Under the Tuscan Sun - Tuscany, Italy

Ciao, bentornato! (Hi, welcome back!) This week, we’re traveling to Tuscany, Italy. Unlike our other destinations, Tuscany actually isn’t a city...it’s an entire region! Tuscany is located in central Italy, and Florence is its capital. Other well known provinces in Tuscany include Pisa and Siena. When my family visited this past summer, we stayed in a small town called Staggia.

In all honesty, I didn’t really enjoy most of Tuscany - the only part I did love was Florence. However, the reason I didn’t like it might have something to do with both my sister and me getting carsick on the way to Volterra, which is city in the province of Pisa. (There are lots of hills in Tuscany - keep that in mind if you get motion sick easily!)

Volterra itself was actually pretty nice. You can see the Teatro Romano, which used to be a Roman amphitheater. I didn’t go inside of it, but apparently you can, and it costs just a few Euros. If you don’t want to go in, though, you can view it from the city wall promenade that overlooks the theater and other parts of the city. Volterra is honestly a nice place to walk around and experience, but in my opinion, it didn’t make up for the car ride…

(View of Volterra)

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(View of Teatro Romano - or the Roman Theatre - from the walkway; Picture via Google Images)

In addition to Volterra, my family also drove to Siena. There, we saw the Duomo di Siena, which is also known as the Siena Cathedral. It was huge (in an intimidating or humbling way), but it was gorgeous! We also went to the Piazza del Campo, which is where the famous Palio di Siena horse race takes place.

Click here for more info about the cathedral, and click here to learn about the horse race!

(Siena Cathedral)

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(Piazza del Campo; Picture via Google Images)

Another famous landmark that you might want to see is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. While my family didn't get to visit Pisa, I've heard that it's pretty remarkable.


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(Leaning Tower of Pisa; Picture via Google Images)


There are so many places to visit and things to see in Tuscany. Other than Florence, which I absolutely loved, I didn't really like the rest of Tuscany...but, that was because I wasn't feeling so great. If you’re planning on visiting, don’t think of it negatively, as most parts of Tuscany are honestly beautiful. I just wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it…

Anyways, thanks so much for reading! Next week, we’ll switch things up a little bit - instead of visiting somewhere new, I’ll share a traveling story with you :)

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