Camminare con Gusto (Walking with Taste) is back again this year, and with it, Tuscany has begun to tell its story again in the way that only it knows how: through its scents, its knowledge, and the voice of its working hands.
Each step has brought ancient traditions back to light, each stage has revealed the precious intertwining of culture, gastronomy, and craftsmanship that defines the deep identity of this land.
Promoted by Confcommercio Toscana as part of Vetrina Toscana – the project of the Tuscany Region with Unioncamere Toscana, Toscana Promozione Turistica and Fondazione Sistema Toscana – the walk has united villages, towns, and communities in a unique experience that highlights what Tuscany has preserved for centuries: the ability to transform materials, landscapes, and memories into art, flavors, and gestures.
The format has remained faithful to its roots, but the calendar has expanded to include ten walking tours, expertly guided by the constant presence of Daniela Mugnai: a voice capable of reading the territory like an open book, of making the shops, artisans, and flavors speak. With her expert eye, each stage has been transformed into a true encounter with the soul of Tuscany.
Each itinerary became a living story, a journey where history meets taste and where artisan shops, guardians of handed-down techniques, reopened their doors like precious treasure chests. And a QR code to enter history.
Each place welcomed us and told us about itself, through all those who give it their heart and soul every day: from tour guides to shopkeepers, artisans, and food and wine producers. This made the experience unforgettable and worthy of being replicated everywhere as an example of good promotional marketing for our country, and to support the many businesses that are holding out…
The paths of tradition
The route began on October 4 in Castelnuovo Garfagnana: In the footsteps of Ariosto, in a land where the voice of literature still mingles with the echoes of mountain crafts.
It then reached:
- Livorno – October 16Stories and flavors around Piazza XX Settembre, among markets, seafood stalls, and popular traditions that stand the test of time.
- Pitigliano – October 20Journey to the City of Tuff, among shops carved into the rock, bread that smells of grandparents and hands that have been kneading dough for generations.
- Mugello – October 30The power of water, where mills and ancient crafts tell how human ingenuity has interacted with the landscape for centuries.
- Capalbio – November 5A walk among battlements, brigands, and flavors of the Maremma, among oral stories, rural traditions, and flavors of a wild land.
- Quarrata – November 13Between art and gastronomy, in the heart of a territory where artistic craftsmanship and cuisine have always coexisted, transforming skill and materials into culture.
- Figline Valdarno – November 17Between history and flavors in the heart of Valdarno, where the urban fabric is woven together with memories of local products.
- Capannoli and Santo Pietro Belvedere – November 27The path of taste in the Natural Shopping Center, among shops that preserve slow and precious techniques, the heritage of the community.
- Empoli – December 5Empolivagando, an itinerary among ancient crafts, glassmakers, artisans, and flavors that tell the story of the tenacity and creativity of hard-working cities.
…and finally it will land in Arezzo: where art, flavor, and craftsmanship meet “Arezzo to taste: walking through art and flavors”
Arezzo, a city that has always intertwined art, craftsmanship, and tradition.
On Thursday, December 11, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., a press tour will accompany journalists and bloggers on an itinerary that combines culture and gastronomy in a single vibrant narrative.
Arezzo is a city where craftsmanship is not a memory but a living presence: goldsmiths’ workshops, artists’ studios, and masters of taste who preserve ancient knowledge. The Arezzo da gustare (Arezzo to taste) itinerary will take in symbolic places, gastronomic excellence, and the enchanted atmosphere of the Mercatino Tirolese in Piazza Grande, where scents, carved wood, spices, and traditions come together in an experience of authentic winter magic.
It will be the last stop on the calendar, but also the fulfillment of the deepest meaning of the project: to show how Tuscany continues to live on through its craftsmanship, its cuisine, and its ability to preserve and transform tradition.
The value of a journey that preserves and renews
Parallel to the walking tours, a training course dedicated to restaurateurs and shops offered tools to recount, defend, and enhance what already constitutes the essence of Tuscany today: authentic products, historical techniques, and refined craftsmanship.
Because a territory truly lives only when its knowledge is passed on.
An invaluable asset to be carefully preserved.
As the director of Confcommercio Toscana, Franco Marinoni, recalls
“Camminare con Gusto is a bridge between culture, tourism, and business: a way to support those who preserve the region’s gastronomic and artisanal identity every day and pass it on to the future.”
A Tuscany that walks and continues to tell its story
With its stages already completed and the final one ready to light up Arezzo, Camminare con Gusto remains an invitation to slow down, look, listen, and recognize that behind every dish, every product, every work of art, there is a tradition that has stood the test of time thanks to skilled hands and communities that believe in their heritage.
A journey that has told, and continues to tell, the story of the real Tuscany: the one that lives in its crafts, its cuisine, its villages, and its people.
