Holiday Villa Rentals in Florence, Siena & Tuscany

Tuscany has been a popular holiday destination with travellers for centuries.  One only has to think of the Merchant Ivory adaptation of A Room With a View to conjure up images of frescoed Florentine pensions, hazy walks through the poppy filled hills of Fiesole and the Chiantishire countryside, wine-tasting in Montepulciano, sightseeing at San Gimignano and Siena, followed by balmy siestas under olive trees with a tattered copy of Baedeker in hand in the garden of a rented palazzo or castello.

Tuscany is known not only for its evocative landscapes with farmhouses dotted on the horizon, but also for its unique artistic legacy. Florence is known as the "art capital of Italy" with probably the largest concentration of Renaissance art and architecture in the world, as befits the city which was the wellspring of the Renaissance itself and also the birthplace of civic humanism.  Much of the art was not only in the city and of the city, it was for the city, and remains there to this day for visitors to enjoy.  Many of the legendary artists lived and worked in Florence, Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Botticello, Leonardo and Michelangelo to name but a few.

Six Tuscan localities have been designated World Heritage Sites: the historical centre of Florence, the historical centre of Siena, the square of the Cathedral of Pisa, the historical centre of San Gimignano, the historical center of Pienza and the Val d'Orcia. But there are other towns and cities worth renting in or near: Arezzo, , Cortona, Grossetto, Lucca, Moteriggioni, Volterra, Montepulciano and the list goes on.

The joy of renting a castle, villa or farmhouse in Italy is indulging in the love of food and wine. This is particularly reflected in Tuscany which has a special relationship with food as a way of life. The seasonal and superior use of ingredients, the time and passion in preparation, and the attention to detail has produced recipes literally passed from hand to hand, and hand to mouth through generations. Delicious local dishes combined with regional wines of Chianti, Vernaccia or Brunello give a style and taste that amounts to a way of life second to none.

Not only can this be experienced at a holiday villa with a private cook, but there are thousands of restaurants where you can sample unique dishes and interesting wines; and even walking into the village delicatessen or 'alimentare', one can acquire any number of delicacies, homemade pastas, vegetables in olive oil, or other simple ingredients to make a meal, accompanied by local wine bought in the numerous surrounding cantinas.

Tuscany during the autumn and winter months is a gastronomic extravaganza.  Rent a self-catering villa or farmhouse (called agriturismo in Italia) for a holiday in Tuscany or hire a castello (castle) with a bunch of like minded friends, and dine on local game such as wild boar, porcini mushrooms washed down with powerful red wines, whose heady smells mingle with the burning smoky wood in open fireplaces.  Then spend the afternoon buying hand painted pottery, stunning marbled paper products or beautiful leather in the many specialist shops found in the towns and cities of the region.