A Tuscany itinerary 10 days (un itinerario di 10 giorni in Toscana) allows the single most culturally complete regional Italian itinerary available: the Tuscany 10-day program can cover northern Tuscany (Lucca, Carrara, and the Garfagnana), central Tuscany (Florence, Siena, the Chianti, and the Val d'Orcia), and eastern Tuscany (Arezzo and the Casentino), plus the coastal detour (Elba island), all by car from a series of agriturismo (farm stay) bases that give the most specifically Tuscan single daily experience (the morning fog over the vineyards, the olive oil tasting at 10:00, and the Chianti at dinner). The Tuscany 10-day itinerary is the most convincing argument against any 5-day "quickie Tuscany" program: 5 days sees the highlights; 10 days understands the region.
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Tuscany 10-Day Itinerary: The Full Program
Days 1-2: Florence
See the Tuscany 5-Day Itinerary for the specific Florence 2-day program. The 10-day itinerary Florence addition: the Oltrarno deep program, the Palazzo Pitti (GPS: 43.7651°N, 11.2499°E, the most extensive single Florentine royal residence (the Medici Grand Duchy palace): the Palatine Gallery with the Raphael, the Titian, and the Rubens rooms (combined ticket €22, include the Boboli Gardens (the specific 16th-century Italian formal garden behind the Palazzo Pitti: the most specifically geometrically formal single Florentine garden and the one whose specific upper terrace (the Viottolone, the cypress tree avenue) provides the most specifically panoramic single Florence garden view)) + the San Miniato al Monte church (GPS: 43.7570°N, 11.2647°E, free, open 8:00-20:00, the most specifically beautiful single Romanesque church in Florence: the specific 11th-century green-and-white marble facade with the specific gold mosaic Christ Pantocrator is the most specifically undervisited single major Florence monument).
Days 3-4: Chianti and Siena
See the Tuscany 5-Day Itinerary for the Chianti and Siena programs. The 10-day addition: the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore (GPS: 43.1531°N, 11.5189°E. 38km south of Siena): the most specifically complete single Tuscan Renaissance fresco cycle in a monastery context (the Sodoma and Luca Signorelli "Life of Saint Benedict" fresco cycle (1495-1508) in the Great Cloister. 36 panels covering the entire cloister walls): free entry. The most specifically quiet and most specifically magnificent single Tuscany art detour available.
Days 5-6: Val d'Orcia and Pienza
The Val d'Orcia (GPS: 42.9°N, 11.6°E. UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape 2004): Pienza (GPS: 43.0773°N, 11.6785°E, the specific "ideal Renaissance city" commissioned by Pope Pius II (the Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, born Pienza, August 18, 1405): the most specifically personal single Italian Renaissance urban project (the entire Pienza centro storico (historic center) was rebuilt between 1459 and 1462 as the specific ideal city of Pope Pius II's humanist vision, designed by the specific architect Bernardo Rossellino whose specific trapezoidal Piazza Pio II with the cathedral, the bishop's palace, and the Piccolomini palace is the most specifically "Renaissance town planning textbook" single Italian piazza)). Montalcino (the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG: the most specifically important single Italian red wine production zone. 200+ individual producers in the specific Montalcino commune (GPS: 43.0548°N, 11.4898°E)). Bagno Vignoni (GPS: 43.0276°N, 11.6215°E, the most specifically unique single Tuscan village: the main piazza is a large thermal pool (the vasca termale, the 16th-century Pope Pius II-era thermal bath pool that replaces the standard Italian town piazza as the village's central space): free viewing. The specific Hotel Posta Marcucci adjacent thermal pool (open to day-guests, approximately €25 per person)).
Days 7-8: Arezzo and the Casentino
Arezzo (GPS: 43.4633°N, 11.8797°E): the most specifically undervisited single major Tuscan art city (the Piero della Francesca "Legend of the True Cross" fresco cycle (1452-1466) in the Basilica di San Francesco (GPS: 43.4633°N, 11.8814°E): the most specifically important single Italian Renaissance fresco cycle in a non-first-tier Tuscan city (the Piero della Francesca Arezzo frescoes are by the near-universal critical consensus the most specifically profound single Italian Renaissance narrative painting cycle, timed entry required: book at pierodellafrancesca.it, €15, maximum 25 persons per 30-minute slot)). Piazza Grande di Arezzo (GPS: 43.4641°N, 11.8793°E, the most specifically sloped single Italian main piazza (Piazza Grande slopes 5% from the Vasari Loggia to the Romanesque apse of the Pieve di Santa Maria) is simultaneously the most architecturally varied single Italian piazza (the Vasari Loggia, the Romanesque Pieve, the Gothic Palazzo della Fraternita, and the medieval tower houses facing each other) and the most specifically "un-touristed" single major Tuscan city piazza).
Days 9-10: Lucca and Elba (or Volterra)
Lucca (GPS: 43.8429°N, 10.5027°E): the most specifically family-usable single Italian walled city (the Lucca city walls (the mura di Lucca, the specific 16th-17th century Renaissance-Baroque defensive walls whose specific 4.2km circuit can be walked or cycled (the most specifically unique single Italian city wall experience: bike rental at the wall base, approximately €3 per hour) with the most specifically panoramic single Lucca street-level view (the specific tree-lined promenade on the wall top (the promenade di Baluardo San Donato, the most specifically distinctive single Tuscan city wall walk))). The Lucca active day trips: bicycle to the specific Camaiore and Viareggio coastal pine forests (25km cycle from Lucca on the specific Lucca-Viareggio cycling path), or the Garfagnana valley (GPS: 44.1°N, 10.3°E, the most specifically "undiscovered Tuscany" single Tuscan inland valley: the specific chestnut forests, the Rocca di Verrucole medieval fortress, and the specific Orrido di Botri (the gorge, the most spectacular single Tuscan gorge walk) with zero international tourist presence). Alternatively: Elba island (ferry from Piombino. GPS: 42.9171°N, 10.5348°E. 1h ferry, approximately €15 per person: the most specifically beach-beautiful single Tuscan island (the Spiaggia di Fetovaia (GPS: 42.7322°N, 10.1530°E), the most specifically photogenic single Elba cove)).
Q&A: Tuscany 10-Day Itinerary
What is the most overlooked Tuscany destination in a 10-day program?
Arezzo, consistently overlooked because it sits to the east of the Florence-Siena-Val d'Orcia axis that most Tuscany itineraries follow. The specific Piero della Francesca fresco cycle in Arezzo is the single most convincing argument for the detour: art historians from Vasari to Kenneth Clark to Roberto Longhi have described the Arezzo frescoes as the most perfectly composed single Italian painting cycle. The Arezzo Piazza Grande on a non-antique-fair Saturday morning (the Fiera Antiquaria di Arezzo, the first Sunday and the preceding Saturday of every month: the most specifically important single Italian antique market, approximately 500 dealers) is the most specifically authentic single Italian market experience in Tuscany.
