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The first fully Renaissance sculptor worked out perspective in sculpture well before painters got there. He cast the first free-standing nude and first equestrian statue since antiquity, and came up with the schiacciato technique, using etched perspective lines to create the illusion of great depth in a shallow relief.

This elegant stone-walled restaurant keeps traditional Sangimignanese recipes alive, resurrecting superbly prepared, tasty dishes from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. They even claim that some of their dishes date back to the Etruscan era. The menu explains each in detail.

Crisp tablecloths and crisp service are coupled with fascinating menus explaining the medieval or Etruscan origins of each finely prepared dish.

The first undisputed masterpiece of the Sienese School was this Maestà (1311) by Duccio. It was paraded through the streets, and painting a Maestà became a rite of passage for Sienese artists.

(see The Duomo Group, Florence).

This massive Gothic cathedral complex is filled with art by such masters as Michelangelo, Pisano, Pinturicchio, Bernini, Duccio and Donatello. It qualifies as one of Tuscany’s Top 10 sights, and is fully covered on pages 26–7.

The palazzo is 12th-century, but the rooms (some medium-sized, others cramped) are modern and comfy. The 12 “panoramic” rooms feature Duomo views, including a small top-floor double with windows on three sides and sweeping vistas.

Italy’s third largest island offers Tuscany’s best all-around coastal holiday – sandy beaches, water sports, fishing villages, resorts and vineyards. Sight-seeing takes in forts, museums and mine tours devoted to the island’s mineralogical wealth (discovered by the Etruscans, Elba’s iron armed the Roman legions). There are also two villas left from the 11 months Napoleon lived here in exile.

This modestly scaled resort island derives its name from Aethalia , the Greek word for the sparks of its busy iron forges. Portoferraio, where ferries arrive from Piombino, has two fortress/parks, Napoleon’s Villa dei Mulini (his Villa San Martino south of town is more interesting, however), and a small archaeological museum. Porto Azzuro was the island’s Spanish capital and is today a bustling resort that manages to retain something of the old fishing town. Hilltop Capoliveri has the best nightlife and evocative medieval alleyways. Ancient Marciana is a good hill town base for exploring the island’s western half.

Portoferraio may be bland, but boats can whisk you to secluded beaches on the northeast shore. The western coast has rocky shoals (good for snorkelling) and, south of Fetovaia, sandy beaches on tiny inlets.