The Bianco Pisano di San Torpoint is a DOC wine produced in the hills of Pisa that already boast a long tradition of winemaking. Terricciola, Lari, Chianni, Palaia, Fauglia, Casciana are localities where the wine business is still carried on in spite of the difficult market. The vineyard acreage is about 250 acres, with quite dissimilar soils: sandy, loamy, alluvial, calcareous, stony and often rich in marine molluscs. The annual production is about 10,000 hectoliters. Typically the wine of these areas is not suitable for aging, but it is to be drunk young. AREA: extreme west of the Chianti region. SPECIFICATION: Input to trade after 1 March by the harvest. Yield of 80q/ha. minimum alcohol content of 11.5 percent. CHARACTERISTICS: wine of elegance and softness, with a good balance and easy to drink. PAIRING: whole meal is also accompanied by some fish dishes.
by webmaster@piramedia.it 
WINE
Continuing in the brief analysis on the wine production we consider the important substances that "work" in the wine during fermentation.
Enzymes are produced by yeasts and determine the alcoholic fermentation, some of them, fetentoni ..., produced by molds are harmful because they produce the wine in intorbidimienti said Speaker (Speaker oxidase).
Yeasts can be Elliptical and apiculated. At the time of crushing grapes if they are about 2.5 million per liter, are single-celled organisms. The apiculated, even if it develops first are not desired because they do not act "good" producing numerous defects (eg excessive acetic acid) and are inhibited by the same very soon alcoholic fermentation which triggered (around 4 degrees spirits are inhibited ...) . The Elliptical (Saccharomyces) are our closest friends, the ones that will give us good wine.
Not always (almost never) things go well ... now the improvement is such that the pasteurized juice is more and more often to cleanse it from all microorganisms (bacteria and mold) and then the fermentation process is triggered by the addition of selected yeasts. There are some real "factories" of selected yeasts yeasts that provide the features necessary to satisfy demand for the production of a specific wine in this way are all currently produced in France Champagne and each house has its own "formula" secret both as regards the type of yeast used that as far as the "liquor delivery" ... but here in a subsequent trespass "lesson". ;-)
In the case of pasteurization boost you will have a Fermentation Pure Absolute, while if the pasteurization are not completely eliminated the microorganisms are talking about Pure Fermentation Relative (obviously).
I must, before being vinified undergo further corrections, the most important of these sugars, acidity, tannins, color, sulfidation and support of bentonite fining. At this point I feel disgusted to have you sufficiently so as to not want to open in your life a bottle of wine. ;-)))
Of the above said hint only to sulfidation, which if poorly executed causes those frequent unpleasant sensations to the uncorking of the bottle, sensations that after a short period of oxygenation of the wine disappears. In practice, to adjust the alcoholic fermentation, to facilitate the transition from the peel to the juice of coloring matters for illimpidire the must to protect from oxidation of sulfur dioxide is added to the wort. Even more massive is the dose if you want to carry the musts to avoid their triggers fermentation, these musts because once you reach your destination must be desolfitati bleahhhhhh .... :-)
And so we come to winemaking, possible systems are different but the main ones are 3 plus one ... Already we must also think about the production (and growing) of Novelli .... that need a particular method of vinification.
Winemaking in White, Winemaking on Pomace (in Red), Rosé wine fermentation and vinification by carbonic maceration.
Must and skins are immediately separated so there is transfer of dyes. The pressed grape produces the must is immediately removed by the sgrondatori from the skins, duly sulfited is then put into containers of fermentation.
The juice produced from black grapes remains in contact with the skins for the time necessary to the sale of coloring matter, to avoid problems of acescenza using sticks of Fullers or the technique of submerged hat to keep the skins always dispersed in the bulk of the wort.
Recalling that it is forbidden to mix white wine and red wine, it is evident that the production of rosé wine is made with a partial vinification in red so that the skins give the wine a partial coloring. (+ Or -)
The method used for the production of Novelli (in France the Beaujolais) provides for the use of the berry if subjected intracellular fermentation in an anaerobic environment. The resulting wines presentanodelle best organoleptic qualities but for contyro have a low resistance to aging. In practice, the principle is to ferment in an environment free of oxygen the berries. These are pressed, but not placed in a tub (maceration) previously filled with carbon dioxide. Studies on intracellular fermentation were made around 1870 by Pasteur. The fermentation with carbonic maceration is difficult to implement but results in the production of wines very bright, fruity, soft and ready by the glass in a short time.
COLOR, AROMA, TASTE
These are the three main things to consider.
The color is mainly due to pigments (phenolic). Tannins, anthocyanins, leucoantociani, Catechins, Peptic substances, mineral salts, were once held responsible also flavones, are the principal coloring of wines. Remember to keep in mind that all of these substances over time tend to "disappear", either by precipitation or because they bind to other substances giving rise to new balances, or by oxidation, or simply aging. Also very important is the environment in which they are immersed, acidity, basicity and oxidation determine the color of the reflection of a wine they will lead to different reactions in phenolic pigments. It so happens that in acidic environments (young wines) the color is vivid (bright reds and brilliant) and as they switched over to neutral or alkaline environments, the color turns violet but the oxidation contributes to assume shades of pale and introducing a known dark yellowish.
Even if you have to make the statements contained herein with caution so you can already give you a note on the identification of the alleged age of a wine according to its color (obviously knowing the type of grapes used and the winemaking system).
A young wine (in the three types of white, rosé, red) are present respectively, Yellow very clear straw yellow with greenish or yellow, soft pink, purple or red ruby. The same wine at a later stage of maturity (if any) and if properly stored will present the colors more pronounced (loads), straw yellow or golden yellow (exhaust), cherry pink (you have no cherries?) Or pink claret , ruby red with garnet ... This eventually leads to prolonged maturation of colors for certain wines (most) are no longer synonymous with quality but a defect that is not recommended for purchase. The white wines aged properly (the few who can) will be a nice yellow gold color, while red will Granata load, perhaps with some reflected light (but light) orange ... Definitely to be thrown away instead wines Amber color (except as MUST be more or less of that color the raisin, very sweet wines, dessert wines in practice those much alcohol that favorably aging) as well as the reds tend to ' orange (except for here too long aging wines such as Sherry sweet and dry, the Port, the / the Marsala and some others, in short, that the wines Oxidation make them a constitutive element and not a moment of decay).
Assessments of color shall be made tasting glasses, in quiet environment, on white background, with light possibly not adequate to Neon. is useless to evaluate the color, but more generally a glass of wine in the middle of the carnival parade on a table with a red tablecloth inside a glass beaker colorful fantasy ... :-)))
TASTE
And with this we end the organoleptic examination of wines.
The taste and perception occur as obvious in the mouth ... The possibility offered by our gustatory apparatus is very limited but sufficient for our purposes, in fact the taste sensations are only 4 types, Sweet, Salty, Bitter, acid.
So, on the basis of the sensations received we will be able to qualify a wine with regard to its content in substances "soft" that give sweet sensations, such as alcohols, sugars, glycerol, substances responsible for the sour feeling such as tartaric acid, malic acid, citric acid, lactic, succinic, acetic (six acids present always and in any wine). Substances such as tannins (polyphenols and quinones) generally responsible amarotiche of feelings and sensation of astringency typical of aging wines consumed young (the tannins which are still loads must refine), a little 'how to put an unripe persimmon in your mouth .. . ;-)
Finally the sensation of flavor due to the lower or higher concentration of mineral salts and organic substances.
Do not be confused by those who are the aromas perceived retro-nasally (the famous aftertaste), this is not perceived with his mouth, but always with his nose because retroolfattiva (led by the nose that reach the oral cavity that is filled with aromas breathing "reported "loose at the waist by enzymes in our saliva).
The parameters that are evaluated during a tasting during the examination taste are those related to the sensations listed above plus some judgments about the intensity and persistence in the mouth of these feelings, then you can make an overall judgment on the merits on wine considering the three distinct phases of the tasting, these stages must succession in a harmonious way because the wine is classified as good or excellent (no parameters related to the terminology used by professionals).
In fact, a young wine (which you would expect fresh, with some characteristics that I mentioned) and is then tastes very marked or cloying, or that (if red) present a lack of tannins (which means that, the wine will only get worse going to meet early oxidation) can certainly not be harmonious. But be careful with this term ... an old wine, with typical color of his age, with very soft tannins and low acidity (typical of old wines), and scents extremely close to very ripe fruit, spices and more, although not a good wine is harmonious, however, as the three analyzes confirm in full the sensations in their succession.
PERFUME
The composition due to odorous substances is extremely varied, we are talking about 600 different constituents in chemical composition and origin.
But you can distinguish 3 stages in the formation of perfumes corresponding to three "types" of aromas:
Primary or varietal aromas due to the typical grapes used in making wine, which are mainly due to terpenes linanolo and geraniol, terpineol and other ... In short, these aromas are closely related to the variety of grape used and easily traceable to it, so they are very easy to locate in Muscat, Malvasia, Traminer, Sauvignon.
Alongside these aromas those sayings of Pre-fermentation, due to substances apparently odorless but as a result of enzymatic processes (hydrolysis) release all their flavor (Chardonnay, Riesling and others ....)
This is followed by aromas or Secondary Fermentation, ie those aromas that develop during the fermentation process and are primarily due to alcohols, esters and acids, these aromas determine the aromatic core of the wine, let's say you are a little 'card identity of the wine.
With aging there is finally the development of aromas Tertiary (or aging) that combine to form the bouquet. That's why you can not (it is wrong) speak of a range of a young wine or barely aged, the bouquet is formed during a long aging. The cause of these aromas is the formation of substances derived from esterification processes, redox or acetilizzazione that take place in the bottle.
Finally, we must keep in mind the aroma due to the wood of the barrels where the wine was nelel place. Paticolarmente interesting is the use of barriques, small barrels that release aromas in the wine due to substances such as aldehyde vanillica (classic scent of vanilla) or aldehyde cinamica.
The tastings are various parameters of the smell, but mostly we evaluate intensity and persistence of, then switched over to identify for "olfactory similarity" the main recognizable smells, flowers, fruit, spices, etc.. Obviously the olfactory analysis is important because it allows for an immediate perception also of any defects due to poor preservation or other unforeseen occurred to wine in his life.
I will not elaborate too much, just try to pick up a glass of wine young to recognize flowers and fruit to a careful analysis olfactory, usually apple, lemon and other unripe fruits in whites, while raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries are often found between the aromas coming from an young red ... As the age increases the aroma of the wine passes more and more mature fruits, banana, pineapple and other tropical fruits, also in aged red wines are often present calls to the tobacco, pepper, or other spices ... if he had an extended stay (but accurate) wood will be easily recognizable a note of vanilla is quite marked. Give it a try if you happen to try with Beaujolais November that I consider the ultimate expression of the foregoing, the young wines ... in a Beaujolais certainly recognize Strawberries, raspberries, currants, blackberries at will ... and you can not say that I will tell bales ;-))) If you do not coglieste none of these nuances are two cases ...
The berry is not only important because it provides the must, but above all for what it brings into the must. The skin contains the coloring matter which will then give the final appearance of the wine also contains minerals, tannins very important to ensure good aging, and aromas.
The pulp is about 85 percent and the berry is made up of vascular bundles rich in wine, the must is also the highest percentage of sugar in absolute and this is fundamental to the process of fermentation the must suffer in followed. The sugars are basically of two types, Fructose and Dextrose and are contained in an amount approximately equal.
The Endocarp and grapeseed, ie the seeds (if they exist), contain a higher percentage of acids, tannins, mineral salts, vitamins and nitrogenous substances, as well as a good percentage of oil. Although the acids are important to ensure the quality and duration of the wine. They are divided into fixed acids and volatile acids, without going into too much remember that the grape is known to us the only manufacturer of tartaric acid.
Clearly, the proportion of these substances may vary, as they had understood the Etruscans, depending on the soil type, geographical location, climatic factors. Let us remember that acidity and sugar content are usually inversely proportional to the same position, ie while in the north it has a high acidity of the juice and low sugar content, exactly the opposite happens in the South, which explains at least in part the use concentrated musts from Puglia and Sicily in the wines produced in the North, as the Italian legislation prohibits the addition of sugar to the must).
WINE
Continuing in the brief analysis on the wine production we consider the important substances that "work" in the wine during fermentation.
Enzymes are produced by yeasts and determine the alcoholic fermentation, some of them, fetentoni ..., produced by molds are harmful because they produce the wine in intorbidimienti said Speaker (Speaker oxidase).
Yeasts can be Elliptical and apiculated. At the time of crushing grapes if they are about 2.5 million per liter, are single-celled organisms. The apiculated, even if it develops first are not desired because they do not act "good" producing numerous defects (eg excessive acetic acid) and are inhibited by the same very soon alcoholic fermentation which triggered (around 4 degrees spirits are inhibited ...) . The Elliptical (Saccharomyces) are our closest friends, the ones that will give us good wine.
Not always (almost never) things go well ... now the improvement is such that the pasteurized juice is more and more often to cleanse it from all microorganisms (bacteria and mold) and then the fermentation process is triggered by the addition of selected yeasts. There are some real "factories" of selected yeasts yeasts that provide the features necessary to satisfy demand for the production of a specific wine in this way are all currently produced in France Champagne and each house has its own "formula" secret both as regards the type of yeast used that as far as the "liquor delivery" ... but here in a subsequent trespass "lesson". ;-)
In the case of pasteurization boost you will have a Fermentation Pure Absolute, while if the pasteurization are not completely eliminated the microorganisms are talking about Pure Fermentation Relative (obviously).
I must, before being vinified undergo further corrections, the most important of these sugars, acidity, tannins, color, sulfidation and support of bentonite fining. At this point I feel disgusted to have you sufficiently so as to not want to open in your life a bottle of wine. ;-)))
Of the above said hint only to sulfidation, which if poorly executed causes those frequent unpleasant sensations to the uncorking of the bottle, sensations that after a short period of oxygenation of the wine disappears. In practice, to adjust the alcoholic fermentation, to facilitate the transition from the peel to the juice of coloring matters for illimpidire the must to protect from oxidation of sulfur dioxide is added to the wort. Even more massive is the dose if you want to carry the musts to avoid their triggers fermentation, these musts because once you reach your destination must be desolfitati bleahhhhhh .... :-)
And so we come to winemaking, possible systems are different but the main ones are 3 plus one ... Already we must also think about the production (and growing) of Novelli .... that need a particular method of vinification.
Winemaking in White, Winemaking on Pomace (in Red), Rosé wine fermentation and vinification by carbonic maceration.
1) Must and peels are immediately separated so there is transfer of dyes. The pressed grape produces the must is immediately removed by the sgrondatori from the skins, duly sulfited is then put into containers of fermentation.
2) The juice produced from black grapes remains in contact with the skins for the time necessary to the sale of coloring matter, to avoid problems of acescenza using sticks of Fullers or the technique of submerged hat to keep the skins always dispersed in the bulk of the wort.
3) Recalling that it is forbidden to mix white wine and red wine, it is evident that the production of rosé wine is made with a partial vinification in red so that the skins give the wine a partial coloring. (+ Or -)
4) The method used for the production of Novelli (in France the Beaujolais) provides for the use of the berry if subjected intracellular fermentation in an anaerobic environment. The resulting wines presentanodelle best organoleptic qualities but for contyro have a low resistance to aging. In practice, the principle is to ferment in an environment free of oxygen the berries. These are pressed, but not placed in a tub (maceration) previously filled with carbon dioxide. Studies on intracellular fermentation were made around 1870 by Pasteur. The fermentation with carbonic maceration is difficult to implement but results in the production of wines very bright, fruity, soft and ready by the glass in a short time.
COLOR, AROMA, TASTE
These are the three main things to consider.
The color is mainly due to pigments (phenolic). Tannins, anthocyanins, leucoantociani, Catechins, Peptic substances, mineral salts, were once held responsible also flavones, are the principal coloring of wines. Remember to keep in mind that all of these substances over time tend to "disappear", either by precipitation or because they bind to other substances giving rise to new balances, or by oxidation, or simply aging. Also very important is the environment in which they are immersed, acidity, basicity and oxidation determine the color of the reflection of a wine they will lead to different reactions in phenolic pigments. It so happens that in acidic environments (young wines) the color is vivid (bright reds and brilliant) and as they switched over to neutral or alkaline environments, the color turns violet, it helps to take the oxidation of pale shades and introducing a known dark yellowish.
Even if you have to make the statements contained herein with caution so you can already give you a note on the identification of the alleged age of a wine according to its color (obviously knowing the type of grapes used and the winemaking system).
A young wine (in the three types of white, rosé, red) are present respectively, Yellow very clear straw yellow with greenish or yellow, soft pink, purple or red ruby. The same wine at a later stage of maturity (if any) and if properly stored will present the colors more pronounced (loads), straw yellow or golden yellow (exhaust), cherry pink (you have no cherries?) Or pink claret , ruby red with garnet ... This eventually leads to prolonged maturation of colors for certain wines (most) are no longer synonymous with quality but a defect that is not recommended for purchase. The white wines aged properly (the few who can) will be a nice yellow gold color, while red will Granata load, perhaps with some reflected light (but light) orange ... Definitely to be thrown away instead wines Amber color (except as MUST be more or less of that color the raisin, very sweet wines, dessert wines in practice those much alcohol that favorably aging) as well as the reds tend to ' orange (except for here too long aging wines such as Sherry sweet and dry, the Port, the / the Marsala and some others, in short, that the wines Oxidation make them a constitutive element and not a moment of decay).
Assessments of color shall be made tasting glasses, in quiet environment, on white background, with light possibly not adequate to Neon. is useless to evaluate the color, but more generally a glass of wine in the middle of the carnival parade on a table with a red tablecloth inside a glass beaker colorful fantasy ... :-)))
TASTE
And with this we end the organoleptic examination of wines.
The taste and perception occur as obvious in the mouth ... The possibility offered by our gustatory apparatus is very limited but sufficient for our purposes, in fact the taste sensations are only 4 types, Sweet, Salty, Bitter, acid.
So, on the basis of the sensations received we will be able to qualify a wine with regard to its content in substances "soft" that give sweet sensations, such as alcohols, sugars, glycerol, substances responsible for the sour feeling such as tartaric acid, malic acid, citric acid, lactic, succinic, acetic (six acids present always and in any wine). Substances such as tannins (polyphenols and quinones) generally responsible amarotiche of feelings and sensation of astringency typical of aging wines consumed young (the tannins which are still loads must refine), a little 'how to put an unripe persimmon in your mouth .. . ;-)
Finally the sensation of flavor due to the lower or higher concentration of mineral salts and organic substances.
Do not be confused by those who are the aromas perceived retro-nasally (the famous aftertaste), this is not perceived with his mouth, but always with his nose because retroolfattiva (led by the nose that reach the oral cavity that is filled with aromas breathing "reported "loose at the waist by enzymes in our saliva).
The parameters that are evaluated during a tasting during the examination taste are those related to the sensations listed above plus some judgments about the intensity and persistence in the mouth of these feelings, then you can make an overall judgment on the merits on wine considering the three distinct phases of the tasting, these stages must succession in a harmonious way because the wine is classified as good or excellent (no parameters related to the terminology used by professionals).
In fact, a young wine (which you would expect fresh, with some characteristics that I mentioned) and is then tastes very marked or cloying, or that (if red) present a lack of tannins (which means that, the wine will only get worse going to meet early oxidation) can certainly not be harmonious. But be careful with this term ... an old wine, with typical color of his age, with very soft tannins and low acidity (typical of old wines), and scents extremely close to very ripe fruit, spices and more, although not a good wine is harmonious, however, as the three analyzes confirm in full the sensations in their succession.
PERFUME
The composition due to odorous substances is extremely varied, we are talking about 600 different constituents in chemical composition and origin.
But you can distinguish 3 stages in the formation of perfumes corresponding to three "types" of aromas:
Primary or varietal aromas due to the typical grapes used in making wine, which are mainly due to terpenes linanolo and geraniol, terpineol and other ... In short, these aromas are closely related to the variety of grape used and easily traceable to it, so they are very easy to locate in Muscat, Malvasia, Traminer, Sauvignon.
Alongside these aromas those sayings of Pre-fermentation, due to substances apparently odorless but as a result of enzymatic processes (hydrolysis) release all their flavor (Chardonnay, Riesling and others ....)
This is followed by aromas or Secondary Fermentation, ie those aromas that develop during the fermentation process and are primarily due to alcohols, esters and acids, these aromas determine the aromatic core of the wine, let's say you are a little 'card identity of the wine.
With aging there is finally the development of aromas Tertiary (or aging) that combine to form the bouquet. That's why you can not (it is wrong) speak of a range of a young wine or barely aged, the bouquet is formed during a long aging. The cause of these aromas is the formation of substances derived from esterification processes, redox or acetilizzazione that take place in the bottle.
Finally, we must keep in mind the aroma due to the wood of the barrels where the wine was nelel place. Paticolarmente interesting is the use of barriques, small barrels that release aromas in the wine due to substances such as aldehyde vanillica (classic scent of vanilla) or aldehyde cinamica.
The tastings are various parameters of the smell, but mostly we evaluate intensity and persistence of, then switched over to identify for "olfactory similarity" the main recognizable smells, flowers, fruit, spices, etc.. Obviously the olfactory analysis is important because it allows for an immediate perception also of any defects due to poor preservation or other unforeseen occurred to wine in his life.
I will not elaborate too much, just try to pick up a glass of wine young to recognize flowers and fruit to a careful analysis olfactory, usually apple, lemon and other unripe fruits in whites, while raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries are often found between the aromas coming from an young red ... As the age increases the aroma of the wine passes more and more mature fruits, banana, pineapple and other tropical fruits, also in aged red wines are often present calls to the tobacco, pepper, or other spices ... if he had an extended stay (but accurate) wood will be easily recognizable a note of vanilla is quite marked. Give it a try if you happen to try with Beaujolais November that I consider the ultimate expression of the foregoing, the young wines ... in a Beaujolais certainly recognize Strawberries, raspberries, currants, blackberries at will ... and you can not say that I will tell bales ;-))) If you do not coglieste none of these nuances are two cases ...
Some tens of thousands of years ago Tuscany was covered with large lakes and a large coastal area was under the sea.
All territories of its major cities, with the exception of that of Siena, were at that time under water, while the hills behind Livorno and Lucca were islands or strips of land outcropping in this sea, so that their slopes are are still the remains of fish and shells, fossils and even small branches of coral. Grosse islands were also the promontory of Piombino and Monte Argentario
With the drying up of lakes and the formation of river basins, the ride to the valley of the rivers larger then accumulated debris and alluvial deposits in the lower areas, forming the different plains of Tuscany, where today there are those Grosseto, Pisa, Florence and Pistoia.
With the retreat of the sea were deposited along the coast swathes of sand and clay (ie the one corresponding to the current Versilia) where the water was stagnant and marshy landscape influencing the infected plant and animal evolution, besides of course the human settlements.
Other marshes formed in the meantime also inland, in the Val di Chiana and the Arno valley between lower and Bientina Fucecchio.
In the long period of glaciation (quaternary old) small glacial deposits were formed under the highest peaks of the Apennines and occurred at the same time important volcanic phenomena traces of which remain evident especially in the southern part of the region, which is still dominated by Mount Amiata ( 1770 m asl), a large extinct volcano and lava formations dotted (Roccastrada, Campiglia Marittima, Capraia), of imposing tuff outcrops (Sorano, Pitigliano) and reserves of compressed steam fumaroles that erupt in Larderello and heat sources in the Val d'Orcia.
At various stages prehistoric, from Middle Paleolithic to the Iron Age, human settlements have left their mark numerous and widespread (near Arezzo, in Mugello, in the Apuan Alps, near Talamone, in Cortona, Montespertoli, Pomarance) in caves and rock crevices.
At that time men lived grouped into tribal forms in the woods near lakes and streams, in slopes protected from the dangers of the huge and unhealthy swamps.
Of these people was grafted, around the first millennium BC, the more defined and mature civilization of the Etruscans
Invaders, warriors or merchants industrious, western or come from the Far East, the Etruscans represented the first root of the homogeneous region.
First settled between the Arno and Tiber and expanded as a result of a much greater territory of the Tuscany, Umbria and also includes part of Lazio, as far north as the present-day Liguria.
The first contribution of Tuscany to European civilization is marked by extraordinary creativity and entrepreneurship of the Etruscan people.
The exploitation of the fertile valleys and metal mines, together with the development of trade, strongly characterized the civilization of this people rich imagination, religious and artistic inspiration. The Etruscans must be the first political organization, the first civil development and the first systematic economic exploitation of the Tuscan territory.
They transformed the dispersed prehistoric settlements in the city whose life has developed over the centuries to the contemporary age.
Cities such as Chiusi, Volterra, Cortona, Arezzo, Fiesole, Artimino, Comeana have a continuity of three millennia, apart from Greece, can not boast of any other region in Europe.
The Etruscans never formed a true unitary state; their system is founded (as also that of the Greeks) on the coexistence of autonomous cities and sometimes even fighting among themselves.
However there was, in this population, a strong sense of national unity and religious in the seventh century BC Etruscan hegemony extended over most of northern and central (even licking the Po valley) even to the point check Corsica.
The characters of this civilization is, however stemperarono quickly. Already in the fifth century began the decline, due to the inability to resist the strong pressure coming from the sea (at the hands of the Greeks and Carthage), both from the ground (by the Gauls and the Romans).
Retired gradually, the Etruscans finally succumbed to the supremacy of Rome.
The Romans imposed their rule in Tuscany at the dawn of the third century BC, among the last Samnite Wars and the War punishes. Although at times hindered or slowed by alliances with the Etruscans in the Gauls, the conquest was also favored, not infrequently, by the friendship of some Etruscan cities such as Arezzo, Cortona and Perugia.
It can not be said, however, that the romanization completely extinguished the great civilization existing on the soil of Tuscany, as more than a little of it pierced in the new conquerors. The ruling class was gradually absorbed into the Roman Etruscan, even for language: in the last century BC Etruscan is almost entirely supplanted by the Latin, because of strong immigration of settlers who innovated deeply he founded the cities old or new. In the first century of domination of the region continued to flourish favored by the Roman government. The territory was largely ordered according to the system of the federation, which left a certain formal autonomy to the cities and which lasted until the grant of Roman citizenship to all the Italic peoples (91 BC).
Rome also gave special impetus to public works and especially to the major roads that joining to Urbe Etruria and, hence, to Cisalpine Gaul. Among these, the Via Aurelia (along the sea), the Clodia (which was connected to Aurelia from Veii), Cassia (from Rome to Fiesole) and Flaminia (which crossed the Apennines down to Arezzo Emilia).
Nevertheless, in the last period of the Republican Etruria underwent a decay more and more pronounced. Factors contributing to this decline were both the civil wars of the Romans (which had its own theater in Etruria), and the scourge of malaria, widespread on the coastal strip.
To this was added the crisis of culture in wheat (no longer profitable for imports from the Orient and Egypt) and mining. At the beginning of the imperial Etruria thus appeared to be a region subject to a strong decline and depopulation.
The Emperor Augustus tried, with appropriate laws, to revive the fortunes of the region constituting the Etruria "VII region," having as the northern border Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Tiber River to the southern border. At the end of the third century the emperor Diocletian introduced a new system: Etruria (which already was called "Tuscia") was administratively united Umbria.
At the head of the region was a place "Corrector", which was based in Florentia. Later, at the end of the empire, the northern part of Etruria was later united with Emilia.
The first barbarian hordes represented in Tuscany just passing storms. A new era for Tuscany opened with the Lombard conquest, which gave the region a political and military importance as a border land to the Byzantine dominions. The Lombard settlements in Tuscany were relatively strong in Lucca, in the Garfagnana, in the Lunigiana, in Pistoia, in Prato, in Siena and in the manhole.
The Lombard rule also brought a small revolution road. The Via Cassia, too exposed to attack Byzantine and made difficult from rising groundwater della Chiana, was replaced by a new path (the current one) for Radicofani, Siena, the Val d'Elsa, Lucca. This meant the inexorable decay of Chiusi, a certain eclipse of Florence and the progress of Siena. The new route became, along with the Flaminia, the most important of Central Italy by pilgrims (hence the name of Via Francigena or Romea) and also by great characters. The journey was punctuated by hospices and supervised, in the most difficult, the Abbot of St. Saviour on Mount Amiata, then the largest monastic center of Tuscany.
The Franks (774-888) did not alter substantially this situation. For the Lombard lords were replaced or added lords francs or even other Germanic tribes.
Meanwhile, the coastal zone fell more and more into disuse, even for raids from the sea of the Saracens and the Normans. Only Pisa resisted, keeping in touch with Corsica and Sardinia. The feudal Tuscany was never a unified political aggregate, especially from the mid-eleventh century when individual cities (Pisa, Siena, Florence, Pistoia, Prato and Arezzo) began to emerge and represent their own instances. Declined from Lucca to Pisa, which he obtained naval successes against the Saracens of Africa and Spain.
At that time the new turmoil Tuscany was fraught with political and religious (born two new religious orders, that of the Camaldolese and that of Vallombrosa). Tuscany was changing the face: the city began to beat their own ways, and also to engage their wars (against Pisa Lucca, Fiesole against Florence, Siena against Arezzo). The feudal system gradually sold to the expansive force of the city. In the twelfth century the crushing process of Tuscany in many city-state was now accomplished, not hindered either by the resistance of some bishops nor the energetic imperial policy of Frederick Barbarossa and Henry VI.
Until the early decades of the thirteenth century Pisa was at the forefront of Tuscan cities, while Lucca was slow. Siena, however, still preceded Florence in large speculations of its bankers that intertwined relationships with both the papal curia with the lords of France and England. Florence, however, ascended slowly but unstoppably towards a hegemonic role, developing its industries and its businesses (including the textile industry).
Tensions increased and became more complicated, while Frederick II tended to use the Tuscan cities as a strength for its policy against the papacy. With the death of Frederick II (1250) finally exploded the popular forces and there were real constitutional upheaval, marked by the presence in city governments, organizations craft.
The rise of popular governments, after a period of intense pressure imperial (Ghibelline), ended up identifying with the Guelphism. In the decade 1250-1260 Florence was at the head of the Guelph cities. A government energetic and full of initiatives favored the Florentine supremacy in the financial field, in addition, developing the textile industry speculation associated with the bank, took place in Florence, the only example of capitalist enterprise of the Middle Ages.
The economic supremacy of Florence in Tuscany (and its importance at the international level) is symbolized, in those years, the issue of the gold florin. Of the two ancient rivals, Siena entered a period of slow decline while Pisa suffered the defeat of Meloria the sea, then stentando to find fortune in a policy of terraferma.Prato appeared on the European markets with the woolen cloth produced by local craftsmen. The primacy of Florence began to spread in the field of culture and art. serious the age of the "dolce stil novo", the age of Dante. We are at the end of the Middle Ages, we are in the presence of a new civilization, typically secular and bourgeois. Here are the germs of the Italian nation which, in the absence of a political unit, for centuries and centuries will recognize in their own language and in their own literary culture. In this sense, the role of Tuscany, and Florence in particular, is crucial. Although it is still far from dominating the whole of Tuscany, from now on the history of Florence is now the history of the entire region.
In 1406 Florence Pisa subjects permanently, whereas Prato had passed under its political domination in 1351. Shortly after the turn of Livorno (still a small port), while neither the Lucca Guinigi nor Petrucci of Siena can no longer compete with the splendor of Florentine humanism, with the creative fervor of his philosophical and literary circles.
With the Renaissance states consciously the centrality of man and nature (elements already being felt in the previous century). The more the civil society and the economy will move from the shackles of church doctrine and the feudal rule, the more he will appeal the decision and with awareness to the immediate reality of the physical and sensory perception. Tuscany became the largest workshop of ideas and inventions. The rigid patterns of the past give way to a free language, clear, well-articulated. A cultural enrichment so wide and deep is not found in any other part of the world at that time.
The fifteenth century is marked by the rise of the Medici family (originally from Mugello), which buys a hegemonic role in Florence until fully seize political power. In dismantling rival families (including the Albizzi) in 1434 the oligarchy becomes in fact, even if not in law, in a real lordship. The Medici rule with splendor, giving rise to vast commerce, industry, the arts and letters, which leads Florence to be rich and vibrant capital of a vast territory and cultural center like no other.
With its 100,000 inhabitants (London has a population of just 40,000!), The Tuscan city was at that time one of the largest centers in the world, comparable to today's New York. On the political, civil and cultural transformation of the old institutions in a new power and more clearly staff is fully embodied by Lorenzo de 'Medici, called "Il Magnifico", grandson of Cosimo the Elder and he took power in 1469. The wise policy of balance that he leads in relations with other States guarantees a long period of peace and prosperity, while his personal inclination to the things of art and its patronage mean that Florence reached its peak in those years. The face of the city is transformed. The new ideals are reflected not only in the construction of a large architectural structure, monumental and decorative, but in the placement of everything inside an urban redesigned according to the new conception of life. The protagonists of this new way of thinking are Filippo Brunelleschi (can you say that he was born with the modern architecture), Donatello, Alberti, Ghiberti, Masaccio, Botticelli, Piero della Francesca and Leonardo da Vinci himself.
During the great European conflict between the French monarchy and the Austro-Spanish, in the first half of the sixteenth century Tuscany was able to preserve its formal independence above all thanks to the wise policy of two nepotistic Medici popes (Leo X and Clement VII) and that of their grandson Cosimo I.
In a world divided between large and powerful centralized states Tuscany is struggling to maintain a leading role. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the "virtue" Florentine weakens in all fields. The intellectual and artistic life continues to flourish there, but for some time the Medici popes in Rome tend to shift the center of culture attracting the Florentine genius (he was in Rome that Michelangelo died in 1564, the last great Florentine with which closes the splendid period of Florence).
Moreover, the seven Medici Grand Dukes are a few important principles. Among these Ferdinand I (1587 - 1609), which continues in all senses of the policy of the great Cosimo I and gives new impetus to the historically most important of the Grand Duchy: the port of Livorno. This, thanks to a policy of free opening to vessels and foreign goods, quickly rose to the role of important emporium Mediterranean. Livorno became the second city of the Grand Duchy, after Florence, the number of inhabitants and industry enterprises. Meanwhile Prato with its thriving textile industry had increased prestige in the Grand Duchy and the Italian and European markets, despite protective laws in favor of the Medici Florentine textile manufacturing mill Prato was able to adapt to the new rules of production and continued his rise to become up to the city's most important textile center of Tuscany.
Florence, as a manufacturing center, maintained a certain superiority over the other cities also thanks to the privileges granted in favor of the craft guilds. In the other centers, the administration remained focused in an oligarchy that shrank more and more in a small town patricians, which gradually awarded her titles of nobility (accounts, marquises, barons). The most vivid of this aristocracy engaged occasionally in companies against the Turks (who saw the Tuscany ally of the Empire), or for the defense of freedom of navigation in the Tyrrhenian Sea (in accordance with the Order of the Knights of St. Stephen, based in Pisa). Some of the Medici princes had propensity for studies, promoted research and collections of works of art.
In Florence developed a new environment, one of the Academies, which gathered scholars attentive assiduously engaged in setting the standards of literary and artistic genres. Since then the academies flourished throughout the world. Among those born in Florence, the most famous was (and still is) the Accademia della Crusca, which in 1612 published the first dictionary of the Italian language.
One must not forget the three Tuscan universities. Among these, in the seventeenth century, was certainly the most vivid Pisa, also favored by the generosity of the Grand Duke Ferdinand II (1621 - 1670) who protected the great Pisa Galileo Galilei
Throughout the seventeenth century, the Medici dynasty is weakening until the beginning of 700, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany become a European problem.
In fact, none of the two sons of Cosimo III (1670 - 1722) had no heirs. When he died in 1737 Gian Gastone, the last Medici, were the great powers to decide: Tuscany would be given to Francis Stephen, former duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa, the only daughter of Emperor Charles VI. These, however, was limited to a formal visit to Florence in 1739 (of which memory remains within the triumph of the Porta San Gallo), then entrusting the care of the Grand Duchy to a regency council and an army composed of Lorraine and Lombardy .
The Grand Duchy loses all autonomy and became a satellite of the empire. But in the second half of the eighteenth century the spontaneous awakening of indigenous forces, not thwarted by the governors regents, makes the Tuscany begins to recover from the stupor into which it had fallen under the last Medici Grand Dukes. In 1753 the illustrious names of the nobility and the bourgeoisie intellectual give life to the Georgofili Academy, through which we express the interests of Tuscany no longer manufacturing but essentially agrarian and mercantile.
With Peter Leopold (1765 -1790) the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the second-parentage of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, buy genuine autonomy. In a Tuscany where agriculture has become the main activity, while industry and commerce lose their importance with the exception of the territory of Prato textile now suited to the activity and the marketing of its products, the Grand Duke introduces a series of reforms . In 1770 is established, among other things, a Chamber of Commerce of Arts and Manufactures, the first in Italy.
Ferdinand III, the successor of Peter Leopold (who became emperor in 1790), failed to prevent the occupation of Tuscany by the French troops of Napoleon.
This occupation lasted from 1799 to 1814. At first (in 1801) Florence was the capital of the kingdom of Etruria (which Napoleon gave to the Bourbons of Parma), later (in 1807) Tuscany, combined with the great French empire was divided into three departments, which were then again together in one grand duchy (entrusted by Napoleon's sister Elisa Baiocchi).
The restoration of 1814 was run by Ferdinand III, who ended up destroying all freedom municipal appointing himself gonfalonieri of the city. But the French occupation had introduced in the new educated class of the country a beacon of freedom and national independence, which the Grand Dukes were against it (being related to Austrian politics).
The public, therefore, gradually begins to detach from them. Giampiero Vieusseux founded in 1819 in Florence the namesake Cabinet of reading and discussion, which soon became the center of new ideas based on the desire for independence in the framework of a unified Italy. Florence, through the power of these ideas and also for its outstanding tradition goes back to being the intellectual center of Italy and one of the most important in Europe.
In Florence, staying all the wits of the Young Italy (including Foscolo, Manzoni, Leopardi, Tommaseo), but also illustrious foreigners like Chateaubriand, Shelley, Byron, von Platen. Since 1824 the new Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany strives to make a modern state reclaiming the Maremma, stimulating businesses Prato and Livorno, subsidizing the construction of railway lines and even by building between Florence and Pisa (in 1846) the first telegraph line in Italy. But between Leopold and his people has opened a furrow no longer fill. During the uprising of 1848, the Grand Duke flees to Rome and then to Gaeta.
The following year he returned to Florence with the support of the Austrian troops, but will have to resign themselves to a definitive exile when, in 1859, war broke out between the King of Sardinia (supported by France) and Austria.
In Florence, it constitutes a provisional government and, in 1860, is organized by Bettino Ricasoli a plebiscite which ratifies the annexation of the whole country in the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont. So April 16, 1860 Vittorio Emanuele II enters the Florence, consciously abandoning its tradition of freedom to meet in the great common homeland. The city immediately established itself as one of the essential centers of united Italy. In 1861 is set up in Florence the first Italian exhibition industry and craft. Founded the newspaper "The Nation", with the significant title. A few years later (in 1865) Florence became the first capital of the kingdom of Italy. A few years later, however, the capital and the government moved to Rome, Florence and becomes again a regional center where there are the archbishop, a Court of Appeals, a command of the corps, a Director of Education.
Since Tuscany is essentially an agricultural country, Florence is especially a big market of wine, oil, grain and livestock. They develop, however, also some key industries such as foundry Pinion (which uses the iron of the island) and the factory of optics and precision instruments that takes the name of Galileo. Meanwhile, Florence is transformed, making the accommodations provided by the architect Giuseppe Poggi, including the circle of boulevards.
The quality of the University attracts eminent scholars, thanks to the presence of which Florence continues to be the intellectual center of Italy. Together with Milan, Florence is also one of the two centers of Italian. The Florentine craftsmanship retains a unique quality and is expressed in products such as embroidery, finished leather, ceramics, sculptures, mosaics, carved wood, the metals, glass art and the famous woven straw. In Prato, by mid-century, the textile activity takes on the dimension of modern industry as a result of the industrial revolution that brings substantial innovations on machinery and technology.
In the first decade of the twentieth century intellectual life in Tuscany, which had been flourishing in the Grand Duchy of Lorraine and had then sold a little in Rome, Milan and Naples, was resuscitated by literary movements and political ideas promoted by magazines Florentine national level as "The Voice" of Prezzolini and Papini or "The Kingdom" by Corradini.
The enlargement of the right to vote, and the universal suffrage, re-strengthened the positions of the Left in many medium and rural areas, while the Catholics allied with the Liberals against the Socialists who were particularly serious because of the increasing industrialization of the country ( yards Orlando in Livorno, the woolen mills of Prato, the paper mills of Lima, the industry of Larderello, etc. ..).
However, the class conflicts, the emergence of the first socialist municipalities, the rise of new political forces and the decline of others did not constitute an obstacle to the overall advancement of the region which, like the whole of Italy, could see the golden age of the early decades of the century.
The First World War (1914 - 1918), who surprises Tuscany in a phase of considerable industrial development, had a series of economic and political repercussions that gave rise to a period of violent unrest, common to most of Italy.
After 1922, Tuscany subdued the fascist dictatorship. The brave attempts at opposition (including that of the magazine "Do not give up") died down quickly under the violence of the persecution that culminated in 1925 in Florence, with a series of killings. In World War II (1940 - 1945) Tuscan towns were also exposed to heavy bombardments, with considerable damage especially in Livorno, Pisa and Florence. The terrible military events, and the feeling of imminent collapse of fascism, fast covert reconstitution of the various parties and the beginning of a struggle that, after September 8, 1943, became a battle against the Germans. The local population, both urban and rural, gave a great contribution to the blood of courage and endurance, and also in Tuscany there were fierce reprisals against partisans.
Peace is restored in the 1946 referendum Tuscany, by a large majority in favor of the establishment of the republic. Since then the region has made remarkable contributions of men who have often held leading positions in national political life. In economic terms, the success of small and medium industries and crafts has consolidated the prestige of Tuscany at the international level. But one of the most thriving of Tuscany contemporary tourism, whose strengths are constituted not only by the beauty and variety of the environment, the size that gave extraordinary geniuses of centuries past. The rich travelers of the eighteenth century and the writers, artists and aesthetes of the nineteenth century is happening, now, crowds of tourists who come to contemplate some of the most wonderful man.
The Tuscany of today has retained, modified, its universal character which does not depend so much the expansion of its markets and its products as the human quality of the masterpieces that guards and the various origins of the crowds that visit.
