Travel: Tuscany

It sounds like a scene from The Godfather that ends with a lot of blood but the guy facing me couldn't be more charming, and any pain I suffer will come from the mildest beginner's blister on my thumb (and, of course, that old-fashioned ache of embarrassment as I later hack away at a ball that refuses to be hit).

Gianni Iachipino is the golf pro at the Una Poggio dei Medici hotel in Mugello, Tuscany. He's one half of "Italy's Posh and Becks" – his wife being Fiona May, the glamorous British-born athlete who switched national sides when they married – and he is indeed proving to be a very patient man as he teaches me, an absolute beginner, how to grip the club correctly.

Nobody has ever explained the hows and whys of the golf swing to me before, and when he talks me through the basic physics of it, all becomes clear. Well, in theory anyway, and I must concentrate to fight off the urge to revert to schoolgirl hockey grip. My partner, also a novice, gets it immediately and is sailing the balls away in no time.

Our fellow golfers, all of whom have a lot of experience – there's even a young guy with a handicap of four – are seriously impressed with the challenging 18-hole course, which was founded in 1995 and has been used for the Italian Women's Open. The greens are like carpets and the setting is beautiful, with picture-perfect medieval Tuscan buildings and the occasional ruin in the distance and pretty hills and trees all around. A mild humming sound – quiet enough to be intriguing rather than irritating – comes from the world famous Mugello race track, where the Ferrari team practise. I turn out to be a lot more talented at putting than driving, no doubt thanks to endless days wasted on mini-golf during my childhood.

Golf obsessives will love this place, particularly as Una Poggio dei Medici has several rooms right on the course. Buggies cost 40 a day, and the green fee is 60. It's best not to come in August though, as the local football team fill up the place for the whole month. And there's a sumptuous spa should your other half be less interested in golf than you are.

Tuscany is Medici country, and the hotel has converted a former Medici villa into a particularly pretty wing. Just down the tree-lined road is the Villa of Cafaggiolo, another former Medici family residence. The picturesque 15th-century building, built by Michelozzo Michelozzi, was one of the family's favourite estates. Back in the day, it was a popular summer meeting place (the area provides a comparatively cooler respite from the furnace that is Florence during the hotter months) for Renaissance intellectuals and is rich with fascinating stories of wealth, ambition, jealousy and murder.

The building is now in a state of disrepair (which enhances its picturesque qualities but doesn't help with preservation), but there are plans to turn it into a five-star hotel – so if you're interested in seeing it, do it quickly while it's still free.

A 15-minute drive takes us to the enchanting medieval town of Scarperia, which is Italy's centre for knife making. All manner of the implements are on display in the small, deliciously named Museum of Cutting Blades, and the streets are lined with little shops staffed by experts who will demonstrate their knife-making skills for a few euros. You could even commission your own one, but good luck getting it home if you're flying.

Scarperia's town square, bordered by the lush Vicar's Palace, is exquisite; were it not for the condom-dispensing machine outside the local pharmacy, you would feel as if you had travelled straight back to the Renaissance. The palace is decorated with the crests of all its previous vicars (who had greater political and judiciary status than our humble ones), some of whom were Medici family members placed in those lofty positions in order to extend the banking family's already vast influence.

That night we are vaulted into a fantasy world of luxury in the shape of a gala dinner at the Villa le Maschere, an almost laughably wonderful five-star hotel in the Una Hotel Poggio chain. Built in the 18th century for the Bettini family, it was visited by popes and all manner of royalty, noblemen and artists but, like so many other buildings, it nearly fell apart before being resuscitated. And what a job its rescuers have done. The interior shows contemporary Italian design at its boldest best, contrasting perfectly with the traditional architecture. The carnivores among us feast on local delicacies including tripe salad, wild boar and guinea fowl, all prepared with expertise and finesse, and we are treated to an engaging wine tasting from the sharp, traditionally dressed sommeliers from the Cecchi winery.

After supper, an enthusiastic manager takes us on a tour of the hotel's rooms, each of which is gloriously themed and lavishly decorated. Some have bathrooms larger than the average Edinburgh flat. Even the conference suite in the hotel is impeccably designed, with the domed ceiling revealing a tantalising remainder of the original fresco.

The following day, while half of our party dive back on to the golf course, the rest of us head for the Barberino Outlet Village nearby. It comprises about 50 shops selling a massive range of discounted designer goods – mainly clothing – from brands such as Prada, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana and Missoni. Even if you don't buy anything, it's a fun anthropological exercise watching style-conscious Italians go about their shopping.

It turns out this is not the only place for designer bargains in the Mugello area: there's a large Prada and Miu Miu factory outlet called Space, as well as one selling Richard Ginori porcelain and dinnerware.

Then we head back to the hotel for a traditional Mugello lunch, the most memorable element of which is the local speciality, tortello – delicate pasta parcels stuffed with seasoned potato and drizzled with a buttery sage sauce. This is a good area for foodies; it is well known for truffles – particularly the white variety – and chestnuts and castagnaccio, a divine traybake made from chestnut flour and flavoured with pinenuts, sultanas and fragrant rosemary.

The road back to Florence is peppered with charming villages and as we reach the hilly outskirts of the city we approach the prized neighbourhoods that give their lucky residents a break from the searing heat of the centre during the summer.

As we don't have enough time to explore Florence close-up, we head for the spot that offers the best view of it. From the Piazzale Michelangelo, beside a copy of the magnificent David, we can see the whole, fantastic thing, including the enormous Duomo (the dome at the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore), the Palazzo Vecchio tower and the controversial new law courts, whose modern design will send classical architecture lovers into a cold sweat. If this doesn't make you come over all Lucy Honeychurch, your heart must be made out of marble.

Fact file

TUSCANY

Una Poggio dei Medici costs 145-380 (130-343) per double room per night.

Villa le Maschere costs 199-670 (180- 605) per double room per night. Both hotels have frequent special offer packages, and you can often get an upgrade to the latter if the former is full.

Getting there Ryanair flies from Edinburgh and Glasgow Prestwick to Pisa airport for between 30 and 60, and from there you can get a coach – that waits for the flight to arrive – to Florence train station. Una hotels will collect you from there.

This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday, March 14, 2010