Here’s a bunch of images that give a flavor of the surroundings in Tuscan towns.  A couple of observations: These people know how to make serious doors and windows, they like bright paint, and they like masonry.  It works.

One of the things I like most about so many of these images is that you can see how many times the walls/doors/windows have been modified over the centuries.  The buildings are changing constantly through time, with new generations building on top of the works of the past.  It reminds me of a coral reef.

Another element of these places is the ubiquitous inviting, mysterious passageway, often a tunnel, sometimes just an alley, with an enticing scrap of a view of the fantastic something that lies beyond:

Here are some fantastic archways and doors.  Nothing unusual for the region; even small alleys have dozens of doors that look like stage props from an opera.

Finally, Here are some catch-all images that are the kinds of things you see about every 100 feet while walking around.  Here’s a courtyard from the 1400s.  These kinds of things are everywhere, usually uncelebrated and if there is signage at all, it is understated; they’re a dime a dozen.

Below is an Etruscan arch that’s over 2000 years old.  But it’s not important enough to have a sign or anything.  If there were signs on everything noteworthy, the place would be encrusted with signs hiding the actual objects of interest.

Many average streets have a castle at the end:

A building like this one is perfectly ordinary (I think it’s a high school):

An up-scale, but not unusual specialty grocery:

Fall-colored vines creep up medieval houses still lived in by citizens of the town.

Comparatively modern (17th century) houses with beautiful gardens:

And finally, that most ubiquitous thing, the cigarette: eveybody’s doin’ it, as if cancer doesn’t happen in Italy.  It’s the one thing I suspect most Americans won’t like when visiting, although at least they also do it only outside.