Aug 2, 2023Liked by Giulia Scarpaleggia, Tommaso Galli
As a journalist living in Rome and writing about Italy, I think about this all the time. I try to encourage people to visit more under-the-radar places, but I also worry about what will happen to those places if they become touristy. Just yesterday, I was speaking with an American woman living in Tropea who told me that it took her three months to find an apartment because the locals prefer to Airbnb their properties to tourists during the summer and leave them empty in the winter. And Tropea is still relatively under-the-radar, at least more so than Florence, Rome, and Venice. It makes me wonder if I write about Tropea for an American publication, am I contributing to the problem? As a writer, how can I contribute to a more sustainable form of tourism?
This is exactly my same fear, but then I think that is everyone makes an effort to talk about what else we can visit and enjoy in Italy we can show more ways of travelling, and diffuse the tourism. When it comes to AirBnB, though, I think that is something that unfortunately must be regulated by the government.
Someone recently told me to stop posting about certain spots in the Castelli Romani where I live. And I have to addition, we are starting to feel the issue even down here. Not so much from foreigners but Italian travelers. There are loads of Italian 'influencers' who are posting all about these beautiful natural spaces in Lazio that so far haven't been ruined by hoards of people. I don't know what the solution is but I do think we all need to work together
Exactly my thoughts: we need to work together, as writers and also as locals living in different parts of Italy. I’m learning so much from what others are doing in other regions in terms of new way of telling a destination, or promoting less known are that need tourism
Dear Laura and Giulia, Listening to Giulia's podcast and reading your comments, I feel relieved to have found this is a place where we can openly talk and search for sustainable solutions to the constant march of overtourism in Italy. I have lived in Como for 15 years and am raising my Italian son here. Como seems to have made it on to the must-visit-Italy list with Florence, Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre. It is a small city and not designed for the thousands and thousands of tourists which completely block the city in the summer. Life-long Comaschi feel they no longer belong here - in the town where they were born and raised. In the past 12 months the change has been more rapid and terrifying: small local shops are closing and being replaced with shops that are only for tourists; there is not a day that passes where I do not see a tourist in my residential neighborhood which is slowly turning into an AirBnB metropolis; this year there seems to be no off-season and it's difficult to live real life here and bring out children to school for all the traffic. I wonder how long I can afford my rent and if I will be pushed out as part of a conversion to short-term rental. I see that travel has become a sfida to collect photos of the Instagrammable spots, no longer an adventure. I'm confused by the influencers on IG and TT who ruthlessly promote moving and travelling to Italy as a type of fantasy life...with seemingly no concern to the unsustainable impacts. I try to focus on the positive and share my obsession with the genius of Italian food culture and home cooking - but more and more I feel unable to bottle my fears. Giulia's post has given me some ideas. I hope that Italian local governments can begin to implement some limits on AirBnBs as has happened in Vail and Aspen, as a way to preserve the local population and culture. Thank you both for giving me hope and a group of like-minded people to work on this future together.
Oh Lolly, what you are describing here about Como reminds me so much of what happened to San Gimignano 20 years ago. Thank you so much for sharing your perspective and story!
Aug 2, 2023Liked by Giulia Scarpaleggia, Tommaso Galli
I so appreciate that you are always sharing your life with us, the beautiful and the simple and the honest and romantic--and also asking us to think, to learn, to be better. Thank you for educating, and for speaking so beautifully and passionately about all the important topics related to food and tourism and travel.
Thank you so much, Sarah! I have to confess that I found my voice, and the courage to speak my mind, thanks to Substack and the support of fellow writers. And these thoughts on a sustainable way of travelling have been on my mind for such a long time, being also an actor of the same touristic system of Tuscany.
Aug 2, 2023Liked by Giulia Scarpaleggia, Tommaso Galli
So well written. Most inspiring ideas on what genuine experiences rather than ticks on a travel guide. I know my ideal holiday would be to eat my way around Italy, in the countryside. But then I live in the country!
Aug 2, 2023Liked by Giulia Scarpaleggia, Tommaso Galli
I have read a lot of the same things in other articles about the mass tourism and rudeness just trying to get Instagram photos. When we visit I will leave social media behind I think. We are planning a trip in October 2024 and this podcast helps me a lot. My plan all along has been the smaller towns and agriturismo that I have been following for years such as yours. I prefer to take our trip slow and enjoy it like locals instead of rushing around to try to see it all. I am constantly rearranging my trip because we only have 2 weeks there and I want to be able to visit all my favorites but they are spread out. 🤷♀️ I sit and look at the map and route and reroute it.... we’ll see how it all pans out. I appreciate all your advice and tips!! 💞
Aug 2, 2023Liked by Giulia Scarpaleggia, Tommaso Galli
I have visited Florence many times and was there for in early May staying in the Oltrarno assuming it would be less busy and I was wrong! The city was so crowded and we couldn’t wait to leave. I had thought about returning in December but decided to spend the time in Arezzo instead.
Aug 2, 2023Liked by Giulia Scarpaleggia, Tommaso Galli
Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately though, I think that the problem with mass tourism is in its essence, the massification of the experience, the same for everyone, tasteless and commoditized. This tourism is a contributor to our planet being on fire. Inherently, we're calling for a different kind of travelling experience that appreciates what's real and leaves Instagram aside. This way of travelling is not necessarily aided by the all-comforts trope and you have to make an effort to create it. It exists (always did), but by definition is not for everyone, so we'll always be in the minority.
I think you perfectly got the point: it require and extra effort - of thinking, of researching, sometimes also of spending - and it is not for everyone. That’s why we have to talk about the other possibile ways of travelling, to create a new narrative, and make it more accessible.
Aug 2, 2023Liked by Giulia Scarpaleggia, Tommaso Galli
Giulia & Tommaso, we really wanted to sign up for a class in July but, instead, after our early morning walk, we are going spent most of our time in our air-conditioned home on Lake Bolsena. Unfortunately, with advancing age, we are much more sensitive to the heat, which also affects our appetite! We would love to do a 3 day course and spend time in an agriturismo but will not be in Italy from October to mid April. Fortunately, over the many years we have visited or lived in Italy, we have already visited many of the big cities, usually off season. We now savor the essence of normal Italian life. Thank you both for all you do to teach and promote the same!
We are all more sensitive to heat! These days are slowly cooler and I feel so much better. If everything goes as expected, we might replicate the 3 day experience also in may and June!
Aug 2, 2023Liked by Giulia Scarpaleggia, Tommaso Galli
Thank you for this authentic and courageous material. I have been reading and following various similar pleas, campaigns, articles in the media about the new age of tourism in all sorts of places around the world and especially Italy and I am really sorry to see it is such a big problem of locals' life. I think this should be the mantra of toruism for the future: "Truly sustainable tourism happens when the government manages to reconcile the quality of life of resident citizens with the quality of experience of temporary citizens, the tourists."
Thank you for your off-the-beaten track recommendations! Will be saving them for my future Italian experience.
Thank you, Roxana. It is a very ambitious goal, but that should guide the efforts of government, and also the new narrative of writers. I hope you’ll get to travel soon in this area, to explore what a local provincial town can offer!
Aug 2, 2023Liked by Giulia Scarpaleggia, Tommaso Galli
Two years ago, I was in Tuscany on a honeymoon with my husband. It was at the end of September. We stayed near you, in Barberino Val d'Elsa, and we absolutely fell in love with the place. Originally, we wanted to visit Siena or Florence, but in the end, we decided to explore those quiet local towns. The only tourist destination was San Gimignano, and we enjoyed gelato in the square. We spent a lot of time in a local trattoria and the nearby winery, La Spinosa. We also visited Colle di Val d'Elsa, but honestly, the town didn't impress us (we didn't have your recommendations!). However, the Sentierelsa Trail? I love it!
What a perfect staying in Barberino! The countryside there is just gorgeous! I know Colle Val d’Elsa needs a better narration: it can improve a lot the offer for tourists (and locals) but has very high potential. I hope one day you will be back to Colle and experience some of the hidden gems!
We're waiting for a performance of Turandot to begin as I write this. We came to Tuscany for ten days to attend the Puccini festival. But we didn't visit Florence on this trip. Today we visited Montecatini Terme and Vinci. Tomorrow is our last day and we seem to have run out of places to visit.
We're in Lucca. The trick is to find those special places and for that we do web searches. That's how we found Vinci today. In general Google will lead you to the places where everyone else goes, which really isn't that attractive. Tomorrow we have a half day with a performance in the evening. We fly out Sunday morning and have to be packed Saturday night.
It was fun visiting Tuscany again but I'm ready to see my dog and cats. :)
An excellent piece-and I was so excited to see the podcast version pop up in my podcast app. So lovely to hear your voice again.
I joined a facebook Italian travel info group this year--it has a lot of good logistic info about nuts and bolts of travel--but the thing that has blown me away is that members regularly post their itineraries and it is almost always Venice-Florence-Rome-Amalfi coast. That’s it. And often all four squeezed in in little more than a week!
We are coming for almost a month in late fall, and while planning I went in circles--stay in Florence/stay outside of Florence for a bit more than a week. In the end, we chose to stay in the Oltrarno neighborhood where we both had lived before we met, and just hope we can find pockets of an authentic Florence, and hope we are not just part of the problem.
And of course we have a week not far from Colle Val di Elsa! (So happy to have your guide ❤️)
On our last trip (January 2020) I was surprised how much English I heard all over Florence, not just in the center, and at the loss of so many of the little in dependent rosticceria, alimentari, etc. (I’m sure it is not just over tourism causing this, it has to be a complicated formula, but maybe that is at its heart).
Watching the explosion of tourism in Italy only makes me want to spend our next trips exploring places off the beaten path--and hoping they don’t become overwhelmed as well.
There’s so much on your comment I relate to! I remember when we planned our trip to Scotland 5 years ago, we tried to spend time on smaller towns, and how much we loved it there!
I am really happy for your month in late fall, and can’t wait to meet you!
The closing down of small shops is due so many factors, not just tourism. It’s a bigger problem, and all goes back to the way the government has been managing our cities in the last decades 😞
I know there must be more forces at work for the loss of so many small shops. Certainly it happened here a long time ago--in boston it’s rare to find a small butcher shop, and I can only think of one small fruttivendolo, in the Italian section. It broke me heart to see how many were gone in Florence in the area between SSpirito and Porta Romana. I kept saying, “I’m sure it’s here!”
We cannot wait to meet you this fall! Michela wants especially to meet the dogs 😍
I can't say that I've had any high minded goals beyond just avoiding crowds and big cities, but I've been bitten by the "walking/hiking/biking" bug. Unfortunately, in the States, that's usually in overpopulated national parks during tourist season, but so far we hiked and biked in Ireland from small town to small town and managed to mostly avoid the huge bus crowd. And I'll be walking on the Del Norte in Spain this fall (after the partiers go back to school, I hope). The tourist season still causes issues, I'm sure (as I hear/read about in Spain) but it's definitely brining money into smaller towns.
Not sure if this is advisable or even doable, but I couldn't imagine something more interesting than walking the Via Francigena in fall or early spring and stopping for the Masterclass. If it is, I'd love to put that on the short list.
Guilia, I completely agree with your proposal ie for tourists to plan their trips to experience a small town, live like the locals, and be slow and intentional. My first visit to Italy was in July2015. Hot days, end of season, but we intentionally planned our trip to limit our time at touristy places like Rome and Milan.
Florence in 2015 wasn’t that bad at the time, not very crowded, but I think the pandemic has changed it, or so I hear. Our next trip is definitely going to be the small towns and at a cooler time, and we are yet to explore Tuscany. Small towns like yours would be a perfect choice.
I distinctly remember that when I spoke a little bit of Italian for how to order food or the bill, i noticed an appreciative glimmer in the eyes of those who served us. I think it’s a small example of the importance of respecting the culture, traditions and ways of Italy.
I can’t wait to write about it, and tell the story about our Italian experience. Hopefully I can dig up all those great photos, while I finish up my current projects for “The Marinade”.
There are many valid points in this post, including the observation regarding the ridiculously unmanageable crowds in tiny San Gimignano. However, as a resident in the Val d'Elsa (where I can see the towers of San Gimignano from my house), I take issue with the idea that residents in S. Gimignano need to drive 30 minutes to shop for groceries. Aside from several alimentari and gastronomie within the city walls, there is a perfectly decent Coop supermarket five minutes from the Porta Giovanni entrance where buses disgorge the tourists. For the rest, excellent advice and observations regarding how, why, and when to visit Tuscany.
While Florence is wonderful, it is best left for early or later in the year. Sadly the IG crowds make it almost impossible to enjoy it in-season. Tuscany (or its neighbor Umbria) is best seen by staying for a period somewhere as an anchor, and then exploring around. This is where you discover the real country, figure out what really works for you, and where you meet people and make relationships, as we have over the years. Sadly, mass tourism is killing the very concept it meant to advance.
As a journalist living in Rome and writing about Italy, I think about this all the time. I try to encourage people to visit more under-the-radar places, but I also worry about what will happen to those places if they become touristy. Just yesterday, I was speaking with an American woman living in Tropea who told me that it took her three months to find an apartment because the locals prefer to Airbnb their properties to tourists during the summer and leave them empty in the winter. And Tropea is still relatively under-the-radar, at least more so than Florence, Rome, and Venice. It makes me wonder if I write about Tropea for an American publication, am I contributing to the problem? As a writer, how can I contribute to a more sustainable form of tourism?
This is exactly my same fear, but then I think that is everyone makes an effort to talk about what else we can visit and enjoy in Italy we can show more ways of travelling, and diffuse the tourism. When it comes to AirBnB, though, I think that is something that unfortunately must be regulated by the government.
Someone recently told me to stop posting about certain spots in the Castelli Romani where I live. And I have to addition, we are starting to feel the issue even down here. Not so much from foreigners but Italian travelers. There are loads of Italian 'influencers' who are posting all about these beautiful natural spaces in Lazio that so far haven't been ruined by hoards of people. I don't know what the solution is but I do think we all need to work together
Exactly my thoughts: we need to work together, as writers and also as locals living in different parts of Italy. I’m learning so much from what others are doing in other regions in terms of new way of telling a destination, or promoting less known are that need tourism
Dear Laura and Giulia, Listening to Giulia's podcast and reading your comments, I feel relieved to have found this is a place where we can openly talk and search for sustainable solutions to the constant march of overtourism in Italy. I have lived in Como for 15 years and am raising my Italian son here. Como seems to have made it on to the must-visit-Italy list with Florence, Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre. It is a small city and not designed for the thousands and thousands of tourists which completely block the city in the summer. Life-long Comaschi feel they no longer belong here - in the town where they were born and raised. In the past 12 months the change has been more rapid and terrifying: small local shops are closing and being replaced with shops that are only for tourists; there is not a day that passes where I do not see a tourist in my residential neighborhood which is slowly turning into an AirBnB metropolis; this year there seems to be no off-season and it's difficult to live real life here and bring out children to school for all the traffic. I wonder how long I can afford my rent and if I will be pushed out as part of a conversion to short-term rental. I see that travel has become a sfida to collect photos of the Instagrammable spots, no longer an adventure. I'm confused by the influencers on IG and TT who ruthlessly promote moving and travelling to Italy as a type of fantasy life...with seemingly no concern to the unsustainable impacts. I try to focus on the positive and share my obsession with the genius of Italian food culture and home cooking - but more and more I feel unable to bottle my fears. Giulia's post has given me some ideas. I hope that Italian local governments can begin to implement some limits on AirBnBs as has happened in Vail and Aspen, as a way to preserve the local population and culture. Thank you both for giving me hope and a group of like-minded people to work on this future together.
Oh Lolly, what you are describing here about Como reminds me so much of what happened to San Gimignano 20 years ago. Thank you so much for sharing your perspective and story!
I so appreciate that you are always sharing your life with us, the beautiful and the simple and the honest and romantic--and also asking us to think, to learn, to be better. Thank you for educating, and for speaking so beautifully and passionately about all the important topics related to food and tourism and travel.
Thank you so much, Sarah! I have to confess that I found my voice, and the courage to speak my mind, thanks to Substack and the support of fellow writers. And these thoughts on a sustainable way of travelling have been on my mind for such a long time, being also an actor of the same touristic system of Tuscany.
So well written. Most inspiring ideas on what genuine experiences rather than ticks on a travel guide. I know my ideal holiday would be to eat my way around Italy, in the countryside. But then I live in the country!
I love nothing more that discovering those little trattorias in the countryside where you can really experience the taste of a land
I have read a lot of the same things in other articles about the mass tourism and rudeness just trying to get Instagram photos. When we visit I will leave social media behind I think. We are planning a trip in October 2024 and this podcast helps me a lot. My plan all along has been the smaller towns and agriturismo that I have been following for years such as yours. I prefer to take our trip slow and enjoy it like locals instead of rushing around to try to see it all. I am constantly rearranging my trip because we only have 2 weeks there and I want to be able to visit all my favorites but they are spread out. 🤷♀️ I sit and look at the map and route and reroute it.... we’ll see how it all pans out. I appreciate all your advice and tips!! 💞
Planning is part of the enjoyment! I really hope your two weeks in October will bring you so much joy and inspiration, and some relaxation, too!
I have visited Florence many times and was there for in early May staying in the Oltrarno assuming it would be less busy and I was wrong! The city was so crowded and we couldn’t wait to leave. I had thought about returning in December but decided to spend the time in Arezzo instead.
How lovely Arezzo will be in December! So happy for your choice!
Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately though, I think that the problem with mass tourism is in its essence, the massification of the experience, the same for everyone, tasteless and commoditized. This tourism is a contributor to our planet being on fire. Inherently, we're calling for a different kind of travelling experience that appreciates what's real and leaves Instagram aside. This way of travelling is not necessarily aided by the all-comforts trope and you have to make an effort to create it. It exists (always did), but by definition is not for everyone, so we'll always be in the minority.
I think you perfectly got the point: it require and extra effort - of thinking, of researching, sometimes also of spending - and it is not for everyone. That’s why we have to talk about the other possibile ways of travelling, to create a new narrative, and make it more accessible.
Giulia & Tommaso, we really wanted to sign up for a class in July but, instead, after our early morning walk, we are going spent most of our time in our air-conditioned home on Lake Bolsena. Unfortunately, with advancing age, we are much more sensitive to the heat, which also affects our appetite! We would love to do a 3 day course and spend time in an agriturismo but will not be in Italy from October to mid April. Fortunately, over the many years we have visited or lived in Italy, we have already visited many of the big cities, usually off season. We now savor the essence of normal Italian life. Thank you both for all you do to teach and promote the same!
We are all more sensitive to heat! These days are slowly cooler and I feel so much better. If everything goes as expected, we might replicate the 3 day experience also in may and June!
Thank you for this authentic and courageous material. I have been reading and following various similar pleas, campaigns, articles in the media about the new age of tourism in all sorts of places around the world and especially Italy and I am really sorry to see it is such a big problem of locals' life. I think this should be the mantra of toruism for the future: "Truly sustainable tourism happens when the government manages to reconcile the quality of life of resident citizens with the quality of experience of temporary citizens, the tourists."
Thank you for your off-the-beaten track recommendations! Will be saving them for my future Italian experience.
Thank you, Roxana. It is a very ambitious goal, but that should guide the efforts of government, and also the new narrative of writers. I hope you’ll get to travel soon in this area, to explore what a local provincial town can offer!
Two years ago, I was in Tuscany on a honeymoon with my husband. It was at the end of September. We stayed near you, in Barberino Val d'Elsa, and we absolutely fell in love with the place. Originally, we wanted to visit Siena or Florence, but in the end, we decided to explore those quiet local towns. The only tourist destination was San Gimignano, and we enjoyed gelato in the square. We spent a lot of time in a local trattoria and the nearby winery, La Spinosa. We also visited Colle di Val d'Elsa, but honestly, the town didn't impress us (we didn't have your recommendations!). However, the Sentierelsa Trail? I love it!
What a perfect staying in Barberino! The countryside there is just gorgeous! I know Colle Val d’Elsa needs a better narration: it can improve a lot the offer for tourists (and locals) but has very high potential. I hope one day you will be back to Colle and experience some of the hidden gems!
We're waiting for a performance of Turandot to begin as I write this. We came to Tuscany for ten days to attend the Puccini festival. But we didn't visit Florence on this trip. Today we visited Montecatini Terme and Vinci. Tomorrow is our last day and we seem to have run out of places to visit.
Oh no! Where are you based? Maybe Massa? Or Carrara? Why not Barga?
We're in Lucca. The trick is to find those special places and for that we do web searches. That's how we found Vinci today. In general Google will lead you to the places where everyone else goes, which really isn't that attractive. Tomorrow we have a half day with a performance in the evening. We fly out Sunday morning and have to be packed Saturday night.
It was fun visiting Tuscany again but I'm ready to see my dog and cats. :)
So important!! Thank you for raising awareness and also having some viable solution.
Thank you for reading 🤗
An excellent piece-and I was so excited to see the podcast version pop up in my podcast app. So lovely to hear your voice again.
I joined a facebook Italian travel info group this year--it has a lot of good logistic info about nuts and bolts of travel--but the thing that has blown me away is that members regularly post their itineraries and it is almost always Venice-Florence-Rome-Amalfi coast. That’s it. And often all four squeezed in in little more than a week!
We are coming for almost a month in late fall, and while planning I went in circles--stay in Florence/stay outside of Florence for a bit more than a week. In the end, we chose to stay in the Oltrarno neighborhood where we both had lived before we met, and just hope we can find pockets of an authentic Florence, and hope we are not just part of the problem.
And of course we have a week not far from Colle Val di Elsa! (So happy to have your guide ❤️)
On our last trip (January 2020) I was surprised how much English I heard all over Florence, not just in the center, and at the loss of so many of the little in dependent rosticceria, alimentari, etc. (I’m sure it is not just over tourism causing this, it has to be a complicated formula, but maybe that is at its heart).
Watching the explosion of tourism in Italy only makes me want to spend our next trips exploring places off the beaten path--and hoping they don’t become overwhelmed as well.
There’s so much on your comment I relate to! I remember when we planned our trip to Scotland 5 years ago, we tried to spend time on smaller towns, and how much we loved it there!
I am really happy for your month in late fall, and can’t wait to meet you!
The closing down of small shops is due so many factors, not just tourism. It’s a bigger problem, and all goes back to the way the government has been managing our cities in the last decades 😞
I know there must be more forces at work for the loss of so many small shops. Certainly it happened here a long time ago--in boston it’s rare to find a small butcher shop, and I can only think of one small fruttivendolo, in the Italian section. It broke me heart to see how many were gone in Florence in the area between SSpirito and Porta Romana. I kept saying, “I’m sure it’s here!”
We cannot wait to meet you this fall! Michela wants especially to meet the dogs 😍
I can't say that I've had any high minded goals beyond just avoiding crowds and big cities, but I've been bitten by the "walking/hiking/biking" bug. Unfortunately, in the States, that's usually in overpopulated national parks during tourist season, but so far we hiked and biked in Ireland from small town to small town and managed to mostly avoid the huge bus crowd. And I'll be walking on the Del Norte in Spain this fall (after the partiers go back to school, I hope). The tourist season still causes issues, I'm sure (as I hear/read about in Spain) but it's definitely brining money into smaller towns.
Not sure if this is advisable or even doable, but I couldn't imagine something more interesting than walking the Via Francigena in fall or early spring and stopping for the Masterclass. If it is, I'd love to put that on the short list.
Guilia, I completely agree with your proposal ie for tourists to plan their trips to experience a small town, live like the locals, and be slow and intentional. My first visit to Italy was in July2015. Hot days, end of season, but we intentionally planned our trip to limit our time at touristy places like Rome and Milan.
Florence in 2015 wasn’t that bad at the time, not very crowded, but I think the pandemic has changed it, or so I hear. Our next trip is definitely going to be the small towns and at a cooler time, and we are yet to explore Tuscany. Small towns like yours would be a perfect choice.
I distinctly remember that when I spoke a little bit of Italian for how to order food or the bill, i noticed an appreciative glimmer in the eyes of those who served us. I think it’s a small example of the importance of respecting the culture, traditions and ways of Italy.
I can’t wait to write about it, and tell the story about our Italian experience. Hopefully I can dig up all those great photos, while I finish up my current projects for “The Marinade”.
There are many valid points in this post, including the observation regarding the ridiculously unmanageable crowds in tiny San Gimignano. However, as a resident in the Val d'Elsa (where I can see the towers of San Gimignano from my house), I take issue with the idea that residents in S. Gimignano need to drive 30 minutes to shop for groceries. Aside from several alimentari and gastronomie within the city walls, there is a perfectly decent Coop supermarket five minutes from the Porta Giovanni entrance where buses disgorge the tourists. For the rest, excellent advice and observations regarding how, why, and when to visit Tuscany.
While Florence is wonderful, it is best left for early or later in the year. Sadly the IG crowds make it almost impossible to enjoy it in-season. Tuscany (or its neighbor Umbria) is best seen by staying for a period somewhere as an anchor, and then exploring around. This is where you discover the real country, figure out what really works for you, and where you meet people and make relationships, as we have over the years. Sadly, mass tourism is killing the very concept it meant to advance.