The 2009 edition of the Florence Biennale kicks off at the Fortezza da Basso, close to Santa Maria Novella, on December 5th, and runs until the 13th. This year’s highlights include Chinese artist Shu Yong and video artist Marina Abramovic. A short train ride to the west of Florence, Montecatini’s Terme Tamerici is now exhibiting “Il nuovo dopo della Macchia.” The exhibition looks at 80 works by the Macchiaioli and examines their importance in the development of Tuscan realism, and includes works by Lodovico Tommasi and the “father” of the movement, Giovanni Fattori. The show runs until January 18th; entrance is €10.

If you’re new to the Macchiaoli movement, the best place to head remains the exquisitely located Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori in the port city of Livorno.

And, then, of course, there’s his dome. It was the largest span ever attempted when it was built. The huge hole in the Duomo’s roof was a problem that, without Filippo’s obsessive study of antiquity, 4 million bricks and a large serving of cojones, might never have been solved. But he fixed it, and lived long enough to see the project well on its way.

Perhaps, though, “do it like Brunelleschi” isn’t something we’d advise when it comes to workplace safety. From Vasari’s Lives (Oxford edition, p. 135):

The structure had grown so high by this time that it was extremely disruptive to go down to the ground after having climbed up, and not only was a great deal of time lost by the masters [builders] in going to eat and drink, but they suffered great discomfort from the heat of the day. Filippo therefore found a way to open eating places with kitchens on the dome, where he sold wine as well, and in this fashion no one left work until the evening.

“In this fashion” presumably being a euphemism for “completely legless 140 feet above Piazza del Duomo”.

All of which is a very roundabout way of saying “it’s amazing what you can find out from a book”. I love Vasari, and have read him over and over, but as a travel guide he leaves a little to be desired. He made some of it up, for starters. He hated the artistic traditions of Siena, for seconds. You won’t find any such bias in my new guidebook, Florence and Tuscany Day by Day, published last month in the US and out here any day. I’d be delighted to hear from anyone who has read it, or has comments positive or negative to pass on. I’m very proud of the finished product, but these projects are always a work in progress.

If that doesn’t take your fancy for holiday reading while you’re in Tuscany, here are some other suggestions. Enjoy.

Giotto's campanile, Florence

It’s easy to get overwhelmed in a city like Florence when you touch down for the first time. A top-10 hitlist is a great way to ease the inevitable sight-anxiety, and one of these days I’ll get round to writing one. While you’re waiting, check out the Top 10 Things to Do in Florence at WhyGo Italy.

Of course, I disagree with many of them. For starters, I never leave town without at least one trip up to the Romanesque basilica of San Miniato al Monte. The place is one of Florence’s (rare) contemplative corners, and plugs right into my love of all things pre-Renaissance. I blame Ruskin’s The Nature of Gothic (well worth a read, by the way, for anyone interested in Tuscan architecture).

Visiting (and discussing) Florence is like that. It’s impossible to agree on the ‘best bits’, and no matter how long you’ve allowed for your stay, you’ll depart with the feeling you’ve missed something amazing—and you probably have. But you can always come back.

Corpus Domini parade, Orvieto, Umbria

Far from peaking here, February marks the first month in a busy Tuscan festival calendar. If I was planning to attend one a month, my year might look something like this.

March

Head down to Pitigliano, in the Maremma, for the Torciata di San Giuseppe, on the 19th. A torchlit parade along ancient Etruscan tufa paths concludes with the burning of a wicker man in the town square to welcome spring. More information from the Pitigliano tourist office.

April

Aside from the obvious Holy Week and Pasqua celebrations all over Tuscany, I’d pop over the border to Umbria for Coloriamo I Cieli, a balloon and kite festival held around Castiglione del Lago on the western shore of Lago Trasimeno.

May

Ascension Day in Florence sees the annual Festa del Grillo (the Cricket Festival) in the Parco del Cascine, alongside the Arno. Though it’s not quite the same since the city banned the use of real crickets in 1999, it remains one of the city’s traditional family days out.

June

Tuscany goes festa-mad in June, and among plenty of choice I’d probably make for Pisa for San Ranieri. On the evening of the 16th, a whole stretch of the Arno is lit up with 70,000 candles, the luminara, followed by fireworks before midnight. More information from Pisa’s tourist office.

July

There’s only one place to head in July: to Siena, for the Palio. The day itself can be unpleasantly packed, so I’d adopt one of two strategies. Either go for the costumed practice days in the run-up to the main event on the 2nd (they usually begin on June 29th). Or head into Siena on the day after and book yourselves a hotel inside the winning contrada (Siena’s tourist office will help on that one). You’re guaranteed dress-suit parades, traditional songs, impromptu celebrations and all the rest of it, as the winners rub everyone else’s noses in it—all night, every night.

August

Instead of Siena’s second (and marginally more important) Palio, on the 16th, high summer would probably take me to Montepulciano. The Bravio delle Botti, an uphill giant-barrel-pushing race between the town’s quarters, takes place on the penultimate Sunday. Which doesn’t sound like much, unless you’ve ever tried to walk up that hill in August.

September

As summer comes to an end, it’s time to toast the harvest at the Rassegna del Chianti Classico, in Greve-in-Chianti. Buy a glass in the square and wander the stalls sloshing sipping away. A number of wine-themed excursions and events cluster round the Rassegna in early September.

October

It’s back to southern Tuscany in late October for Montalcino’s Sagra del Tordo. If you’ve even wondered what spit-roast songbirds taste like, washed down with Tuscany’s finest red wine (Brunello), now’s your chance to find out.

Things (thankfully) start to slow down from November. By now, I’m thinking I’ve probably earned the rest.

The brand-new, luxurious Town House Palazzo Vecchietti opened its doors in January, in a spot handy for the cafes of Piazza della Repubblica or the designer shops of Via de’ Tornabuoni. Giambologna renovated the palazzo in the 1580s; prices are as you’d expect for an inn with such a pedigree. (UPDATE: There’s more on the Vecchietti here.)

Seriously upscale visitors to Florence have another reason to be cheerful: the frescoed Renaissance Palazzo della Gherardesca has morphed into the Four Seasons Firenze after a lengthy restoration. It’s on Borgo Pinti, just a little outside the heart of the action.

For a quieter hotel experience, the Palazzo Seneca in Norcia (Umbria) has had a boutique-style revamp and now offers a wellness spa and fine local cuisine. Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict, is home to Umbria’s famous black truffle, and sits on the edge of the Monti Sibillini national park.

Finally, if you’re looking for a villa in Tuscany and have a decent budget to play with, the Conde Nast Traveler blog has some sound advice for places to begin your research online. Budget travellers, especially anyone banking in sterling, might want to re-check my Budget Guide to Tuscany that The Times ran last summer. You’ll find some fine accommodation alternatives.

When it comes to Tuscan lodging, you don’t have to be rich to book round here, but it sure helps.

The Corridoio, which runs from the Palazzo Vecchio through the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace in Oltrarno, including a clandestine crossing above the Ponte Vecchio, will be open twice daily for guided visits from Tuesday to Friday. Call 055/2654321 to book. Tickets are €10.50.

Meanwhile, April sees the opening of an important exhibition of works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, charting the links between his sculpture and the birth of Baroque portraiture. It follows a major Bernini exhibition at California’s Getty Center in 2008.

The Bargello Museum, housed inside a magnificent Gothic fortress on Via del Proconsolo, is worth €4 of your entrance money anytime. It’s one Florence stop I recommend highly in the new book, due out in May.

This website combines Google Maps and 360 degree panoramic photography to give you a real sense of being in 15 different spots across the region. There’s even a bit of Umbria – Perugia and Assisi – thrown in for good measure.

I especially love this internal panorama of the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, in Florence. The Romanesque basilica, just uphill from Piazzale Michelangelo (see the book, p. 61), is one of the few city spots you can find a bit of peace, even in high season. On p. 63 of the book we recommend a family Oltrarno walk, from the Giardino di Boboli, that’ll guide you all there.

Okay, so a bit of surfing doesn’t quite match basking under a Tuscan sun for yourself. But, from my desk in East London, it’s as close as I’m getting for now. Alas.

Genio Fiorentino runs from 15th to 25th May, opening tomorrow with a musical event celebrating Benvenuto Cellini, whose bronze Perseus Holding the Head of Medusa, pictured, graces the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria.

Other artistic highlights include an exhibition of drawings by Leonardo and Raphael inside the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (see the book, p. 56). The exhibition’s opening coincides with the festival ending, on 25th May.

The Genio sees the annual opening of the Corridoio Vasariano, a covered passageway that links the Ponte Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti, crossing the Arno inside the Ponte Vecchio. See the book, p. 59, for more details.

Florence’s Istituto degli Innocenti is also hosting children’s workshops, the Bottega dei Ragazzi, throughout the Genio. Contact them direct for advice on what events best suit your child’s spoken Italian skills: local tel. 055 2478386 (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm and 4–7pm),email labottegadeiragazzi@istitutodeglinnocenti.it.

Florence’s tourist office, local tel. 055 290832, will be able to direct you towards other events suited to visiting families. For comprehensive visitor information for Florence, see the book, p. 38–47.