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Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometers (8,900 square miles) and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (Firenze).

Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its influence on high culture. It is regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance^[5] and of the foundations of the Italian language. The prestige established by the Tuscan dialect’s use in literature by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Francesco Guicciardini led to its subsequent elaboration as the language of culture throughout Italy. It has been home to many figures influential in the history of art and science and contains well-known museums such as the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti. Tuscany is also known for its wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano, Brunello di Montalcino and white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is sometimes considered “a nation within a nation”.

Tuscany is the second most popular Italian region for travelers in Italy, after Veneto. The main tourist spots are Florence, Castiglione della Pescaia, Pisa, San Gimignano, Lucca, Grosseto and Siena. The town of Castiglione Della Pescaia is the most visited seaside destination in the region, with seaside tourism accounting for approximately 40% of tourist arrivals. The Maremma region, Siena, Lucca, the Chianti region, Versilia, and Val d’Orcia are also internationally renowned and particularly popular spots among travelers.

Eight Tuscan localities have been designated World Heritage Sites: the historic Centre of Florence (1982); the Cathedral square of Pisa (1987); the historical center of San Gimignano (1990); the historical center of Siena (1995); the historical center of Pienza (1996); the Val d’Orcia (2004), the Medici Villas and Gardens (2013), and Montecatini Terme as part of the Great Spa Towns of Europe (2021). Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves, making Tuscany and its capital Florence popular tourist destinations. In 2018, Florence alone had over 5 million arrivals, making it the world’s 51st most visited city.

Roughly triangular in shape, Tuscany borders the regions of Liguria to the northwest, Emilia-Romagna to the north, Marche and Umbria to the east, and Lazio to the southeast. The comune (municipality) of Badia Tedalda, in the Tuscan Province of Arezzo, has an exclave named Ca’ Raffaello within Emilia-Romagna.

Tuscany has a western coastline on the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, among which is the Tuscan Archipelago, of which the most significant island is Elba. Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 square kilometers (8,878 sq mi). Surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains and with few (but fertile) plains, the region has a relief that is dominated by hilly country used for agriculture. Hills make up nearly two-thirds (66.5%) of the region’s total area, covering 15,292 square kilometers (5,904 sq mi), and mountains (of which the highest are the Apennines), a further 25%, or 5,770 square kilometers (2,230 sq mi). Plains occupy 8.4% of the total area—1,930 square kilometers (750 sq mi)—mainly around the valley of the Arno. Many of Tuscany’s most significant cities lie on the banks of the Arno, including the capital, Florence, Empoli, and Pisa. Wikipedia

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An image from Tuscany, Italy

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Tschanüff Castle is a ruined castle in the former municipality of Ramosch (now Valsot) of the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The Lords of Ramosch first appear in historical records in the 12th century. They were vassals of the Bishop of Chur and the Lords of Tarasp. The oldest part of the castle is the main tower, which was built as a bergfried (a fighting tower without permanent inhabitants) in the 12th century for the Lords of Ramosch. A ring wall was added in the 13th century. On 12 March 1256 Count Meinhard of Tyrol granted the knight Nannes of Ramosch the right to build a castle at Ramosch. Since there was already a fortification, this permission was probably to expand the small tower into a much larger castle. The new castle allowed the Ramosch family to control trade and taxes throughout the Lower Engadine.

On 19 August 1317 Nannes and his brother Johannes split the fief into two shares. The successors of Johannes, Conrad, and Schweiker, quarreled with each other over their inheritance. The conflict grew until in 1365 Duke Leopold of Austria was forced to intervene. The agreement between the brothers stated that they both accepted the Dukes of Austria as their overlord, the castle was to remain open to the Dukes and if they quarreled again the castle and surrounding lands would become property of Austria. Despite the severe conditions, Conrad and Schweiker quickly began fighting again, and in 1367 Schweiker murdered Conrad and fled Tschanüff. As a sign of appreciation for his service in an Austrian war in Italy, the Duke appointed Ulrich of Matsch as owner of Tschanüff. The Matsch family took possession of the castle on 17 February 1369.

The Bishop of Chur also had a claim on the castle and fearing Austria’s growing influence in the region, began reasserting his claim. In 1394 Bishop Hartmann forced the Lords of Matsch to give up the castle. However, in the following year, Matsch attacked and plundered the castle but retreated when the Bishop led an army toward Ramosch. In 1421 a peace treaty gave the castle to the Bishop and the Lords of Matsch were paid 2500 marks for their losses. The Bishops then appointed vogts to rule over the valley for the following centuries. In 1468 the castle was attacked by the League of God’s House during a conflict with the Bishop. It may have been besieged during the Hennenkreig in 1475. During the Swabian War of 1499, the Bishop’s own troops burned the castle to prevent it from falling into the Emperor’s hands. In 1565 rebels against the Bishop attacked, plundered, and burned the outer ward. The Lower Engadine residents were found liable for the damage and ordered to pay to rebuild the castle.

Until the 16th century, the castle was known as Ramosch or Remüs after the Lords of Ramosch. In the 16th century, it began to be known as Tschanüff which was Romansh for Casa nova or New House. This was to distinguish it from the nearby Serviezel Castle.

During the Bündner Wirren in 1622, the castle was captured and burned by troops from Glarus. It was quickly repaired and survived the rest of the tumult without being destroyed. Over the next century and a half, the castle was once again used as the residence of the Bishop’s appointed representative. In 1780 it was abandoned after part of the castle was destroyed in a landslide. Wikipedia

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An image of Tschanüff Castle Valsot Switzerland

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