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The Best Day in Tuscany
Have you ever met anyone who said they don’t love Italy? Not me; I love everything about that country: The food, the beauty, the people, the history. Italy has many amazing cities, but Florence is at the top of my list. Caprese salad and gelato everyday, yes please. I watched “Under the Tuscan Sun” probably one too many times growing up, and as a result I cannot fathom who wouldn’t want to buy a run-down villa in Tuscany, meet an Italian love interest, and live happily ever after while eating fresh pressed olive oil and drinking Chianti wine?
One of my favorite activities while exploring new cities is seeing them on a bicycle tour, so as soon as I saw my itinerary for work was taking me to Florence, I began planning a bicycle tour for my crew members during our day off. The plan was to bicycle through Tuscany, stop at a Villa where they made olive oil and Chianti for lunch, and then head back to our hotel.
Beautiful Florence
Tuscany is a region in Central Italy that spans almost 23,000 square kilometers, and as such there are many villages and cities that you can visit within Tuscany. The city that I most highly recommend visiting though is Florence; the Chianti region is right outside. Florence requires one or two days to explore and enjoy the breathtakingly fantastic city, but The Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore and Michelangelo’s sculpture of David cannot be missed if you only have a short time.
The last time I was in Florence, I discovered a fantastic antique flea market while walking through the Santa Croce neighborhood near San Lorenzo Market: the antique flea market in Piazza dei Ciompi. I love antique jewelry and saw quite a few exquisite pieces. Sadly I did not have as much time as I would have liked to look, but I would go back in a heartbeat.
Where to stay?
Suppose you desire to stay in a Tuscan Villa, In that case, I highly recommend staying at the Art Hotel Villa Agape. The hotel is just outside of Florence and includes a shuttle to take you into the city.
Or
If you would love to be right in Florence, may I recommend Palazzo Lorenzo Hotel Boutique & Spa
You really can’t go wrong with either of these, trust me!
Bicycling through the Best Day in Tuscany!
So there we were, an Air Force crew ready early one morning to bicycle through Tuscany! The morning air was crisp but the sun was shining, and it would be a fantastic day. We met the Viator.com tour guide at one of their offices. Our tour guide prepared an espresso with cinnamon for all of us; it was delightful, and I loved it so much that I bought one of those fun Italian espresso makers to take home.
Viator.com is my number one go to for planning tours all over the world- they are simply top notch when it comes to tours. The bike tour that we booked is Tuscan Country Bike Tour from Florence, Including Wine and Olive Oil Tastings. Our guide adjusted all of the bikes for us, loaded them up in the van, and away we went. We drove through the roads you see in photos of Tuscany with the beautiful Italian Cypress trees. We were there in the spring, so all the beautiful red poppies and other gorgeous wildflowers in the fields were emerging. Magical!
Our Viator guide was so excellent, we even got a little history tour. We rode past the home of Niccolo Machiavelli, the famous Renaissance philosopher, politician and writer who wrote his masterpiece “The Prince” while living in Chianti. The Villa Machiavelli is now a restaurant; it’s popular (for a reason!), so you should make reservations if you plan to dine there.
Some famous Machiavelli quotes:
“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.”
“The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.”
“Appear as you may wish to be”
The Pasta, Olive Oil and Chianti Wine
After cycling for a few hours, we finally arrived at a beautiful villa where the olives and chianti grapes are pressed. We were greeted by the owner of the villa, who gave us a tour of their beautiful gardens while offering us a glass of chianti wine. I admit that at that time Chianti was not a wine I had ever tasted. What I found was that it was absolutely delicious and I quickly fell in love.
Our host prepared a plate with olive oil made at the villa, with some freshly baked bread, and I can honestly say I was in heaven. We sat around the table enjoying the homemade Tuscan platters the owner had prepared while waiting for the delicious pasta meal he was preparing.
After our meal it was time to head back to Florence, but the crew all bought bottles of olive oil and Chianti wine to take back home with us. Trust me, I savored that olive oil until the very, very last drop.
So of course since we rode a bike to the villa, we must also ride back to Florence (and it was just as lovely as the first leg of the journey.) To this day, I have friends who remember this trip very fondly. If you love to get on a bicycle, this is one of the most incredible places you will ride and create some fantastic memories.
And Now for a History Deep Dive!
Italy boasts historical beauty in almost all of its cities. They are all very different in ways, but I found Florence to be my favorite even above Venice; and I think that says a lot, right? There is an aura to this eye-pleasing city that holds a different feel. Several famous Renaissance artists, architects and philosophers: Leonardo Davinci, Michelangelo, Niccolo Machiavelli and Galileo all hail from this beautiful town, and I can’t help but think it’s visually spectacular nature had something to do with that. (1)
Florence comes from the Latin word Florentius, meaning “flourishing or prosperous” and it was founded by the Roman military in 59 BC. The hills of Tuscany just outside Florence were instead occupied by the Etruscans.
The Etruscans
Historically, where the Etruscans initially came from is an ongoing debate. The Romans in Florence took on most of the Etruscan culture and architectural style. The Etruscans are said to be the early artists of wall frescos, terra cotta portraits and the oh-so-amazing focaccia bread. (2)
Why did Florence flourish and become one of the most incredible places during the Renaissance period? That would be mainly due to the Medici banking family. During the 15th Century this middle-class family would gain much wealth through commerce and banking.
The Medici Banking Family
The Medici family had ambitious sights on gaining royal titles in the town of Florence while it was still considered to be a republic. Through the election of the Medici popes in the 16th Century, they would become dukes of Florence and grand dukes of Tuscany.
The family’s story is fascinating and should be studied all on it’s own. Check out this excellent video below on the Medici family and how they intertwined as Popes, married into royalty, and funded much of the mesmerizing art in Florence.
Another great option to learn more about the Medici’s is the book The Family Medici: The Hidden History of the Medici Dynasty written by Mary Hollingsworth.
The Medici’s power lied in their wealth, which they leveraged to become the official bank of the Catholic Church. The Medici had built their wealth through a gold-based currency, Flourin, in 1253 AD, which became one of the first coin currencies of Europe for Intra-trading. The Medici Bank was officially founded in 1397 AD.
They would go on to hold great power over royalty and the Catholic Church through financial politics. To me, this sounds very similar to how the Rothschild and other banking families would also gain their power in the following centuries. A side effect of their rise to prominence, artists and political philosophers would be elevated by the Medici’s, who spurred some of world history’s most outstanding and brilliant works during what historians call the Renaissance period. (4)
The fall of the Medici Bank
The Medici Bank would eventually collapse around 1494 AD due to enormous debts that could not be paid. One of the most interesting reasons is that England owed a massive debt to the Medici Bank’s London branch, and the massive default by the British monarchy led to severe sanctions on the businesses linked with the Medici Bank.(5)
So, next time you are in Florence getting ready for your bicycle ride through Tuscany, you can thank the Medici’s, the “godfathers of the Renaissance”, for their part in commissioning one of the most fantastical Italian cities you have ever laid your eyes on.
Don’t you just love history!?!
Ready to Book your Trip to Tuscany?
- Where should you stay? – Art Hotel Villa Agape (Just outside Florence) or Palazzo Lorenzo Hotel Boutique & Spa (In Florence)
- What tours should you do? – Tuscan Country Bike Tour from Florence, Including Wine and Olive Oil Tastings or Chianti Wine Tour from Florence
- Don’t forget to visit the Florence Antique Flea Market – Mercatino di piazza dei Ciompi
Sources:
(1). https://www.britannica.com/place/Florence
(2). https://www.britannica.com/topic/Etruscan
(3). https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780195399301/obo-9780195399301-0260.xml
(4). https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/3645/eng
(5). https://gwern.net/doc/history/medici/1963-deroover-theriseanddeclineofthemedicibank.pdf