MAPPING TUSCANY

Tuscan olive trees waiting for adoption... Dreaming of an olive grove in Tuscany?  Forget the grove, it's going to break your back - I speak from first-hand experience  - but adopt a tree instead. Or twenty. Or more.  Olive trees in the park nearly ready for the harvest in October and November  A group of farmers in southern Tuscany are reclaiming 30'000 abandoned olive trees (yes, that's a lot of trees). These are all located in beautiful groves close to or right in Maremma's nature park . Also known as Parco dell'Uccellina, the nature reserve is a wonderful place to visit in person.  As an adoptive parent, you'll be taken for a private tour to the groves. However, you won't have to learn how to properly position a ladder to harvest or prune the trees. Instead, you can hug your adoptee and then spend the rest of the day hiking or swimming at my favourite Tuscan beach .  Souvenir shop in Marina di Alberese The project is under the h...

A quick round up of my favorite wild hot springs and historic bath towns in Tuscany (more detailed information on spas and rock pool bathing can be found in the single articles the links will lead you to).  WILDERNESS POOLS   PETRIOLO  half an hour to the south of Siena. With its steaming hot water in the upper row of pools a favorite of mine on icy cold winter mornings. The Farma river passes right next to the hot springs. So be courageous and have a splash to try the benefits of kneipping.   SATURNIA  the biggest, most southern and also Italy's best known (and loved!) wilderness pools. The closest option for a soak if you arrive from Rome. To be avoided on weekends.  FOSSO BIANCO  in the Val d'Orcia is a spectacular sight hidden away in the woods below Bagni San Filippo. The shady surroundings make of these natural springs a nice location in the summer.  BAGNO VIGNONI  has a lovely pool below the small waterfall. ...

The Cala Violina cove keeps being voted one of Italy's best beaches. Not for its beach bars and deck chair rentals (there are none), but for its clean waters and beautiful location with views towards the isle of Elba. The main reason why the Cala Violina cove remains a natural paradise lies in the difficult access to it. The beach can be reached only via a footpath through the Mediterranean shrub. However, this doesn't mean the beach is exactly off the beaten path. A paid parking area has been set up, due to the growing fame of the bay in recent years. The hike doesn't seem to put people off. The tiny bay is called the violin cove because of the sound its fine sand makes when you walk on it. There is indeed a special sound to walking on it, but in summer you'll only be able to hear it if you tell my kids or the other Italians around to stop shouting around. HOW TO GET TO CALA VIOLINA BAY From Castiglione della Pescaia take the coastal road towards S...

The real deal: Saturnia rock pools in Southern Tuscany The most famous and also the busiest of Tuscany's natural hot springs lie close to Montemerano in the southern tip of the region. Saturnia's wild pools even have their own facebook page   (with more than 6000 fans last time I've checked). Whilst Saturnia wasn't quite an insider's tip when I first soaked there in the 90s, it definitely has become even better known in the 21st century - at least to judge from the recent parking area and the outdoor coffee bar right on the footpath which leads down to the natural springs.  Saturnia's rock pools are popular for a reason. Quite apart of the history telling us about Etruscans bathing there and Romans giving the thermal bath its Saturnian name, the wild  Cascate del Mulino  (the waterfalls of the mill) are a stunning sight in the midst of a tranquil little valley. And the mineral properties of the warm water are supposed to sort out (or at least calm down)...

Where to start with that haircut? With Tuscany's extra virgin olive oil being famous world over, it may come as a surprise that the region's olive tree pruning is notorious for its rather cruel approach: Tuscan farmers used to prune only once every two years (and often still do). Pruning is very time consuming, and cutting the tree a Mohawk hairstyle means you can skip a winter before having to get up the ladder again with shears and saw in hand.  I'm no expert on the matter of pruning, but from looking after our very own Tuscan olive grove I've discovered two crucial points for pruning success, which are not always mentioned in olive grove manuals.   In my experience the best preparation to pruning is by doing the olive harvest in the very same grove the year before. The chosen pruning style depends on the technique used during olive picking (i.e. harvest by hand or with a particular type of machine). Once you've been driven mad by unreachable olives du...

My Tuscan native is right. I spend far too much time in front of the computer because of my Tuscany blogs.  But what he forgets is, that I spend many a nondescript winter morning soaking in the rock pools of Tuscany's natural hot springs - because of this blog. Hot springs, Roman baths and exclusive spas can be found all over the world. It's the  natural  p art th at has gone amiss in most places over the centuries. This is where Southern Tuscany comes in with its wild hot water pools in  Bagno Vignoni, San Filippo ,  Saturnia and Petriolo . All of these locations are known for their exclusive Tuscan hotel spas and the public thermal baths. But whatever the historical reasons, they also managed to preserve their simple rock pools in the midst of pristine nature; and even more surprising - free access to all of them.  Petriolo is one of your best options if you want to explore Tuscany's natural hot springs , soak in sulfurous waters or -...