Tuscany is the cradle of European civilization. Here the Renaissance was born, and its medieval cities – including Florence, Pisa and Siena – remain packed with unrivalled art and architecture. And yet, perhaps the greatest glory of Tuscany lies in its landscapes. It is a big region of nearly 23,000 sq km, and is not really just one landscape but several. Chianti, famed for its vineyards, lies in the middle and is probably the best-known part to visitors. But Tuscany stretches from the mountains of the north to the bare clay hills of the Crete Sinese south of Siena, and is bounded on the west by a long and varied sea coast. These landscapes are not only very different from each other, but can appear quite changed within themselves, between the seasons and even at different times of day.

The countryside can appear to be frozen in time, olive groves mixing with vineyards and fields of cereals to feed the livestock. Tall cypress trees march through the landscape and have become probably the most recognized symbol of the region, but it is blessed with an abundance of other flora and fauna which have flourished alongside traditional farming.

The ‘best of the old’ survives strongly in theTuscan culture. It does not prettify its heritage, but treats it as part of a living tradition. It is this above all that makesTuscany such an alluring and rewarding place to photograph.

Tuscan photographer Fabio Muzzi has travelled the length and breadth of this glorious countryside to capture the very best that his homeland has to offer: the still dawns, the peaceful farms, the cypresslined roadways leading to distant castles. In nearly 150 stupendous full-colour images he reaches to the very heart of Tuscany at its most perfect.

Fabio Muzzi was born in Siena in 1964 and has been photographing Tuscany since 1985, travelling thousands of miles around the countryside to capture the best blight and colour. His photojournalism includes: the life and work of the Sardinian shepherds in Tuscany; the tradition of the Palio in Siena; and the stabilization of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. His work has been published in Le Figaro,The Sunday Times, El Mundo, Time and Life.

Imprint: Halsgrove. ISBN 978 1 84114 746 8, hardback, 214x230mm, 144 pages. Published September 2008.

REVIEWS: Italy.