Tuscany the essence of Italia

Wedged between Florence and Rome, rural Tuscany offers the quintessential Italian experience: sun-soaked hill towns, green and rolling screen-saver hills, romantically fortified farms, and cypress trees marching single file up lonely ridges. We go to Italy to experience the finesse of Florence, the splish-splash of Venice, and the grandeur of Rome, but it’s in Tuscany that we find the rustic-yet-elegant essence of Italia.

Built on hilltops for defensive purposes, the lofty perches of Tuscany’s hill towns today seem to protect them only from the modern world. After the hustle and bustle of urban Italy, it can be a joy to downshift to a more peaceful pace.

With a surprising diversity of scenic lanes, abbeys and wineries, the Tuscan countryside is a fine place to abandon your itinerary and just slow down.

This is one part of Italy where I recommend travelling by car. Although driving in Italy isn’t for the faint of heart, in Tuscany it’s a joy on super-scenic small roads — and the best way to lace together the views, villages, and vineyards. Trains link some villages, but stations are likely to be in a valley a few miles from the town centre. Even buses can’t make it up, up, up into some hill towns — some of the steepest villages have escalators serving car parks at the base of their cliffs.

To connect with the rural charm that’s so much a part of our image of Tuscany, stay on a farm — an agriturismo. This kind of rural guesthouse , a working farm, provides a good home base from which to find the magic of the region.

Many agriturismi are dedicated to making sure that their guests are as well fed as their cows. Your hosts may even offer you a “zero kilometre” meal, serving food that is virtually all produced on the farm: olive oil, cheese, prosciutto, bread and wine. That’s a meal that’s truly indimenticabile (my new favourite Italian word, meaning “unforgettable”).

And about that wine: A big reason for visiting Tuscany is to sample the great local wines. The region is dotted with classy wineries elegantly tucked into the hills, and many growers welcome visitors to their vineyards.

But unlike in the U.S., in Tuscany you usually need to book a tasting tour beforehand (a simple phone call a day or two ahead is usually sufficient).

The biggest dilemma facing a first-timer in Tuscany is how to choose from the many hill towns vying for your attention. Here are a few of my favourites:

Volterra

This beautifully preserved jewel, encircled by impressive walls and topped with a grand fortress, is just far enough off the beaten path to keep it feeling genuine. Its long Etruscan history makes for unusually interesting sightseeing for a small town.

San Gimignano

The region’s glamour girl, with 14 surviving medieval towers, San Gimignano is a tourist trap by day but an evocative and traffic-free delight after dark.

Siena

Siena’s stunning main square, the Campo, has a gently tilted floor fanning out into a people-friendly stage set, making it the city’s proud centrepiece and giving the town a medieval allure. This is the ultimate hill town, with redbrick lanes cascading every which way and an unrivalled spirit that any visitor can enjoy.

Montepulciano

This hill town boasts a medieval cityscape like a miniature Florence. With several historic wine cellars and easy access to wine country, it’s my favourite base for exploring the heart of Tuscany. Rooms with a view are standard in this dramatically sited town.