I'm Lisa!

I’m a magazine founder & editor, a private food & shopping guide and watercolour artist who wants to share everything I know about the best-kept secrets in Tuscany with you.


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Delight in traditional as well as new foods, recipes and a few artisanal cocktails as well

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Discover the Tuscan artisans and learn the history of their craft

Celebrate the tradition of the festive events that take place around Tuscany

Explore this beautiful region and discover the popular and not so well-known towns in Tuscany

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This Tuscan Life-Ebook

WINTER Magazine

Winter in Tuscany

The Winter issue is available for download.

I’ll be honest. I don’t love the cold and so Winter in Tuscany is not my favourite season but there are many things here that make this season so much more bearable. The festivities don’t end with Christmas and New Year. Come February and it’s time for Carnival which means finding lots of sweet cakes and treats in the bakeries. We share recipes for some of the most traditional and our favourites. If you want to witness Italy’s largest and most famous Carnival parade, then you have to visit Viareggio to witness the incredible creations made from the ancient art of papier-mache. You can read about the history of this festival on page 42 and also learn about the famous artist Uberto Bonetti who created the carnival and city mascot, Burlamacco. On the subject of art, we also meet the Guarnieri brothers, owners of the Art Gallery Studio Iguarnieri, one of the most well-known studios of local artists in Florence who have been creating their original fresco art in Florence for over forty years. 

Artisans Stefano Bemer, shoemaker and Sartoria Vestrucci have joined forces in San Niccolò. It’s your one-stop-shop for made-to-measure shirts, suits and shoes – a fashionable, artisanal mecca for every gentleman in the city. Speaking of gentlemen, we meet Luciano Ghinassi, Chef and owner of Buca Lapi, one of Florence’s oldest restaurants famous for its traditional Tuscan menu including the Florentine Steak, known in these parts as La Fiorentina! You can read all about Buca Lapi on page 53 and the Bistecca alla Fiorentina on page 58. Luciano was kind enough to share his recipe for Braised beef with onions which you’ll find on page 79 together with another traditional beef recipe-Peposo, created in the Middle Ages, some say by Brunelleschi

We’ve also included recipes for our favourite carnival treats and Toni shares a recipe for pumpkin doughnuts with vincotto that our Aunt used to make for our big Italian family when we would all get together.

If you are looking to explore, take a visit to the town famous for its beautifully handcrafted knives, Scarperia. If you love antiques then you must visit the oldest antique fair in Arezzo held for the last forty-five years on the first Sunday of the month. And if you’re looking for something with a bit more action, you can always go skiing in Tuscany at the nearby Apennines. 

Stay warm and enjoy your Winter in Tuscany – Download the Winter issue here.

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FOOD OBSESSED, FASHION LOVER, BUSY MAMMA, MAGAZINE CREATOR & WATERCOLOUR ARTISt.

Ciao, I'm Lisa B,
I’m a magazine founder & editor, a private food & shopping guide and watercolour artist who wants to share everything I know about the best-kept secrets in Tuscany with you.

I created This Tuscan Life blog, magazine and experiences to share everything I love about Florence & Tuscany, one of the most popular and visited regions in Italy.   Add a splash of watercolour & you've got a creative mamma of two who wants to show you the true & authentic side of Tuscany.

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