Tuscany Holiday - Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy
January 13th, 2008 | by Naimp | Posted in Travel |Pistoia, lies on North-West of Florence, in Tuscany Italy. Its name Pistoria, Pistoriae or Pistorium in Latin denotes the oven used for baking bread. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Pistoia distinguished itself for its strong economic growth; as a consequence the city came to control a large territory that exceeded what is today the province of Pistoia. In 1401 Pistoia lost its independence forever and became an integral part of the Florentine dominions. In the following centuries the city prospered.
The province of Pistoia, north of the Tuscany region, is encircled from the Appennines and offers wonderful wooded greens mount scenes and, interrupted from valleys and rivers, rich historical countries full of art, ideal destinations for those who love to join the natural excursions to the discovery of cities rich of character and beauty, in atmospheres like the more classic goals of Tuscany. Cities like Montecatini and Monsummano are famous for their thermal plants - SPA -, Pescia for its international market of flowers and above all the capoluogo, Pistoia, is rich of beautiful Romanesque churches. On the hills around Pistoia, at 400 meters of altitude, Factory ( in italian Fabbrica ) is found, a charming and very small village of medieval origin (XI sec), brought back recently to new life by a sage restoration. The houses are tightened around to an evocative Romanesque Pieve and in top to the country, encircled from two small garden, there is `the ORTENSIA’, one house for the vacations in stone, cooked and beams, according to the Tuscan tradition. The village is quite and silent, dipped in forests of chestnut trees and of oaks. You can get to it through paths, by foot or mountain bike. A wide swimming pool, with wonderful sight on the valley, assures beautiful moments of relax, in the middle of wonderful nature.
Laura Lenti - High School teacher - Pistoia - Tuscany - Italy
http://www.tuscanyrentahouse.com