Exclusive Places to Visit, Things to do and Experiences in Italy, Greece, Spain and Croatia

In February I went to San Gimignano (SI) to get to the top of "Torre Salvucci Maggiore", one of the famous towers that stand out from the “Medieval Manhattan” skyline. When I started catching sight of buildings’ outline from my car along the road to get there, I understood why it obtained this name: just like the Chrysler Building next to the Empire State, these towers really look like skyscrapers. The difference is that these were built eight centuries ago. It’s absurd that nobody ever associates the word “skyscraper” to the picture of San Gimignano, because it’s actually in this city that we can find the original foundations of today’s modern metropolises. San Gimignano enjoys a global fame: at least once in life we’ve heard someone talking about its high towers, we’ve come across a photograph that captures it or we’ve studied its architecture, as it’s almost intact since the Middle Ages. This small center in the province of Siena is found on a Val d’Elsa hill and it dominates hundreds of olive trees’ crowns, shadows of cypresses and rows of vineyards. Even UNESCO rewarded san Gimignano as a “World Heritage” some years ago because of its peculiar medieval aspect. THE TOWERS Undoubtedly, its “mascottes” are the towers: in 1300 they were 72, in 1580 they were 25 while today no more than 14 are still standing. In the past, they were the symbol of families’ power: the higher the tower, the more important were considered the lords that lived in it. Therefore, height-competitions between stone-giants began and nobles used unscrupulous tricks to win, like cutting the upper part of each other’s tower. This is why the city established a guideline to prevent to exceed a 51 meters’ height: this limit has been respected by all the towers towers except for the Torre Grossa, which is 54m high. The oldest building, the Torre Rognosa, was erected in 1200 and is 51m high while the other towers are: Torre del Diavolo, Torre Antica, Torre Chigi, Torre dei Becci, Torre Campatelli, Torre degli Ardinghelli, Campanile della Collegiata, Torre Pettini, Torre Ficherelli, Torre di Palazzo Pellari, Casa-Torre Pesciolini and Torri dei Salvucci. These two “torri” are actually two twin towers built by the Salvucci family in the XIII century in order to show their unrivalled power in the city to their neighbours. Unfortunately, the vertiginous height didn’t fall within rules’ limits so they were cut at different levels: one was called “Torre Salvucci Minore” and the other "Torre Salvucci Maggiore" TORRE SALVUCCI MAGGIORE The higher one, the “maggiore”, was recently renewed to give you the possibility to experience out-of-the-common and unique stays. In fact its single apartment is composed by 10 floors connected to each other by 160 stairs and it’s got a panoramic terrace, where it is possible to admire a 360° panorama of the surrounding landscape. From the last floor the sweet hills covered by rows of vineyards, the towers, the stone houses, the paths skirted by cypresses and the olive trees orchards spread as far as the eye can see. In the neighbouring building there is another apartment, whose windows overlook on the “Piazza del Duomo” and therefore have a magnificent view. There aren’t other towers with these features: the ancient residence inside the other palaces are not habitable anymore and it isn’t even possible to visit them all. Here’s why Posarelli Villas offers to city visitors a special experience renting the two “Torre Salvucci” apartments and opening their doors to history and beauty lovers. This tower grants a comfortable and relaxing sojourn as it’s found in the middle of city’s historical center, in a pedestrian area close to many restaurants, museums and historical monuments. A few kilometers away from San Gimignano there are also some art cities like Volterra (21km), Siena (47 km) and villages like Certaldo (8km) and Monteriggioni (21 km) that I really suggest to visit during your stay. THINGS TO DO IN SAN GIMIGNANO There are innumerable “must do” and “must see” in this Tuscan New Yok City and a single day is not enough to appreciate them to the fullest. For example, the Dome square strikes for the beauty of its buildings and for its XII century “Duomo”, one of the best examples of the Tuscan Romanic style, with various frescos inside it. Do not forget to stop by and visit the Palazzo Comunale, Piazza Pecori, Palazzo Vecchio del Podestà. Porta S.Giovanni, Rocca di Montestaffoli, Piazza di Sant’Agostino, Casa di Santa Fina, Porta delle Fonti and the Ex-Conservatorio di Santa Chiara. Further to the several things to do, visit and see, it’s important to remind that each new city has a culinary tradition ready to be discovered: San Gimignano is well-known for the Vernaccia, a white wine which was drunk and loved by Dante and Lorenzo the Magnificent in the past and for its saffron, the “yellow gold” used as a currency to pay debts. It was partly thanks to this noble spice that the importance and the richness of this city were recognized in the whole peninsula. Another aspect in its favor was the position along the famous Via Francigena, the age-old road that connected Canterbury to Rome and that was traveled by thousands of pilgrims every year.

The thriller novel “Inferno” by Dan Brown has achieved a resounding success all over the world and it is now considered a masterpiece of contemporary literature. It has also inspired a movie with Tom Hanks, released in cinemas on October 13th. So why don’t you make the most out of your holiday in Tuscany to retrace his steps and to accompany Professor Langdon in Florence? Here’s a list of the mentioned places in the novel as well as some extra information that will allow you to transform into the book’s protagonist and to see the city under a totally new point of view. 1) BADIA BELL TOWER/BADIA FIORENTINA Via del Proconsolo, 50122 Firenze. Ingresso Gratuito. In the first chapter, the Shadow plunges from the bell tower in order to escape from his chasers. The Badia Fiorentina in one of the oldest churches in Florence but it’s not so well known, because it’s hidden between other buildings where it almost camouflages itself. It was founded in 978 as a Benedictine Abbey, in 1285 the architect Arnolfo di Cambio accomplished a gothic-style restoration and in 1627 it was renewed once again. The bell tower was erected between 1310 and 1330 and it stands out in the Florentine skyline between Palazzo Vecchio and the Bargello. 2)PORTA ROMANA AND THE ART INSTITUTE Piazzale di Porta Romana, 9 The “Porta Romana” is Florence southern door, it’s the best conserved (it dates back to 1326) and it leads directly to its historic center. On its right, there is the access door to the “Giardino di Boboli” used by Sienna and Langdon in the book, while straight ahead you will find a tree-lined boulevard leading to the “Istituto d’arte di porta Romana”. In the past, this building hosted the royal stables and a collection of thousands of chalk statues. 3)GIARDINO DI BOBOLI Piazza Pitti, 1. Free entrance under 18 years old and Florence residents. 7€ from palazzo pitti and Forte del Belvedere entrances, 10€ from Porta Romana entrance, 3,50€ for UE citizens between 18 and 25. The Florentine “cetral park” is a real open-air museum and the most famous example of the “Italian garden”. It was commissioned by the Medici family and, afterwards, it hosted Tuscany’s Grand Dukes and Italy’s king. In his 45000 square meters’ area there are hidden architectural, artistic and natural treasures: not even Langdon, during his escape, can stay indifferent in front of their beauty. Together with Sienna, he reaches the “Grotta del Buontalenti”, a splendid space divided in three smaller rooms that imitates a natural grotto and that hosts some important art masterpieces. 4) CORRIDOIO VASARIANO Through a small door in Palazzo Pitti, the couple enters into the hallway to reach Palazzo Vecchio quickly and indiscreetly. It’s actually an 800-meters secret passage commissioned by Cosimo I de’Medici in 1565 to Giorgio Vasari, in order to guarantee an escape route for his family in case of necessity. It conserves dozens of beautiful paintings but it’s not so easy to see them: the visits to the Corridoio are exclusively guided, on reservation and for alimited number of visitors. 5) PALAZZO VECCHIO Piazza della Signoria. Free entrance under 18 years old; Reduced prica: 8€ (for university students, over 65 and 18-25); full price:12€. The hallway ends inside Palazzo Vecchio, which is a building in “bugnato rustico” erected in 1299 by Arnolfo di Cambio and that today hosts Florence town council. A part of it has been transformed into a museum with masterpieces of artists like Verrocchio, Bronzino and Michelangelo. Through a series of secret passages, Sienna and Robert reach the Sala delle Carte Geografiche, the area above the “Salone dei Cinquecento” (with Vasari’s “Battaglia di Marciano”), the “Studiolo di Francesco I” and the hallway with Dante death mask . I suggest to try the “Passaggi segreti” tour (offered by Palazzo Vecchio) or the new “I luoghi dell’inferno”, to discover all the places mentioned by the book. 6) MUSEO CASA DI DANTE Via S. Margherita, 1. Full price: 4€; Reduced price: 2€ It’s in this area that the Alighieri family inhabited and where Dante was born in 1265: today, their house hosts a three-floors museum about the poet and his “Divine Comedy”. Sienna and Langdon are unable to get in because, as it’s Monday, they find it closed: even in the real world Monday is its closing day. 7) BATTISTERO DI SAN GIOVANNI The last step of their adventure is the Battistero di San Giovanni, where they find Dante’s mask hidden in the baptismal fontd. Built in 1128 with white and green marble, the building has three bronze doors made by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti, among which the famous Porta del Paradiso. In addition to the font, inside the Battistero there is also a huge and precious mosaic that immediately captures the attentions of those who get in.

Some months ago, I had the opportunity to visit the small center of Cetona (SI) and its ancient medieval castle, the "Rocca", where it is possible to stay to enjoy unforgettable holidays. It’s unusual to hear someone talk about this village, although it is an authentic jewel of Tuscany’s countryside that deserves to be visited at least once in a lifetime. This 3000 -inhabitants’ village is found in the southern part of Siena’s province, a few kilometers away from the regional borders with Umbria and Lazio. Here, we’re a long way from Florence: the people I meet don’t speak in the same way and their “Florentine” accent has transformed in something different that I’m not able to define clearly. However, Cetona still conserves the typical traits of a Tuscan medieval village “drawn with stone and earthenware” and its wooden and brick houses are actually so close to each other that they look interwoven. This bijou in immersed in the middle of green woods, right in the front of the Mount Cetona, which is 1148 meters high and crossed by twelve paths that allow to discover its most hidden treasures. The beauty of this place is indisputable: indeed, it’s been elected one of the most beautiful Italian “borghi” by ANAI association. It also adheres to the “Città dell’Olio” (oil Cities) and “Città del Vino” (wine cities) associations and it hosts the “Sul filo dell’olio” celebration during the first two weekends of November. It’s a festivity that highlights the local food, art and music and its protagonist is the locally produced “olio nuovo”. It is also possible to taste it along the streets and to visit the numerous olive oil mills. On the other hand, Cetona’s typical dish is “pici con l’aglione”, a first course with big handmade spaghetti seasoned with tomato sauce, a lot of garlic and pepper. Many restaurants here present them in their menus, along with many other delicious traditional recipes. The name “Cetona” doesn’t remind of any other Italian word: some believe that it derives from the name of an ancient paleochristian abbey called “baptisterium Sancti Johannis de Queneto o de Queteno” or “plebs Sancti Johannis de Scetona, but it may also refer to the Chieteno brook that flows in this area. The first historical reference about Cetona dates back to VII-VI centuries BC, when Etruscans occupied the territory near Camposervoli: some 20th century excavations have exhumed several bronze age’s artifacts which are now conserved in the “Museo Civico per la Preistoria del Monte Cetona”. During Middle Age, the village firstly belonged to the Republic of Orvieto, then it became part of Siena’s territory and it was finally included to the Granduchy of Tucany in 1556. There are innumerable ancient buildings that need to be seen in this place, although a simple walk along the stone-paved streets that run along the mount, the so-called “coasts”, is enough to realize that every corner of this place hides a unique beauty. For example, in its historical center you will find the “S. Francesco monastery”, built in 1212, the “San Michele Arcangelo church”, dating back to 1155, and the “Collegiata della Santissima Trinità”, which is a gothic-style church decorated with a Pinturicchio fresco. There is also Piazza Garibaldi, a huge oval square completed in the 16th century by Gian Luigi Vitelli that hosts the new visitors. It actually surprises everybody for its enormous dimensions compared to the smallness of the village. The position of Cetona is certainly strategic and perfect to get to interesting centers like Chiusi, Sarteano, Pienza and Montepulciano in a few minutes, and to cities like Siena, Perugia, Assis and Arezzo in less than an hour and a half. It’s a simple, characteristic and serene city that is suitable to become a stop of your holiday in Tuscany. Whoever raises his look from the streets of Cetona cannot ignore the famous Rocca, which dominates the village from its highest point. It’s also its most ancient site (it dates back to X century) and some other buildings have been added to it over the centuries. The principal structure was erected in 16th century by marquis Chiappino Vitelli, who included a door and a preexisting defensive tower to the new palace, which became his luxurious property. The two acres of the park around the villa are decorated by hundreds of flowers, rows of olive trees, centuries-old plants and a big stone-built swimming pool, made using the travertine stone of an ancient roman bridge surrounded. One of castle’s accesses allows to reach the city center in a couple of minutes and to take advantage of a walk through the beautiful boulevards or of a local taste-itinerary. This small castle in the middle of Siena’s countryside is surrounded by a serenity aura that nobody would pass up. One night here is able to transform every guest into a renaissance prince, owner of its fortress and surrounded by luxury and beauty. Actually, staying in the Rocca for at least one night is the only way possible to visit it, as it’s a private property that Posarelli Villas rents to offer dreamy stays to its guests.

Every year hundreds of people choose Italy as a location for their wedding and Tuscany is one of the most popular destinations in the Country to get married! If you too dream of celebrating your wedding in the beautiful and rolling hills of the region, but you don't know how to organize the event or what to do, this article is for you. Below you will find some tips to turn your dream wedding in Tuscany into reality!