MAPPING TUSCANY

It was the sea - not wine, food, a man or the rolling hills - that made me move to Tuscany in 1999. Having grown-up in a landlocked country,  from day one at work I pestered everybody in Montalcino for advice on  the best beach town and the perfect sea view on the Tuscan coast. It turned out to be an easy  mission since the locals sent me unanimously to Castiglione della Pescaia. The preferred seaside destination for people from Siena and Arezzo, Castiglione della Pescaia is also loved by the Swiss and Swedish, hence all the h oliday resorts and camping villages along some of its best beaches.  But unlike Marina di Grosseto or Principina a Mare, Castiglione della Pescaia has been a proper town way before the tourist boom took hold of the Tuscan coast. To  this day the  former fishing village has managed to keep its historic town center, clean beaches and even a handful of fishermen.  WHAT TO DO IN CASTIGLIONE DELLA PESCAIA  Swim and s...

Corrupt politicians, appalling national TV and a never-ending economic crisis. So what was I doing in Italy again? Grazie a dio , there are still a  few r easons which confirm that I wasn't totally meshugga when moving from clockwork nation to a Southern European bureaucratic hell: b each  side lunches are one of them (and  on a less mundane level  public schools and a healthcare system Obama can only dream of). A MAP FOR C OCKTAILS, SEAFOOD AND SUNSET VIEWS ON THE TUSCAN SHORE ROSSO E VINO ALLA DOGANA    CAPALBIO/CHIARONE SCALO  +39 0564 890344 As south as it gets in Tuscany.  One step to the left and you're in Lazio and on your way to Rome. But Rosso e Vino's foo d, beach bar and deckchairs are way too nice to consider a trip to the eternal city. With the luxury lodge tents at Camp Capalbio next door, this is a great option for a beach side eat and sleep.  IL PELLICANO    PORT'ERCOLE +39 0564 858 275 ...

Close to the border of Lazio, Tuscany's southernmost town resembles a Roman colony during July and August. Albeit not one with gladiators and soldiers, but with Rome's left-wing intelligentsia populating hillside bars and restaurants as much as the deck-chairs along Capalbio's endless beaches.  To balance things out, the seaside town Ansedonia a few kilometers up the Tuscan coast has been for decades the holiday destination of choice for the eternal city's right-wing fraction. These days it's hard to say whether this geo-political line  of division is still in place - with all the party hopping of Italian politicians it's impossible to discern which side they presently belong to. But whatever the current opinion of political visitors (a class of people also derisively called la casta - the caste),  Capalbio's own views have stubbornly stayed the same for centuries. 

Ever wanted to swim or walk from Tuscany to Lazio? That's exactly what I did during our week at  La Dogana beach. My kids jumped waves in the Tuscan sea and I kept fishing them out in the northernmost corner of Lazio (the Italian region Rome belongs to).  Dogana means customs in Italian, and what is now a stylish brolly and deck chair rental, was once a checkpoint on the border of Papal State and Gran Duchy of Tuscany (and entirely free of sunburnt Swiss moms running from one side to the other).  But La Dogana beach has more to  offer than borderline swims and history lessons. Every summer, the team of  Grosseto's restaurant Rosso e Vino  moves pots, pans and ladles to the shore for the season and turns La Dogana beach into the perfect location for a meal with a view. 

Let's be honest. I never liked San Vincenzo. Okay, it has a long and sandy beach, but if you're looking for ugly town planning along the Tuscan coast - you've found a good example. It's a shame that places like Follonica, Marina di Grosseto or San Vincenzo have grown too fast and without any aesthetic standards during the second half of the last century. Luckily these towns managed to keep their lovely beaches, but what else do they have in store? Il Bucaniere: foodie and pirate meeting point on San Vincenzo beach  In the case of San Vincenzo the reason I keep visiting is a restaurant. Or actually, two. Two restaurants linked to one family. When I moved to Tuscany in the late 90s I often heard the name Gambero Rosso, when asking for the region's (if not Italy's) best seafood restaurant. The restaurant in San Vincenzo's town center used to sport two Michelin stars and even though my olive picker wage didn't allow for it, I was lucky enou...

Restaurant La Pineta at Marina di Bibbona beach  One of Italy's best seafood restaurants can be found on Tuscany's central coast, at the beach of Marina di Bibbona. Walking past La Pineta  it's easy to mistake the restaurant for a lovely but simple beach bar and deck chair rental place. A nd whilst you can still just visit La Pineta to rent an umbrella for your day at the beach, it would be foolish to miss out on the seafood treasures that are prepared in the restaurant's kitchen. We happened to be in the area for other reasons, but once we realized that we were standing in front of La Pineta we couldn't resist having a look. Timing was perfect, we opened the door shortly before 7pm. No clients around yet and the Michelin starred cook, who - judging from the frenzy in the kitchen - would have had better to do, generously took the time to show us around.  Luciano Zazzeri Proud owner and chef of Michelin starred restaurant  La Pineta

No Jack-O'-Lanterns in sight: Gustatus Festival, Orbetello My Tuscan native is no narrow minded person (as long as you don't count his tendency to some exagerated Tuscan Campanilismo ...). Neither is he a xenophobic - remember he lives with one of Italy's many Extracomunitari (a foreigner who comes from a country not belonging to the European Union, e.g. a Swiss like me). He even went as far as having two kids with me. But all this open-mindedness comes to a sudden halt when he hears of Halloween. The problem not being Halloween in itself, but Halloween in connection with Tuscany. Why here? Of all places! He has a point. Celtic traditions haven't had a stronghold in Italy since... the invention of television? In case you belong to the many people who didn't book a holiday in Italy to celebrate Halloween, here are some alternatives to a weekend full of Tuscan Jack-O'-Lanterns:  Food stall at Orbetello's Gustatus - Not just fish  ...

Starting the day with caffè shakerato (ice coffee) at Fiumara Beach No doubt, my favorite time to hang out at Fiumara is the early evening. Grab your Prosecco and wait for the delicious fish to arrive whilst everybody else is swearing under their holiday apartment's lousy shower.  Fiumara's beach can get busy with locals and tourists during the day, but it is an oas is of calmness at aperitivo time (happy hour). Kite-surfers leave once the wind drops in the early evening, and everybody else seems to desert the beach once it's not sizzling hot anymore (I'll never understand it). Perfection really: with the wind gone you'll have the ideal te mperature for an early evening swim and once dried off a marvelous view and sunset  all to yourself.  Even the shower has style Should you not be able to get a table for dinner try for lunch, which is a simpler DIY affair from the counter, but food tastes still great and nobody worries if you look a bit dishevel...