Secret Tuscany

The oak tree where Pinocchio hanged himself, a fifteenth-century stained glass window with an image of Mussolini, a forgotten statue by Leonardo da Vinci, a luxury hotel that is now a public lavatory, a 17th-century milk distributor, a wine-drinking frog, a unique astronomical phenomenon, a staircase in Siena bearing St. Catherine´s teeth marks, a whale in Lucca, an authentic phial of Christ´s blood, a faith that moves rocks, diamonds within marble, the location of the amphora from the Marriage Feast of Cana, an extraordinary anatomical theatre in Pistoia, Fata Morgana´s spring of eternal youth, an unusual stroll along a marble quarry monorail.Far from the crowds and the usual clichés, Tuscany still reserves any number of hidden treasures for those who know how to wander off the beaten track.This is a guide that is indispensable for those who think they know Tuscany. or those who want to discover another side to the region.