Walking in Tuscany. Gillian Price
the varied bird life includes the black-winged stilt on skinny crimson legs, ospreys, peregrine falcons, crested grebes, bright kingfishers and even showy flamingoes (www.wwf.it/oasi/toscana).
One dog needs a quick mention: the pastore maremmano is a magnificent white-haired creature with a persistent bark. Widely used as sheepdogs or watchdogs on country properties, they are not usually on a leash and it’s a good idea to give them a wide berth. Under no circumstances should walkers approach the flock they are guarding.
The only other warning regards snakes. The poisonous viper with its silvery-grey diamond markings inhabits Tuscany, along with a multitude of harmless relations such as the similar smooth snake. A viper only attacks when threatened so give it time to slither away from the path where it is taking the sun.
To conclude on a positive note, a magical pastime for balmy summer evenings is to go spotting fireflies or glow-worms, a type of beetle. Once the sun has gone down, gardens and waysides come alight with magical flickering pinpoints of greenish-white light, which double as their mating calls.
Getting there
The handiest international airport in Tuscany is Pisa, although Bologna, Perugia and Rome are also useful. All have good bus or train links. Moreover, Tuscany is easily reached from other parts of Italy thanks to high-speed trains on strategic long-distance lines such as Rome–Florence and Milan–Florence, run by Trenitalia and Italo.
A cross marks the turn-off for Villa a Tolli (Walk 27)
Local transport
Public transport in Tuscany is excellent and reliable, fares are reasonable and timetables can be consulted online. All but a handful of the walks in this guidebook can be accessed by public transport and visitors are encouraged to take advantage of this in the name of less polluted air and quieter roads. As regards the routes that do need private transport, hotels and tourist offices will always help arrange for a lift or will contact the local taxi service on behalf of guests who do not have a car.
The railway network is capillary and there are good regional trains, which do not need booking. Should the biglietteria (ticket office) be closed, use the automatic machine. Remember that train tickets need to be stamped before boarding.
Local buses cover just about every corner of Tuscany – although outlying villages may not have a service on Sundays. Where possible, tickets should be purchased before a journey, either at the bus station or at news stands and tobacconists displaying the appropriate logo; they then need to be stamped on board. However, drivers do sell tickets for a small surcharge.
Relevant details are given in the information box at the start of each walk, and transport company websites are listed in Appendix D. Appendix B includes a list of bus/train terminology to help understand timetables.
In the Valle di Pomonte on the island of Elba (Walk 35)
Information
The Italian State Tourist Board (www.enit.it) has offices all over the world and can provide visitors with general information. Masses of useful details about accommodation, transport and much else is available at tourist offices and websites – see Appendix D.
When to go
The beauty of Tuscany is that walking is feasible the whole year round. Each season and altitude offers its delights. Spring (March–May), with perfect outdoor temperatures, is undeniably the most beautiful time for lovers of infinite shades of green along with the first extraordinary expanses of colourful wildflowers. Apart from the Easter break and the long weekends that coincide with public holidays, the areas covered by the walks in this book are unlikely to receive more than a sprinkling of visitors.
Summer (June–August) brings lovely conditions on the coast although not necessarily the best for walking inland, where heat and mugginess can take the pleasure out of it and haze can spoil visibility. Mid August is peak holiday season so the main towns and the island of Elba are inadvisable unless you have advance booking for accommodation and don’t mind extortionate prices, blazing heat and traffic-choked roads. However, this is also the time of year when higher altitudes such as the Casentino forests and the mountainous Alpi Apuane and Apennines come into their own, with pleasant temperatures even in July and August.
Climbing beneath the sheer face of Monte Nona in the Alpi Apuane (Walk 12)
Autumn (September–November) is a very promising season as visitors are few and far between. Italy stays on daylight saving time until the end of October, meaning long walking days (it gets dark around 6–7pm). Foliage can be spectacular, with brilliant reds and hues of yellow and orange during the grape harvests. Leaves scrunch underfoot and in the woods you risk bombardment by falling spiky chestnuts. The sole negative note comes from the Sunday gunshots and yapping dogs who belong to the hunters. November is probably best avoided as it is notoriously foggy.
At lower altitudes, winter (December–February) can be simply superb if chilly, although snow will cover upland routes. Brisk crisp weather is usually the norm. Conditions are excellent for birdwatching along the coast as huge numbers of migrational species stop over. Remember though that days are shorter – expect it to get dark as early as 4.30pm in midwinter.
Accommodation
Tuscany has a huge range of excellent accommodation options, including charming towns and villages, castles and villas.
At the end of each chapter introduction is a short section suggesting suitable bases with accommodation for exploring that particular area, with brief details of transport links too. Suggestions for middle-range hotels and B&Bs, affittacamere (rooms to rent) and walkers’ refuges handy for the walks are given in Appendix C. Most accept internet bookings and credit cards. For a vaster choice, including self-catering houses, agriturismo (farm stays) and campsites, either use an online agency such as www.booking.com or contact the tourist offices listed in Appendix D.
It is not usually necessary to book a long way ahead, with the exception of the Italian public holidays: 1 January (New Year), 6 January (Epiphany), Easter Sunday and Monday, 25 April (Liberation Day), 1 May (Labour Day), 2 June (Republic Day), 15 August (Ferragosto), 1 November (All Saints), 8 December (Immaculate Conception), 25–26 December (Christmas and Boxing Day). Weekends are naturally busier too, especially in the art cities such as Florence and Siena.
When calling an Italian landline, always include the first 0 of the area code. On the other hand, numbers beginning with 3 (mobile numbers) and emergency numbers need to be dialled as they stand, ie without a zero. If ringing from overseas, preface all Italian telephone numbers with +39.
Rifugio Battisti
Food and wine
A guide to Tuscany could hardly be considered complete without at least a passing mention of the vast culinary delights in store for visitors. And walking demands substantial nourishment.
A visit to a fresh produce market is a good introduction to local fare. In addition to the season’s fruit and vegetables, which come in colourful photogenic stacks, suggestions for picnics include tangy ewe’s milk cheese, pecorino, although a request for un formaggio locale (a local cheese) will always turn up something interesting. A must-taste for carnivores is finocchiona, a soft garlicky salami-type sausage flavoured with wild fennel seeds, which melts in the mouth. With a bit of luck there’ll also be an open-sided van selling porchetta, luscious roast suckling pig flavoured with herbs galore and served in thick slices. These can be consumed with the typical saltless bread