Tuscany

Tuscany’s beauty is almost dangerously familiar: Renaissance cities, cypress-lined roads, medieval hill towns and vineyards rolling towards the horizon. Yet beyond the postcard lies a region with a remarkably rich architectural culture. Centuries-old palazzi, monasteries, farmhouses and agricultural estates are increasingly being restored with a lighter touch, where weathered stone, terracotta and original structures meet contemporary Italian design. From Florence to the Val d’Orcia and the wilder landscapes of the Maremma, the best places allow Tuscany’s history to remain visible rather than polishing it away.

Food and wine are inseparable from the landscape. Tuscan cooking is famously direct, built around exceptional ingredients rather than unnecessary complication: olive oil, vegetables, pecorino, handmade pasta, wild boar and the traditional bistecca alla Fiorentina. Village trattorias and family-run estates coexist with ambitious restaurants and a new generation of chefs rediscovering local producers. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano make wine part of the journey itself, whether tasted in a historic cellar or overlooking the vines where it was grown.

Tuscany’s most interesting hotels embrace this connection between architecture, agriculture and landscape. Renaissance villas, converted monasteries, working wine estates and intimate countryside retreats offer alternatives to the overly polished Tuscan resort. At DNA Hotels, we curate the places where design, food, wine and history come together naturally—hotels that let you experience Tuscany’s extraordinary beauty without turning it into a cliché.