If you ask any red-blooded Tuscan what does he really think about his land, he will undoubtedly say that it's the most beautiful place in the entire planet. While I've travelled enough to know that there are places on this green and pleasant planet that are even more stunning, I'm still convinced that no other place has the same density of beautiful things to offer. Need a proof? Think about the least known corners of this very popular region, those that tourists usually skip, the ones that are not on the cover of the travel guides. Between Arezzo and Umbria there is a charming valley chock full of hamlets, castles, churches and much more, the Val Tiberina. While it isn't as popular as the art cities, it hosts a charming little village whose claim to fame was to have been the place where a bloody battle was fought and where one of Italy's greatest artists made one of its biggest mistakes. That's why this week What's Up Tuscany will bring you to Anghiari and tell you everything there is to know about this lovely hamlet, its history and all that you can see and do in this little known valley. If you listen to the full episode, I will tell you how the battle was crucial enough to convince the Florence rulers to hire the world's most famous artist, Leonardo da Vinci, to paint it on the walls of the heart of the city government, the splendid Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio. Leonardo, though, wanted to experiment with an innovative technique and made a huge mess, enough to be fired on the spot. 60 years later, another great artist, Giorgio Vasari, would paint over the famous fresco and make a new one, starting the legend of the missing masterpiece. Now it has been proved that Leonardo didn't actually paint anything but people in Anghiari have still dedicated an interesting museum to it and the battle it was supposed to portray. This little village has got many more things to offer, from many picturesque alleys in the town centre to an ancient cloth factory that is open to the public. In the last chapter I will give you some practical advice, from the best restaurants in town to the spooky castle next door, to the most recent addition in the valley, Tuscany's biggest lake. It might not be as famous as many others, but Anghiari and the Val Tiberina offer an insight into the true soul of this land. Next time you come to visit, think about staying here for more than a day. You won't regret it. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larno.it Twitter: @arno_it / @WhatsupTuscany LINKS TO SOURCES (ITALIAN ONLY) https://www.italyyoudontexpect.com/anghiari-cosa-vedere-borgo-della-battaglia/ https://www.fanpage.it/cultura/perche-leonardo-da-vinci-non-dipinse-la-battaglia-di-anghiari-il-mistero-nellultima-puntata-della-fiction-rai/ Museo della Battaglia - +39 0575787023 – [email protected] BACKGROUND MUSIC Pipe Choir - Bom Bom Breakthrough (Instrumental) Cityfires - Blood Problems (Instrumental) The Passion HiFi - Buried (Instrumental) Pipe Choir - Rocking Back and Forth (Instrumental) Zentra - Siege Audionautix - Soulstone Wayne John Bradley - Blues Rock Original Instrumental All released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipe-choir-bom-bom-breakthrough-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/cityfires/blood-problems-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/freehiphopbeatsforyou/free-the-passion-hifi-buried https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipe-choirrocking-back-and-forth-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/argofox/zentra-siege https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyyMXafoL-A https://soundcloud.com/ayneohnradley/blues-rock-original-instrumentalcreative-commons http://www.pipechoir.com/