Published on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 by Kathy McCabe Happy Halloween! Would you get spooked being served a meal in a prison...with prisoners as your waiters? Well there's just such a place -- in Tuscany no less -- and it has been voted one of the world's scariest restaurants. The restaurant is located in Fortezza Medicea, a medieval fortress in the town of Volterra. There are some pre-requisites if you want to dine ther...

Published on Tuesday, August 14, 2012 by Kathy McCabe Disaster tourism isn't anything new so it probably shouldn't come as much surprise, though it is a bit maudlin, that the site of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster off Tuscany has now beome a popular tourist attraction. The ship itself is still lying paralyzed off the coast of the island of Giglio where it ran aground in January, costing 32 people their lives...

Published on Friday, May 25, 2012 by Kathy McCabe After nine years, The Tuscan Sun Festival is moving from Cortona to Florence where it will hold its 10th edition, June 11 to 18, 2012. The festival brings together music, art and film, and this year in new venues including Teatro della Pergola, Palazzo Strozzi and Nuovo Teatro dell' Opera. The Tuscan Sun Festival has been described by The Independent (U.K.) as one o...

Published on Monday, December 19, 2011 by Kathy McCabe One of the great joys of eating in Italy is munching on fresh Italian bread. Yet when you bite into your first piece of while visiting Tuscany (and also much of Umbria), you might be surprised at what is missing. It might take a moment to realize that there's no salt! This type of bread is called pane toscano.  So how did the Tuscans miss this key ingredient that y...

Published on Sunday, October 16, 2011 by Kathy McCabe The town of San Miniato, located halfway between Pisa and Florence, is a must for history lover and foodies alike.  At the end of the 10th century, Otto I made San Miniato an outpost of the Holy Roman Empire.  In medieval times, the town sat on the via Francigena, an important pilgrimage route between northern Europe and Rome, bringing many visitors and invaders. In...

Published on Wednesday, August 3, 2011 by Daniel When it comes to exotic wines, nothing can even come close to the Tuscan wine! Wouldn’t it be exciting if you get a chance to visit Chianti in Tuscany and actually be a part of the wonderful wine making process itself? Your mouth will start watering even as you think about it. Stop dreaming and start planning a Tuscan wine tour just for the love of wine! Chianti ...

Published on Sunday, June 5, 2011 by Kathy McCabe Italy and opera are so intertwined, one would almost think that the form was born in Italy. If you're a music buff and traveling to Italy, especially during the summer, don't miss the chance to see a live performance in the country that has given so much to the art form. Opera began in Italy around 1600 and the Italian language came to be so perfect for singing that m...