Many people decorate their homes in styles that they like, without bothering to discover the history behind that style. Others perform research on the style to ensure that they are using authentic material.

If you're going to decorate your home in a certain classic style, such as the Federal, Art Deco, Japanese, PLUG, and so on, you can do this in one of two ways. You can either acquire all the appropriate pieces and arrange them in the necessary rooms to acquire the look you like, without knowing anything about the history of the decor you're using, or, you can do a bit of research into how the style evolved and the meanings (if any) of each piece or pattern.

For myself, I find it fascinating to study the history of other countries, and see how home decor (not to mention the homes themselves!) have evolved over the decades.

So, if you're thinking of decorating your home in the Tuscan style, let's consider what that is.

Tuscany is a region in central Italy that has been settled for well over 2,000 years. A couple of civilizations occupied the area during pre-history, the Apennine and Villanovan, before being superseded by the more powerful and civilized Etruscans.

However, the Etruscans themselves were taken over by the Roman empire in the first century AD. The grandeur that was Rome lasted for 400 years, finally falling in the fourth century. Italy then fell into the Dark Ages (not necessarily a time of unremitting chaos, but rather because little written history survives of that time.) Then came the Middle Ages, from about 1,000 AD onward and finally the Renaissance of the 14th through the 17th centuries.

Most scholars believe that the Renaissance began in Florence in the 14th century...and that ties up the history lesson, because Florence was then and is now the capitol of Tuscany (or Toscano, as it is in the Italian language), and its inhabitants are proud to claim that distinction for themselves.

Tuscany, divided into ten provinces, is for the most part very hilly, and at times mountainous, with only a few plains which form the valley of the Arno River.

Tuscany is known for its wines - for example Chianti, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Chianti has been made in the area since the 1700s. They also produce olive oil, and the "Fiorentina" steak which comes from Chianina cattle.

Tuscany is also home to the famous "Cities of Art" (Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Siena, San Gimignano). Pisa is known to all and sundry as home to the Leaning Tower, and Florence has the Uffizi Gallery as well as The Duomo, the domed cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore; the Pitti Palace of the Medici's, and the Fountain of Neptune.

Tuscan decor, therefore, reflects all these parts of Italian life.