The Florence Chamber of Commerce makes some good suggestions as to what and where to buy handmade items or artisan products in the city.

The list includes gold and silver, paper and bookbinding, mosaics, brass and bronzes, leather goods, linen embroidery, upholstery and terracotta.

Visitors are invited to shop in the traditional small 'botteghe' or workshops where the products are both made and sold. The streets and corners not to miss are named as the following: Ponte Vecchio, Por Santa Maria, via Maggio, Borgo Ognissanti, via dei Fossi, San Frediano and via Tornabuoni.

If you arrive in Impruneta from one of the country backroads you might just come across a number of the smaller workshops producing the famous terracotta.

Roughly translated that's cooked earth, and the dark brown clay pots, statues and atistic objects are just that.

Synonymous with Tuscany, Impruneta is the capital of terracotta manufacturing in Italy, at least historically since 1098 for a number of documented reasons.

• the local clay is waterproof and resistant to cracking at very low temperatures.
• an abundance of woodlands feeding the kilns
• the vicinity of Florence as a market

The nucleus of the Jewish community in Florence dates from 1437 when the first banks opened in the Renaissance capital. Yet, it wasn't long before the former were subsequently confined to a ghetto located near present day Piazza della Repubblica.

Forbidden to join the regular trades guilds, the Jews were only allowed to participate in textiles or second hand trading. It took another four hundred years to 1848 for the ghetto to be opened up and the Jews allowed to live freely in the city.

Today, the Jewish community in Florence has about 800 members and is located in via Farini where there is a kindergarten, Talmud Torah afternoon school for children, youth organizations, rest home and center of Jewish culture.

For the occasion of the Jubilee in 2000, the province of Arezzo highlighted six itineraries of faith inside the National Park of Casentino Forest in Tuscany close to the Emilia Romagna border. Of course, they can still be walked today and below we highlight two we would like to try.  For the record the others are the Camadolesi route, the Pieve route, the St. Francis route and the Via Romea route To know more about them, head to www.turismo.provincia.arezzo.it

The Virgin Mary itinerary

Visit the churches dedicated to Maria which are located along ancient pilgrim paths.

The recipes I propose are from the Tuscan cuisine, some of them specifically from Cortona and the Chiana Valley territory. I select from our tradition and elaborate upon the recipes to make them possible using modern techniques and to make them palatable for modern tastes. My joy is to share with our aspirant chefs our history and our folklore.

Take for instance the day, which we dedicate to the Etruscans: it is rich in local history and culture and very ancient recipes furthermore enrich it so that our friends and participants will be able to immerse themselves in a completely bucolic and goliardic atmosphere.

No less interesting is the time dedicated to the simplicity of the local traditions thanks to special, yet homey recipes that are easy to replicate for a dinner party with family and friends, accompanied rigorously by Tuscan wines!

The waters of the Serchio Valley plummet towards the Lucca Plain to remind you that this is a hilly zone of Tuscany. You can even ski in nearby Abetone. The towns seem to be hidden away around bends in the road and it is sometimes difficult to get your bearings. One landmark, however, is unmissable, the so called Devil's Bridge in the Media Valle del Serchio or mid Valley.

It is located near Borgo a Mozzano just 20km from Lucca, but its seems like 200 and a couple of centuries. The actual Ponte della Maddalena straddles the river with an incredible arch, commonly referred to as a 'donkey back'.

No doubt much local merchandise has been transprted across the river in such a way over the centuyries, but perhaps the first to use it may have been a local pig. The poor porker was used to exorcise the devil who had offered to help complete its construction in return for the soul of the first human who used it.

Bagnoli a Ripoli is a short hop due east from Florence towards the Val D'Arno. In fact, it is close enough to Florence to have been once called 'Quartum', a reference to the Roman miles from ancient roman Florentia of the time. Ripoli refers to the barrages which held back the annual flooding of the River Arno in the zone.

Our suggestions making up a series of holiday or vacation ideas to keep children and young ones entertained in between your wine tasting cantina visits. in no particular order province by Tuscan province, read on.

PISTOIA

Collodi, Parco di Pinocchio; All the classic characters from the story of Pinocchio by Carlo Lorenzini at the town of Collodi, which is also the pen name of the writer. Abetone, The nature Trail; The forest botanical Garden is situated in the high valley of Sestaione at 4000 feet above sea level and covers 3.5 acres. This woodland hosts a wide variety of tree and plant species as well as a stream and all the species of flora present in the mountains of Pistoia.

PRATO

Prato, Castello dell'Imperatore or the 'Emperor's Castle'; ancient (XIII century), imposing castle built for Frederick II of Svevia.

Tasting olive oil can be a real art or a thoroughly scientific process. In fact, both methods are used to analyse olive oil, detect impurities and separate your extra virgin olive oil from plain olive oil. The difference is not to be underestimated.

Rather comfortingly, the nose and palate of a trained expert is almost as infallible as a person in a white coat squeezing things into test tubes.

Delicious Italy participated in an olive oil tasting exercise in the town hall of Castel del Piano near Montalcino in Tuscany. 15 olive oils were sampled and, as is the standard practice, a munch on a slice of apple and a sip of water separated each test.

Typical Tuscan style soup with vegetables, beans and bread.

Ingredients

Red onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, beans, savoy cabbage, leek, zucchini, beans, tomato sauce, thyme, white Tuscan bread, salt and pepper, stale bread.