TUSCANY (Toscana), a territorial division of Italy, con sisting of the western part of the centre of the peninsula, bounded north-west by Liguria and Emilia, east by the Marches and Um bria, south-east by the district of Lazio and west by the Mediter ranean. It consists of nine provinces, Arezzo, Firenze (Florence), Grosseto, Livorno (Leghorn), Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia and Siena, and has an area of 8,997 sq. miles. Pop. (1931) 2,892,364 (showing a very low relative increase since 1901). The chief railway centre is Florence.
Except towards the coast and around Lucca, Florence and Arezzo, where the beds of prehistoric lakes form plains, the country is hilly, being intersected with sub-Apennine spurs, some of which have extensive forests. The most fertile country in Tuscany is in the valley of the Arno. In the neighbourhood of Lucca the irrigation system dates from 1376, while at Coltano, near Pisa, it goes hand in hand with land reclamation. In strong contrast with this is the coast plain known as the Maremma, 85o sq.m. in extent, where malaria has been prevalent since the depopulation of the country in the middle ages. An e:aborate sys tem of drainage, begun in the 19th century, is still being com pleted. The greater part of the Maremma now affords pasture to large herds of horses and half-wild cattle, but the drier parts are cultivated. The hill country just inland, especially near Volterra, has poor soil, largely clayey, and subject to landslips, but is rich in minerals, boric acid and mineral springs. But for the Maremma, Tuscany is one of the most favoured regions of Italy. The climate is temperate, and the rainfall not excessive.
The following is a list of the chief agricultural products in 1927 (the wine is largely produced in the district of chianti, south south-west of Florence) : The mineral products of the Florence district (including the provinces of Siena, Grosseto and Livorno [Leghorn]) were (1926) in tons: Iron, 470,170; manganiferous iron, 17,73o; copper, 6,674; mercury, 147,194 (from Monte Amiata) ; iron pyrites, marble. 509,805 (337,083 of which from the Carrara district) ; lig
nite, 567,615 (province of Arezzo), 120,207 (province of Gros seto). There are cotton mills at Florence, Leghorn, Prato and Pisa ; Prato (q.v.) is an important centre of the wool industry, which flourished more in Florence in the middle ages than at present. Hydro-electric power, mainly derived from the Serchio basin, is supplemented by the plants at Terni (q.v.) in Umbria. Glass is made at Pisa. Porcelain and ceramic products are made, especially at Signa and Doccia, near Florence, where silk, straw hats, etc., are also manufactured; and much furniture is also produced. The Tuscans are, indeed, active, both in agriculture and industry. There are universities at Florence, Pisa and Siena. Viareggio and Leghorn are much frequented for sea-bathing, while the latter is a prosperous port.
The main art centres of Tuscany are Florence, Pisa and Siena, the headquarters of the chief schools of painting and sculpture from the 13th century onwards. While the first city, however, bore as prominent a part as any in Italy in the Renaissance, the art of Pisa ceased to advance at a comparatively early period, its importance being in ecclesiastial architecture in the 12th, and in sculpture in the 13th century. Siena, too, never accepted the Renaissance to the full, and art retained its individuality.
The language of Tuscany is remarkable for its purity of idiom, and its adoption by Dante and Petrarch probably led to its becom ing the literary language of Italy. (See ITALIAN LANGUAGE. ) See E. Repetti, Dizionario geografico fisico storico delta Toscana (6 vols. Florence, 1834-46). On mediaeval and Renaissance architec ture and art there are innumerable works. Among those on architecture may be mentioned the great work of H. von Geymiiller and V. C. von Stegmann, Die Architektur der Renaissance in Toscana; Rasch dorff-Haupt, Palastarchitektur von Oberitalien and Toscana von 15—r7 Jahrhundert (6 vols.) B. Patzak, Palast and villa in Toscana (2 vols., 1912-13).