The UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Tuscany

Do you know that visiting Tuscany you have the chance to admire seven wonders included in the UNESCO world heritage site list? Set in the heart of Italy, Tuscany is a precious chest that holds artistic unparalleled masterpieces, beautiful landscapes, protected natural reserves, a blue sea and hundreds of small villages and historical cities.

It’s such a great honor for Tuscany to be part of UNESCO world heritage site list with seven treasures. The goal of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is to search out cultural and natural heritages of outstanding value to the mankind across the world, and protect them.

Let’s discover now these sites that we proudly show to millions of tourists every year.

The seven Tuscan UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Ponte Vecchio in Florence – Photo Credits: John Bauder

Historical Center of Florence (1982). The birth land of the Renaissance is the first Tuscan site to be inserted in the list. Walking along this open air museum, you will admire masterpieces as the Duomo and the Brunelleschi Dome, Giotto’s bell tower, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio, The Basilica of Santa Croce, the Accademia Gallery with the David of Michelangelo, Uffizi Museum and many other less known jewels full of charm and beauty as Palazzo Borghese or the Vasari Corridor.

Piazza dei Miracoli – Photo Credits: Nicola Bandini – My Travel in Tuscany

Piazza del Duomo of Pisa (1987). It is known also as Square of Miracles. The Italian poet Gabriele d’Annunzio coined this name for the beauty and novelty of its monuments: the leaning tower, the impressive Duomo, the round Baptistery, and the cemetery and the old hospital that frame the square. If you want to get out the square exploring the city, read also our post about Things to do in Pisa beyond the tower.

San Gimignano – Photo Credits: Luca Biancani

San Gimignano (1990). The medieval town known all over the world for its fourteen towers and its architecture. Thanks to the position up on the hill, it dominates the surrounding valleys and you can see the skyline made of towers and stone houses from the roads, while you get closer.

View of Siena – Photo Credits: Nicola Bandini – My Travel in Tuscany

Historical Center of Siena (1995). This wonderful, romantic small city is known for the Palio, the horse race between the Contrade that thrill its inhabitants and tourists, the D-shape Piazza del Campo, its narrow streets and the Romanesque Gothic Duomo with its marble mosaic floor.

View of Pienza

Historical Center of Pienza (1996). The birth land of Pope Pius II – the humanist Enea Silvio Piccolomini – that on 15th century commanded to rebuild the village to create “the ideal town of the Renaissance”. In the middle of Val d’Orcia, it is famous also for its delicious and tasty pecorino cheese.

Photo Credits: Leonardo Ascione

Val d’Orcia (2004). The breathtaking landscapes made of green rolling hills, wheat fields, cypresses, olive oil trees, vineyards and romantic isolated farmhouse surrounded by the nature. This is the classic Tuscany everyone known and wishes to visit at least one time in a life.

Palazzo di Seravezza, Lucca – Photo Credits: Nicola Bandini – My Travel in Tuscany

Medici Villas and Gardens (2013). The lasts to be inserted in the UNESCO world heritage site list on 2013. They consist in two gardens and twelve elegant villas in Tuscany, built between the 15th to 17th centuries. They were built respecting the nature, surrounded by magnificent gardens. Medici Family used to live or to spend their holidays. Here a list of these tuscan beauties:

Villa di Cafaggiolo, in Barberino del Mugello, Florence.
Villa del Trebbio, in San Piero a Sieve, Florence.
Villa di Careggi, in Florence.
Villa di Fiesole, in Fiesole, Florence.
Villa di Castello, in Florence.
Villa Ambra, in Poggio a Caiano, Prato.
Villa La Petraia, in Florence.
Villa di Cerreto Guidi, in Cerreto Guidi, Florence.
Villa La Màgia, in Quarrata, Pistoia.
Villa di Artimino, in Carmignano, Prato.
Villa di Poggio Imperiale, Florence.
Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens in Florence.
Pratolino Gardens, in Vaglia, Florence.
Palazzo di Seravezza, in Seravezza in the coastal area of Versilia, Lucca.