuscany until 1555, and during the 15th century Siena enjoyed a cultural 'Sienese Renaissance' with its own more conservative character. Lucca remained an independent Republic until 1847 when it became part of
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
by the will of its people. Piombino
and other strategic towns constituted the tiny State of Presidi
under Spanish control.
In the 16th century, the
, rulers of Florence, annexed the
Republic of Siena
, creating the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
. The Medici family became extinct in 1737 with the death of
, and Tuscany was transferred to Francis,
Duke of Lorraine
and husband of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa
, who let rule the country by his son. The dynasty of the Lorena ruled Tuscany until 1860, with the exception of the Napoleonic period, when most of the country was annexed to the French Empire. After the
Second Italian War of Independence
, a revolution evicted the last Grand Duke, and after a plebiscite Tuscany became part of the new Kingdom of Italy. From 1864 to 1870 Florence became the second capital of the kingdom.
, the area came under the dominance of local
leaders as Dino Perrone Compagni
(from Florence), and Costanzo
and Galeazzo Ciano
(from Leghorn). Following the fall of Mussolini and the armistice of 8 September 1943, Tuscany became part of the Nazi controlled Italian Social Republic
, and was conquered almost totally by the Anglo-American forces during summer 1944. Following the end of the Social Republic, and the transition from the Kingdom to the modern
, Tuscany once more flourished as a cultural center of Italy. After the establishment of regional autonomy in 1975, Tuscany has always been ruled by center-left governments.
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Tuscany has an immense cultural and artistic heritage, expressed in the region's churches, palaces, art galleries, museums, villages and piazzas. Many of these artifacts are found in the main cities, such as
, but also in smaller villages scattered around the region, such as
Tuscany has a unique artistic legacy, and
is one of the world's most important water-color centres, even so that it is often nicknamed the "art palace of Italy" (the city is also believed to have the largest concentration of Renaissance art and architecture in the world).
Painters such as Cimabue
, the fathers of Italian painting, lived in Florence and Tuscany as well as Arnolfo and
, renewers of architecture and sculpture;
, forefathers of the Renaissance, Ghiberti and the Della Robbias,
and Angelico; Botticelli
and the universal genius of Leonardo da Vinci
refers to artists in, from or influenced by the naturalistic
style developed in the 14th century, largely through the efforts of Giotto di Bondone, and in the 15th century the leading school of the world. Some of the best known artists of the Florentine School are
flourished in Siena
between the 13th and 15th centuries and for a time rivaled Florence, though it was more conservative, being inclined towards the decorative beauty and elegant grace of late
Gothic art. Its most important representatives include
Duccio, whose work shows Byzantine influence; his pupil
and Ambrogio Lorenzetti;
and Taddeo di Bartolo;
and Matteo di Giovanni. Unlike the naturalistic
Florentine art, there is a mystical streak in Sienese art[who?], characterized by a common focus on miraculous events, with less attention to proportions, distortions of time and place, and often dreamlike coloration. In the 16th century the Mannerists
and Il Sodoma
worked there. While Baldassare Peruzzi was born and trained in Siena, his major works and style reflect his long career in Rome. The economic and political decline of Siena by the 16th century, and its eventual subjugation by Florence, largely checked the development of Sienese painting, although it also meant that many Sienese works in churches and public buildings were not discarded or destroyed by new paintings or rebuilding. Siena remains a remarkably well-preserved Italian late-Medieval town.
Lucchese School, also known as the School of Lucca and as the Pisan-Lucchese School, was a school of painting and sculpture that flourished in the 11th and 12th centuries in the western and southern part of the region, with an important center in
Volterra. The art is mostly anonymous. Although not as elegant or delicate as the
Florentine School, Lucchese works are remarkable for their monumentality.
Apart from standard
, in Tuscany many varieties of 'Tuscan dialect
' (dialetto toscano
) are spoken.
Tuscany has a rich ancient and modern musical tradition, and has produced numerous composers and musicians, including
and Pietro Mascagni
is the main musical centre of Tuscany. The city was at the heart of much of our Western musical tradition. It was there that the Florentine Camerata
convened in the mid-16th century and experimented with setting tales of Greek mythology to music and staging, resulting in the first operas, fostering the further development of the operatic form, and the later developments of separate "classical" forms such as the symphony
There are numerous musical centres in Tuscany.
is indelibly connected with the name of Guido d'Arezzo
, the 11th-century monk who invented modern musical notation and the do-re-mi system of naming notes of the scale;
hosted possibly the greatest Italian composer of Romanticism
, Giacomo Puccini and
is well known for the Accademia Musicale Chigiana
, an organization that currently sponsors major musical activities such as the Siena Music Week and the Alfredo Casella International Composition Competition. Other important musical centres in Tuscany include
Several famous writers and poets are from Tuscany, most notably Florentine author
. Tuscany's literary scene particularly thrived in the 13th century and the Renaissance.
In Tuscany, especially in the Middle Ages, popular love poetry existed. A school of imitators of the Sicilians was led by
Dante da Majano
, but its literary originality took another line — that of humorous and satirical poetry. The democratic form of government created a style of poetry which stood strongly against the medieval mystic and chivalrous style. Devout invocation of God or of a lady came from the
and the castle
; in the streets of the cities everything that had gone before was treated with ridicule or biting
Folgore da San Gimignano
laughs when in his sonnets he tells a party of Sienese youths the occupations of every month in the year, or when he teaches a party of Florentine lads the pleasures of every day in the week. Cenne della Chitarra laughs when he parodies Folgore's sonnets. The sonnets of Rustico di Filippo are half-fun and half-satire, as is the work of Cecco Angiolieri
of Siena, the oldest humorist we know, a far-off precursor of Rabelais
Another type of poetry also began in Tuscany. Guittone d'Arezzo made art abandon chivalry and Provençal forms for national motives and Latin forms. He attempted political poetry, and although his work is often obscure, he prepared the way for the Bolognese school. Bologna was the city of science, and
poetry appeared there. Guido Guinizelli
was the poet after the new fashion of the art. In his work the ideas of chivalry are changed and enlarged. Only those whose heart is pure can be blessed with true love, regardless of class. He refuted the traditional credo of courtly love, for which love is a subtle philosophy only a few chosen knights and princesses could grasp. Love is blind to blasons but not to a good heart when it finds one: when it succeeds it is the result of the spiritual, not physical affinity between two souls. Guinizzelli's democratic view can be better understood in the light of the greater equality and freedom enjoyed by the city-states of the center-north and the rise of a middle class eager to legitimise itself in the eyes of the old nobility, still regarded with respect and admiration but in fact dispossessed of its political power. Guinizelli's Canzoni
make up the bible of Dolce Stil Novo, and one in particular, "Al cor gentil" ("To a Kind Heart") is considered the manifesto of the new movement which will bloom in Florence under Cavalcanti, Dante and their followers. His poetry has some of the faults of the school of d'Arezzo. Nevertheless, he marks a great development in the history of Italian art, especially because of his close connection with Dante's lyric poetry
In the 13th century, there were several major
. One of these is by
, who was a close friend of Dante. His
is a short poem, in seven-syllable verses, rhyming in couplets, in which the author professes to be lost in a wilderness and to meet with a lady, who represents Nature, from whom he receives much instruction. We see here the vision, the allegory, the instruction with a moral object, three elements which we shall find again in the Divine Comedy
. Francesco da Barberino, a learned lawyer who was secretary to
, and a
, wrote two little allegorical poems, the
and Del reggimento e dei costumi delle donne
. The poems today are generally studied not as literature, but for historical context. A fourth allegorical work was the
, which is sometimes attributed to Compagni, but is probably only a
of French poems.
Simplicity is central to the
, bread, cheese, vegetables, mushrooms and fresh
are used. Olive oil is made up of Moraiolo, Leccino, and Frantoiano olives. White truffles
from San Miniato
appear in October and November. Beef of the highest quality comes from the Chiana Valley, specifically a breed known as Chianina
used for Florentine steak
is also produced.
Wine is a famous and common produce of Tuscany.
is arguably the most well-known internationally. So many British tourists come to the area where Chianti wine is produced that this specific area has been nicknamed Chiantishire
Between 1851 and 1860,
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
, an independent Italian state until 1859 when it joined the
United Provinces of Central Italy
, produced two postage stamp issues which are among the most prized
issues of the world, and include the most valuable Italian stamp. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was an independent Italian state from 1569 to 1859, but was occupied by France
from 1808 to 1814. The Duchy comprised most of the present area of Tuscany, and its capital was Florence
. In December 1859, the Grand Duchy officially ceased to exist, being joined to the Duchies of
to form the United Provinces of Central Italy, which was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia
a few months later in March 1860. In 1862 it became part of Italy, and joined the Italian postal system.
The subsoil in Tuscany is relatively rich in mineral resources, with iron ore, copper, mercury and lignite mines, the famous soffioni (fumarole) at
and the vast marble mines in Versilia
. Although its share is falling all the time, agriculture still contributes to the region's economy. In the region's inland areas cereals, potatoes, olives and grapes (for the world-famous
wines) are grown. The swamplands, which used to be marshy, now produce vegetables, rice, tobacco, beets and sunflowers.
The industrial sector is dominated by mining, given the abundance of underground resources. Also of note are textiles, chemicals/pharmaceuticals, metalworking and steel, glass and ceramics, clothing and printing/publishing sectors. Smaller areas specialising in manufacturing and craft industries are found in the hinterland: the leather and footwear area in the south-west part of the province of
, the hot-house plant area in
, the ceramics and textile industries in the
area, scooters and motorcycles in Pontedera
, and the processing of timber for the manufacture of wooden furniture in the
area. The heavy industries (mining, steel and mechanical engineering) are concentrated along the coastal strip (Livorno
areas), where there are also important chemical industries. Also of note are the marble (Carrara
area) and paper industries (Lucca
Many towns and cities in Tuscany have great natural and architectural beauty. There are many visitors throughout the year. As a result, the services and distribution activities, so important to the region's economy, are wide-ranging and well-organised.
An example of the services and distribution activities that have evolved in the Tuscan countryside are Agritourismos.
is a phenomenon developed in the Italian Countryside. The sustainability
of Family Farms is achieved through the unique functions of Agritourism. It achieves environmental sustainability
as well as financial and cultural sustainability, through funding from the government, traditional/organic agriculture techniques, traditional food preparation and the functions of a Bed and Breakfast/restaurant. As younger generations of farmers take over we can see the application of WWOOF
volunteers, interns, educational outreach
programs, and permaculture
techniques. The potential for development of educational outreach in regards to the work and lifestyle of the family farm is high and important to the development of communities.
The fashion and textile industry are the pillars of the Florentine economy. In the 15th century, Florentines were working with luxury textiles such as wool and silk. Today the greatest designers in Europe utilize the textile industry in Tuscany, and especially Florence.
Italy has one of the strongest textile industries in Europe, accounting for approximately one quarter of European production. Its turnover is over 25 billion euros. It is the third largest supplier of clothing after China and Japan. The Italian fashion industry generates 60% of its turnover abroad.
The population density of Tuscany, with 161 inhabitants per square kilometre (420/sq mi) in 2008, is below the national average (198.8/km2
or 515/sq mi). This is due to the low population density of the provinces of Arezzo, Siena and primarily, Grosseto (50/km2
or 130/sq mi). The highest density is found in the province of Prato (675/km2
or 1,750/sq mi) followed by the provinces of Pistoia, Livorno, Florence and Lucca, peaking in the cities of Florence (more than 3,500/km2
or 9,100/sq mi), Livorno, Prato, Viareggio, Forte dei Marmi and Montecatini Terme (all with a population density of more than 1,000/km2
or 2,600/sq mi). The territorial distribution of the population is closely linked to the socio-cultural and, more recently, economic and industrial development of Tuscany.
Accordingly, the least densely populated areas are those where the main activity is agriculture, unlike the others where, despite the presence of a number of large industrial complexes, the main activities are connected with tourism and associated services, alongside many small firms in the leather, glass, paper and clothing sectors.
make up 93% of the total population. Starting from the 1980s, the region attracted a large flux of immigrants, particularly from China
. There is also a significant community of British and American residents. As of 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 275,149 foreign-born immigrants live in Tuscany, equal to 7% of the total regional population.
Tuscany is divided into nine provinces and one Metropolitan City:
|Province of Arezzo
|Metropolitan City of Florence
|Province of Grosseto
|Province of Livorno
|Province of Lucca
|Province of Massa and Carrara
|Province of Pisa
|Province of Pistoia
|Province of Prato
|Province of Siena
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2013 Election report
2014 Election report