Worth seeing
It would be pointless to make a list of the places to visit around the farm and Terricciola. We will mention a few just to give you an idea of what’s on offer: sipping coffee in Piazza della Signoria in Florence before going to the Uffizi Gallery, taking a photo beneath the Tower of Pisa, enjoying a snack among the towers of San Gimignano, taking a dip in the sea at the S. Rossore Nature Reserve, or going on a wine tour in the historic town of Volterra. Don’t miss the chance to enjoy one of the dance, music or theatre productions organised by our compatriot Andrea Bocelli in his Teatro del Silenzio, an outstanding natural amphitheatre surrounded by woodlands and stone statues, just ten minutes away from here.
Artisan crafts and food products
Tuscany is the cradle of culture and arts with a strong tradition of craftsmanship, which can clearly be seen in the work of expert leather, pottery, alabaster, and jewellery makers as well as in our countless food specialities. In Tuscany there’s no shortage of opportunities to buy fine products directly from where they are made, to appreciate the craftsmanship, and at discounted prices. Tuscany is famous for its arts and crafts markets. You can lose yourself in the stalls and choose from a huge variety of products: unique gifts or traditional handcrafted products as souvenirs of your Tuscan holiday. Here are a few examples:
Mercato di San Lorenzo: next to the Medici Chapels and the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence: gift items, clothing, and traditional handcrafted objects such as leather handbags, belts, and jackets at very affordable prices.
Mercato Centrale: the best and most attractive market in Florence. Recognizable by the building’s wide-open gallery and windows, the Central Market is arranged over two floors: on the ground floor you will find all kinds of meats, cheeses, fruit and vegetables as well as traditional Tuscan locally-sourced food products, while on the top floor you will be enticed by the colours and flavours of local cuisine and street-food stalls.
Mercato di Forte dei Marmi: the Mercato del Forte is named after the town of Forte dei Marmi, in Versilia. Around 60 stallholders have come together to create this travelling market, one of the best-known in Italy, where you will find boutiques with clothes, shoes, footwear, lingerie, leather goods, cashmere, fashion jewellery, swimwear, underwear, jeans, pret-a-porter, ready-to-wear fashion, all offering exceptionally good value.
Mercatino antiquariato di Lucca: the antiques market in Lucca is an unmissable destination as part of a holiday to Lucca. With around 220 exhibitors from all over, it is considered one of the best antiques markets in the country, not only for the abundance of items on sale but also because of the extraordinary harmony between the stalls and the city’s streets and squares.
Clothing
Tuscany is unquestionably one of Italy’s major fashion centres. Gucci, Ferragamo, Cavalli are just a few of the famous designers that started here. Our surroundings offer a wealth of opportunities for great shopping, with a variety of choices at exciting prices. Here are some recommendations:
Magazzini Mangini – Via Salaiola, 35 – La Rosa di Terricciola – Pisa. Department store with a wide range of designer collections and homeware accessories.
Coll – Via De Chirico 7/8 – Peccioli – Pisa. Clothes store with plenty of choices for menswear and womenswear.
Barberino Designer Outlet – Barberino di Mugello – Via Meucci, nr. Scopicci – Florence. Situated on the hillsides near Lake Bilancino, the Barberino Designer Outlet is inspired by Florence’s Renaissance architecture. The complex comprises over 100 stores where you will find top fashion brands such as Calvin Klein, Guess, Missoni, Prada and much more. The outlet also has cafes and restaurants where you can enjoy a nice break.
The Mall – Leccio – Via Europa, 8 – Florence. The Mall is located in Leccio, surrounded by Tuscan hills. Here you will find, among others, designer stores such as Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Ermenegildo Zegna, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Hogan, La Perla, Loro Piana, Ferragamo, Tod’s, Valentino, Yohji Yamamoto and Yves Saint Laurent. This is a unique place for those who love high-end designers and haute couture fashion.
Outlet Dolce & Gabbana – Incisa in Valdarno – Via S. Maria Maddalena, 49 – Florence. This high-end designer store with two floors offers previous seasons’ collections of clothes, shoes and accessories at reasonable prices.
Outlet Prada – Levanella Montevarchi – Via Levanella Becorpi – (AR) near Florence, is one of the best factory outlets in Tuscany with a wide range of Prada clothes, shoes and accessories at very good prices.
Outlet Roberto Cavalli – Sesto Fiorentino, Osmannoro – Via Volturno, 3/3 – Florence. The first official outlet by the Italian designer. Here you will find items from Roberto Cavalli’s previous collections, as well as those from his boutique, with clothes and bags at affordable and promotional prices.
Families
If you are on holiday with your family, there are lots of places to entertain the kids in the area around the Fattoria Fibbiano; here are a few suggestions:
Livorno aquarium: in Tuscany’s biggest aquarium you can go on a fascinating journey to discover the Mediterranean Sea through nature, science and art. As you go past the themed tanks you will see the theatre of the sea, the shark tank, an area devoted to reptiles and insects, a tank containing a reproduction of a Roman ship and you will also go through a glass tunnel where the fish seem to fly over the heads of the visitors.
Natural History Museum of Certosa di Calci in Pisa: built at the end of the 16th century as a “Galleria” connected to the Giardino dei Semplici in Pisa (now the Botanical Gardens), the Museum has expanded over the course of the centuries and now boasts a collection of enormous historical and scientific value, aimed especially at children who can wander around the rooms discovering and learning all sorts of interesting facts about animals.
Cecina Aqua Park at the Cecina Aqua Village: here you will find a huge number of water slides to suit all ages, the volcano island, the children’s island with swimming pools and slides for young children, acrobatic displays, circus workshops.
Tirrenia Aqua Park: swimming pools for adults and children, slides to suit all tastes, solarium, inflatable play areas, trampolines, restaurant and lounge bar.
Pinocchio Park at Collodi: at Pinocchio Park you can spend a day immersed in one of the best-known stories in the world, in the village which gave the author his name. You’ll be able to rediscover a timeless book that has enchanted generations of readers of all ages as you meet Geppetto, Master Cherry, Candlewick, the Whale, the Cat and the Fox, the Blue Fairy and all the characters from the marvellous fantasy story by Carlo Lorenzini, known as Collodi.
Entertainment
Everyone knows that Tuscany provides so many opportunities for leisure and entertainment, both by the sea and inland. There is an endless choice of places that offer live music, plays, events, festivals, night clubs, pubs, cinemas and so much more. You can choose from among the famous night-spots of the Versilia, which since the 1950s has been synonymous with nightlife, to the large number of wine bars, beer gardens and pubs in the Oltrarno area of Florence; From ink at Lucca Comics, the biggest comics festival in Italy, to the pentatonic scales of Pistoia Blues and the innovative music of Arezzo Wave.