Firenze or Florence is a mass of tourists that fill the streets, bridges, churches and museums. There is too much to see in one day so we head for the Uffizi and start to understand the enduring power of Renaissance art. The biggest pull are the many, huge works of Sandro Botticelli; my favourite is the fresco of the Annunciation.

Pisa is essentially a single spectacular greenspace, the Piazza dei Miracoli, filled by an assemblage of religious buildings made of white marble; under a thundery sky and breaking sun, these are pearlescent and stunningly beautiful.

Lucca is an elegant, walled town, less frenzied than Firenze but again it is like walking through an outdoor art gallery. The view from the top of the Guinigi Tower under the cool shelter of a handful of holm oaks is a sea of red roofs and church spires.