Via Liguria into Tuscany

We visited Tuscany a few years ago, and very much fell in love with the place. Expectations had been high, and amazingly enough, they were exceeded! We'd been back since, on the way back from Campania in the South of Italy, but we'd always felt that the place definitely merited a second proper visit.

So as Thursday was off this week, I did "a pont" (took of Friday) to make a really long weekend, during which to visit this lovely part of Italy. This time, the plan was to head off a bit off the beaten path, so we'd booked accommodation in a small village an hour's drive east of Florence. Driving all the way there from Nice was a bit of a tall order, so we decided to spend Wednesday night at Chiavari, a small coastal town in Liguria.

It was a pleasant enough little town, even if we didn't see much of it. We just had time for a decent dinner at the hotel restaurant, and then hit the sack, after a quick walk by the seaside promenade.

Our first stop in Tuscany the next day was Pistoia, located just between Lucca and Florence. Pistoia is your typical medieval Tuscan town. That is to say that it's a very picturesque place, and it would certainly be a big touristy attraction anywhere else in the world. But here in Tuscany, it's somewhat overshadowed by more famous towns like Florence and Siena. Pistoia lent, according to legend, it's name to the pistol, which was manufactured here from the 16th century onwards. In medieval times it was apparently a place of violence an intrigue, as the black and white factions of the Florentine Guelphs fought it out.

The main sight here is the rather stunning Piazza del Duomo, your archetypical Tuscan medieval square, lined with impressive Medieval buildings. There is of course the impressive Romanesque Duomo (which was closed, unfortunately), the Gothic Baptistery, as well as the Palazzo del Commune (with its stunningly decorated interior courtyard), the Palazzo del Podesta (the chief magistrate in medieval times)  and the Palazzo dei Vescovi (the Bishop's palace).

After a short walk around Pistoia (the main highlight was the 13th century Ospedale del Ceppo, with its impressively decorated facade), it was time to head for lunch (always a pleasant activity in Italy!). We ended up in a lovely little place called La Cantinetta, located in a quiet little street not far from the Piazza del Duomo. Great food, great service, and all that for a pretty reasonable price. Great start to our culinary journey in Italy!

Then, it was time to head on. Our next stop was the tiny hilltop village of Fiesola, located just a few kilometres from Florence. The drive up to the village was quite an adventure, with tiny, winding roads taking us up and down the rolling Tuscan hills, until we found ourselves at our destination.

Fiesola is a historic town, which was founded during the 8th-9th century BC by the Etruscans. It was an important member of the Etruscan confederacy, and remained a rather important town through the Roman era right up to Medieval times. For a long time, it was the main rival of Florence, until Fiesole was eventually conquered by the Florentines in 1125. These days the glory days of Fiesole are clearly long gone, but it remains a popular weekend retreat for Florentines, trying to escape the summer heat.

It's a very picturesque place indeed (as are pretty much all places in Tuscany...). The main sight are the impressive Roman ruins, rather stunningly located on the hilltop. There is a rather well-preserved (if reconstructed) Roman theatre, as well as some Roman baths. There was an archaeological museum as well, but we opted to just enjoy the great site, and the views across the Tuscan hills the remarkable location allowed for.

The Roman ruins done, we checked out the impressive Duomo, and then continued walking up the hill to the Monastery of San Francesco (enjoying some great views over Florence and the surrounding countryside on the way up).

There wasn't that much to see at the monastery, but it's a nice and peaceful little place to just relax for a bit. All in all, we loved our little visit of Fiesole - I think we picked the perfect time to visit the place (I can only imagine how busy it gets during the summer).

And then, it was time to head off into the Casentino, where our lodgings were located...