Ever since the Etruscans dropped by to party, they decided that they were going to stay, as Tuscany grabbed them all too easily. The Romans stocked their grain silos here and Christians walked their stages of the medieval pilgrimage route. Florence’s historic churches and monuments were a key stop for British aristocrats on 19th-century Grand Tours and this remained so. At sundown when the River Arno turns pink, whether you like things old-fashioned or boutique chic, this handsome city will oblige happily. The art. Oh, the art, The Etruscans indulged their fondness for classy sent off with exquisite funerary objects, and the Romans, always partial to forcing their own importance upon others, left their usual legacy of monumental sculptures. But it was during the medieval and Renaissance periods that Tuscany really struck gold, with painters, sculptors and architects creating world-class masterpieces. Stored and safeguarded today in churches, museums and galleries all over the region, art in Tuscany is truly unmatched. Edgy street art in Florence and countryside sculpture parks bring the art scene right up to the 21st century.
