At Home in Tuscany
About us
I cannot think of a better way to describe myself than as “a born and bred Tuscan“. My whole family comes from a small village called Civitella Marittima, halfway between Siena and the coast of the Maremma, and to me this is more than just the place I come from, it’s essentially who I am: the way I talk, my habits, tastes, and knowledge depend on the fact that I was born and grew up there. That’s still the place I like to call home, even if my Canadian husband and I spend most of the week in Pisa, where we work.
Sometimes it takes a “foreign eye” to make you see how great what you consider simply normal is and how lucky you are, and I have to say that my husband’s enthusiasm for Tuscany and Italy in general has made me notice things that I had never noticed before.
A few years back, when most locals still thought that maybe people would not have enjoyed spending time in our small hilltop hamlet, in one of the most unspoilt areas of Tuscany, we decided that we wanted to try and share our love for this area with as many people as we could. We renovated my great-grandparents’ little house in the village, Casina di Rosa, and decided that we would try to make it a vacation rental in Tuscany.
To my great surprise – my husband never fails to remind me that “he knew it and he had told me so” – we found in fact many people who were interested in spending some time here and their often enthusiastic attitude and comments have helped me look at my home town and area with brand new eyes.
So, once again, through foreign eyes I have come to learn about my region, as well as to enjoy the everyday pleasures of life in Tuscany.
Over the years, Pisa has become a second home, and we have learnt to love that city too, and to appreciate what’s beyond the Leaning Tower.
What we wish for ourselves is to be able to keep sharing our beautiful region with visitors, to help them get the most from their vacation in Tuscany through our local experience and at the same time to learn from them.
We hope to be able to continue to welcome them and make them feel at home in Italy.
To contact us, you can write to info@athomeintuscany.org
Digg Delicious Favorites Blogmarks Magnolia Google Newsvine Reddit Technorati
Written by gloria on May 2, 2009








Leen Cordiner
May 10, 2009 at 1:25 am
Hi Gloria,
I would really like to try and find a way to work with you…both to support what you are doing locally and to try and find people with a similar pasion and vision in other regions in Italy.
My email is len@whl.travel. I am the CEO of http://www.whl.travel and we are slowly building a global network of local people who share your vision of travel and bringing them to the attention of travellers who love “gentle travel”.
Kind Regards…….. Len
Jackie Grandchamps
May 20, 2009 at 6:29 am
Hi Gloria,
I have the same approach about my native country (France) where I organize tours in non touristy places to immerse women in the culture. My site is http://www.frenchescapade.com
I would like to expand my offerings to Tuscany, so I would like to talk to you to see if we can work together.
Thanks
Jackie
natalie
June 16, 2009 at 3:56 am
Hi Gloria,
I’m not sure if you ever respond to comments posted, but I’m interested to know what is the best time of the spring- the greenest and most vibrant time – to be in Tuscany? We are traveling to Tuscany for the first time next spring; I’m a photographer and want to see it when things are pretty and blooming. Any recommendation you have is welcome; we are thinking of coming the last week of April or first week in May.
Your blog is lovely! I just found it…
gloria
June 16, 2009 at 7:27 am
Hi Natalie! Thank you for your kind words! Generally the best time is at the beginning of May up to the 20th if it does not rain too much or on the contrary if it’s not two dry. Unfortunately the vibrant green doesn’t last for more than 3 weeks. Both weeks you mention are lovely, some flowers might be not in bloom yet at the end of April depending on the winter. Good luck!
aldo
August 19, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Gloria,
I loved reading the articles on your site, I couldn’t but want to continue learning more about Tuscany when I parted ways from your site.
I work for a travel blog in cheapoair.wordpress.com and would greatly be interested in having you guestblog for us.
Please email at asinger@cheapoair.com for more information.
Thanks for your time,
Aldo
gloria
August 21, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Hi Aldo,
thank you very much for your kind offer! I’d love that! I am leaving for a few days, but I’ll write to you as soon as I am back home.
You can contact me at info@athomeintuscany.org
Gloria