Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Casa Dolce Casa
By their very nature, family-orientated Tuscans travel little (many spend a lifetime living in
the town of their birth) and place great importance on
casa dolce casa
(home sweet home)
- the rate of home ownership in Tuscany is among Europe's highest.
Rural lifestyle is slavishly driven by close-knit, ancient communities in small towns and
villages, where local matters and gossip are more important than national or world affairs.
Everyone knows everyone to the point of being clannish, making assimilation for outsiders
hard - if not impossible. Farming is the self-sufficient way of life, albeit one that is becom-
ing increasingly difficult - hence the mushrooming of
agriturismi
(farm-stay accommoda-
tion), as farmers stoically utilise every resource they have to make ends meet.
At one time the domain of Tuscany's substantial well-off British population (there's
good reason why playwright John Mortimer dubbed Chianti 'Chiantishire' in his 1988 nov-
el and 1989 TV adaptation
Summer's Lease
), the region's bounty of stylish stone villas and
farmhouses with terracotta floors, wood-burning fireplaces and terraces with views are now
increasingly passing back into the hands of Tuscans eagerly rediscovering their coun-
tryside.
Urban or rural, children typically remain at home until they reach their 30s, often only
fleeing the nest to wed. In line with national trends, Tuscan families are small - one or two
kids, with around 20% of families childless and 26% of households being single. Despite
increasing numbers of women working, chauvinistic attitudes remain well entrenched in
more rural areas.
VIRTUAL TUSCAN LIFESTYLE
»
Florence Night & Day
(
http://lovingflorence.blogspot.com
)
Compelling diary of a 30-something
Florentine gal.
»
One Hundred Years Later in Florence
(
http://bellabiker.blogspot.com
) A New York executive fol-
lows her Italian ancestors to Florence and becomes a bike-tour leader.
»
Girl in Florence
(
http://girlinflorence.com
) Insider musings, reflections, practical tips and (excellent)
recommendations from an American called Georgette very much at home in Florence.
»
Maple Leaf Mamma
(
www.mapleleafmamma.com
)
Sharp, pithy prose on navigating motherhood in
a traditional macho country from a feminist perspective; penned by a Canadian in Florence.
»
A Dusty Olive Green
(
www.adustyolivegreen.com
)
A blog from Florence by a Danish photographer.
