Frommer's Florence, Tuscany and Umbria (Frommer's Complete Guides)

Book Highlight: Locanda dell'Amorosa, Sinalunga
Photo by Locanda dell'Amorosa
In the Chiana valley, just east of Siena and south of Arezzo, an arrow-straight country lane lined with slim dark cypresses leads away from modern-day Sinalunga to a charming relic of Italy's rich agrarian past.








Book Highlight: Castello Banfi, Tuscany
Photo by Castello Banfi
Castello Banfi appears on the Tuscan horizon like a pink hilltop castle straight out of a fairy tale. A tall, slender Rapunzel-style tower overlooks a huge estate that reaches almost as far as the nearby Mediterranean. Within this authentic medieval fortress lies a cozy courtyard; outside lies a cluster of stone cottages with narrow vine-covered streets, a hamlet that clung to the castle walls in the dark ages. The estate holds vines, olive groves, wheat fields, plum orchards, and woodlands; within those same forests live wild boar, deer, pheasant, even truffles.