About Tuscany | PlanningaTour.com

Orecchiella park, natural reserves

“Orecchiella” Park was born in the 1960s. It includes the Regional State Forest and three nature reserves (Orecchiella, Lamarossa and Pania di Corfino). In the Apennine part of the Garfagnana region, one can find this natural reserve rich in flora and fauna with deers, roe deers and wolves roving freely in the wilderness.
Many species of birds, some migratory, have found their home in this ideal habitat.
The Royal Eagles, always present on the Pania di Corfino, have extended their hunting territory up to the summits of Monte Prato and Monte Vecchio. The mountain flower garden with wonderful summer flowers and the botanic garden “Piana di Corfino” will fascinate wildlife lovers.
The Visitors’ Center hosts reception facilities, the Nature Museum and the Museum of Birds of Prey.
The Nature Museum presents dioramas of ungulates in dynamic situations, as well as a series of three-dimensional panels which illustrate the cycle of the traditional natural elements (air, water, earth, fire).
The Museum of Birds of Prey presents the life-size reproduction of an eagle’s nest, informational panels on diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey, and display cabinets with stuffed specimens.

This Park can be reached from Castelnuovo by following the directions for Villa Collemaldina and Corfino.

For contacts:
Phone +39 0583 619098 or +39 0583 955525
Fax +39 0583 619002

GPS: 44°12’14.85″N 10°21’28.91″E

www.ingarfagnana.it
www.alpiapuane.com

Village Follonica, Tuscany

Cala Violina

Follonica is a town and comune (township) of the province of Grosseto in Tuscany. Follonica is about 40 km north west of the Grosseto.
It was founded in 1834 by Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany for the workers of a new ironworks plant. However, the area was already settled in Etruscan and Roman times. The ruins of the medieval castle Castello di Valli, built in 884 AD, overlook the modern town from a nearby hill.
Follonica is a popular tourist site during the summer for Italians. The city has been awarded the Bandiera Blu (“Blue Flag”) every year for the cleanliness of its beaches and seawater.

The most important beaches are:

Cala Violina
Carbonifera
Torre Mozza
Pratoranieri
Cala Martina

More informations on:
www.comune.follonica.gr.it
www.follonica-apartments.com
www.prolocofollonica.it

Bagni di Lucca, Tuscany

Bagni di Lucca, “land of princes and poets”, is the largest mountain commune in Italy with a great number of hamlets. It is situated in the valleys of the rivers Serchio and Lima, surrounded by green hills covered with century-old forests of chestnut trees.
Scattered in the area are many elegant mansions of the 19th century, surrounded by rich gardens populated with rare plant species, which poets and musicians used as a romantic retreat and source of inspiration, while royalty found a refuge from the turmoil of busy European capitals.
Inhabited since the Bronze Age, as shown by remains of Ligurian sepulchres of the 8th century BC, the area was known for its mineral springs by Etruscan and Romans, and a Roman settlement was established at Villa Therentiana (presently Pieve dei Monti di Villa).
In the 11th century AD the valley was a fiefdom of powerful Tuscan families.
Bagni the main spa center in Italy, welcoming guests from all over Europe.
In Napoleonic times the place was a favorite retreat of the Buonaparte family, coming for the spas as well as for a casino. After the Congress of Vienna, the Dukedom of Lucca became an international court, and Bagni was the summer retreat.
After 1860, when Tuscany was included in the kingdom of Italy, the decadence of the place as a fashionable resort began.

Points of Interest:
Villa Ada, a previous Renaissance mansion of the local De Nobili family, was renovated in the 19th century by a British consul who added the two 6-sided towers, and surrounded it with large, romantic gardens, including also an artificial grotto. It is now a property of the municipality, and is used for spa therapies.
Thermal Baths, already known in Roman times, and a spa center documented since the Middle Ages, had visitors from all over Europe since medieval times. The spas consist of 19 natural springs with different concentrations of calcium and sulphur, and a maximum temperature of 54 degrees centigrade.
Orrido di Botri is a natural reserve in a deep canyon of great beauty, preserving rare plant species and hosting many rare rapacious birds, as the royal eagle and the owl.
Devil’s Bridge, also called ‘Maddalena’s Bridge, was constructed during the era of the Countess Matilde di Canossa (1046-1115).
This medieval bridge spans the Serchio River and is said to have been built with the aid of the devil himself.
Sitting on now submerged islets, there are five asymmetrical arches.

Some links:
www.termebagnidilucca.it
www.comunebagnidilucca.it

Tuscan lasagna

Tuscan lasagna

Serves 4
Pasta Ingredients & Directions
400 Gr. Flour
4 Eggs
1 TBS. Olive Oil

Pouring the flour on your board make a well in the center. Add remaining ingredients to the well and slowly mix until incorporated. Knead until the dough is smooth. Keep floured well to avoid the dough getting sticky. Roll the dough through the pasta machine several times. Cut the pasta it into sheets about 20 cm long and keep on towel until ready to cook.

Meat Sauce
500 gr. of ground beef
1/2 cup (120 mL) of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic chopped
Cook ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in tomato sauce, and water. Season with basil, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Besciamella Sauce & Directions
½ Liter Milk
50 Gr. Butter
50 Gr. Flour
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Melt butter and add flour mixing well. Add the milk slowly and stir till thick. Season to taste.

Grease a rectangular baking dish. Boil water to cook the lasagna until el dente, drain, and lay on a damp cloth and salt. Cover the bottom of the pan. Then add a layer of meat sauce, and then a layer of Basciamella. Continue this in a least 3 layers finishing with the meat sauce and basciamella. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Spring in Tuscany, a day in Montecatini Thermal Baths

Tettuccio Thermal Bath

Montecatini Terme
Montecatini-Terme rises along the Valley of Nievole.
The town is a famous bath resort for the effectiveness of its chloride-phosphate-sodium waters. The atmosphere and setting suggest bygone days, and in fact most of the baths and hotels date from the early 19th century. But as early as the 14th century, Ugolino da Montecatini, a doctor, considered the water a good cure for liver problems.
The thermal baths were owned by the Medici and then the Dukes of Lorraine. Montecatini began to become known in the 18th century when Piero Leopoldo carried out modernization works. Many of the buildings which surround the main park are fine examples of early 20th century architecture.

Points of Interest:
· Terme Tettuccio is the most splendid of the baths. It was built in 1926 in the Neo-Classical style with circular, marble-lined pools, fountains and Art Nouveau tiles depicting languorous nymphs.
· Terme Leopoldine, built in 1926 in the style of a Classical Temple, is named after Grand Duke Leopold I.