> Julia Kostina

I am a Virtuoso travel specialist, part of the most exclusive travel network in the world. That's why when you book your travel with me, you receive not only a confirmed reservation at one of the upscale hotels, but also assurance (based on first-hand knowledge and insider connections) that your particular requests are met, and your vacation will be perfect in every way. Wherever in Florence you are looking for the high end accommodation, finest hospitality service, exceptional location next door to the world-famous sites, the hand picked luxury hotels benefited with exclusive Virtuoso rates and VIP amenities are faultless choice... And I'm always just a phone call or e-mail away - a pledge you are pampered as the number one priority.

The cultural and historical influence of Florence is extraordinary. City of Dante and Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and Bruneleschi, the home of glorious Medici family, the cradle of lovely Italian language and the scene of magnificent Italian Renaissance, Firenze overflows with treasures of art and architecture waiting to be explored on every and each step. However, the capital of Tuscany is one of the most pleasant and atmospheric cities of Italy, living its own authentic life even when overcrowded with tourists. Its charming late-medieval centre is an essence of Italian life-style, the masterpiece of well-being, elegant and intelligent Florentine version of dolce vita appearance. If you were exhausted looking up to lofty domes and russet rooftops, absorbing priceless riches of world culture and browsing formidable museums, that's a time to wander the knot of narrow Florentine streets and immerse in epicurean pleasures of dinning and shopping, both exceptional in quality and variety there.

But yet Tuscany is not just Florence the Magnificent. Tuscany is the magic triangle neatly outlined between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the mountains, clearly and precisely cut off the rest of Italy. It's a charmed land, equally blessed by the genius of man and nature, country of vineyards, home of Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino, kind of cultural hinge between the South and North. Renaissance painters didn't idealize the landscape of gently rolling Tuscan hillsides, moss-coated castles and rust-colored farmhouses perched on top of the hills. Siena unique in its medieval structure with towers and palazzos, the medieval walled city of Lucca, lovely hill towns of Cetona and Cortona, Pisa with its Campo dei Miracoli and "Manhattan of Tuscany" San Gimignano with its incredible stone towers, all worth to be visited and explored.

No need to say that luxury hotels of Florence and Tuscany are all over medieval palazzos or at least noble villas await your pleasure. For those looking for truly European, truly Italian, and truly Tuscan style of accommodation, there is a splendid selection of unique five star properties. Whatever meets better your highest expectations and romantic dreams: aristocratic 17th-century de'Medici residence, palazzo built in the 1500's, Michelangelo designed 15th-century Franciscan monastery... Just make your choice and enjoy your personal view to the land of harmony.