Salamandra Salamandra: Fire Salamander in Tuscany
- 5 March 2026
- Fauna, Hiking
Walk the trails of Riserva Acquerino on a rainy spring evening and you might suddenly stop as you round a bend. There, crossing the forest path, moves …
Pisa: Base for Exploring Tuscany's Hidden Nature
- 5 March 2026
- Hiking
Most visitors spend only a couple of hours in Pisa. They photograph the Leaning Tower, walk through Piazza dei Miracoli, then leave for Florence or …
Montecatini Terme: Base for Exploring Tuscany's Nature
- 5 March 2026
- Hiking
Most visitors come to Montecatini Terme for one reason: the thermal baths. They spend days moving between spas. They take the funicular to Montecatini …
Galium Aparine: Cleavers in Tuscan Hedgerows
- 4 March 2026
- Trees and flora, Hiking
Walk any trail in Tuscany during spring and you’ll encounter it. You might not notice until you stop to rest. Then you discover your pants, …
Umbilicus Rupestris: Wall Pennywort in Tuscany
- 3 March 2026
- Trees and flora, Hiking
There’s a plant that grows abundantly on old walls throughout Tuscany. It is especially common along the Nottolini Aqueduct near Lucca. Most …
Laurus Nobilis: Bay Laurel in Tuscan Landscapes
- 3 March 2026
- Trees and flora, Hiking
Walk the slopes of Monte Pisano near Ripafratta and you’ll encounter something unexpected. Entire hillsides covered in bay laurel. Not the neat …
Guided Tours for Exploring Marble Quarries in Apuan Alps
- 2 March 2026
- Hiking, Photography
Most tourists visiting the Apuan Alps see marble quarries from a distance—white scars on mountainsides photographed from coastal overlooks or glimpsed …
Photographing Nottolini Aqueduct: Light & Geometry
- 26 February 2026
- Photography, Hiking
Most photographers visiting Lucca never leave the city walls. They capture the Duomo, Piazza Anfiteatro, and the famous ramparts, then move on to …
Best Hikes Near Prato: Mountains an Hour Away
- 24 February 2026
- Hiking
Most people know Prato as Italy’s textile capital, a working industrial city overshadowed by its famous neighbor Florence. What they don’t …
Cammino di San Jacopo: Tuscany's Hidden Pilgrimage
- 20 February 2026
- Hiking
Everyone knows about the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Hundreds of thousands walk it every year, books have been written about it, and it has become …
Car-Free Hikes Near Pisa and Lucca Train Stations
- 18 February 2026
- Hidden Tuscany
The advice you’ll find everywhere about exploring Tuscany on foot is almost always the same: rent a car.
For most of the region, that advice is …
When to Travel to Tuscany? An Honest Guide
- 17 February 2026
- Hidden Tuscany
People ask me this often.
And the honest answer—the one that never quite satisfies—is that the whole year works.
Not because I’m being …
Mushrooms of Acquerino: A Seasonal Forager's Guide
- 15 February 2026
- Mycology
The Acquerino reserve is one of the most mycologically rich landscapes I work in regularly—a mosaic of beech, oak, chestnut, and fir creating …
Forest Conservation in Tuscany: What the Data Actually Shows
- 14 February 2026
- Trees and Flora
Last Friday, I attended an event at the Museo di Storia Naturale di Calci that challenged something I’ve heard repeated countless times: that …
Top Scenic Hikes near Florence Tourists Never See
- 12 February 2026
- Hiking
Florence draws millions of visitors every year. Most of them spend their time moving between the Duomo, the Uffizi, and crowded piazzas, perhaps …