DK Travel : Tuscany

Limiting the choice of prime sights is not an easy task in a land as rich and varied as Tuscany. Its storybook landscape is home to medieval hill towns, fabled wines and, as crucible of the Renaissance, an unrivalled collection of artistic masterpieces. Here are the best of the best.

Siena Ricama

Bruna Fontani’s exquisite embroidery and needlepoint is inspired by medieval Sienese art, from illuminated manuscripts to Lorenzetti frescoes.
Siena’s Campo & Palazzo Pubblico

This sloping brick scallop shell is Siena’s living room, its public palace a museum celebrating maestros of Gothic art.
Siena’s Duomo

A striped giant of a cathedral stuffed with carvings, frescoes, Michelangelo’s sculptures and Bernini’s chape.
Siena’s Duomo

A striped Romanesque-Gothic pile, richly decorated by the likes of Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Pinturicchio, Michelangelo, Beccafumi and Bernini.
Siena’s Museo Civico

A battlemented medieval town hall with the best Gothic painting in Siena, including Lorenzetti’s incomparable Allegory of Good and Bad Government .
Siena’s Palio

Since the Middle Ages, Siena has staged a bareback horse race around the Campo. Preparations and festivities last for a week. On the day of the race you can stand in the Campo’s centre for free or buy a seat ticket (months in advance) from any business ringing the piazza. Enjoy the pageantry and sbandieratori (flag tossers), before glimpsing the furious, 90-second race.
Siena’s Pinacoteca Nazionale

It may lack towering masterpieces, but this is Tuscany’s best survey of Sienese painting.
Sightseeing Discounts

Ridotto tickets are for students and under 18s. Admission may be free under age 6, 12 or even 18 (especially for EU citizens).
Simone Martini (1284–1344)

Martini took a medieval eye for narrative and iconography and married it to a vibrant Gothic palette, richly patterned fabrics and intense drama in his courtly, graceful figures.
Società Cooperativa Artieri Alabastro, Volterra

Since 1895 this has been the principal outlet for alabaster artisans without a shop of their own.