Secret Tuscany

The oak tree where Pinocchio hanged himself, a fifteenth-century stained glass window with an image of Mussolini, a forgotten statue by Leonardo da Vinci, a luxury hotel that is now a public lavatory, a 17th-century milk distributor, a wine-drinking frog, a unique astronomical phenomenon, a staircase in Siena bearing St. Catherine’s teeth marks, a whale in Lucca, an authentic phial of Christ’s blood, a faith that moves rocks, diamonds within marble, the location of the amphora from the Mariage Feast of Cana, an extraordinary anatomical theatre in Pistoia, Fata Morgana’s spring of eternal youth, an unusual stroll along a marble quarry monorail. Far from the crowds and the usual clichés, Tuscany still reserves any number of hidden treasures for those who know how to wander off the beaten track. This is a guide that is indispensable for those who think they know Tuscany… or those who want to discover another side to the region.