If you think this post is going to be about Italy, I'm going to apologize in advance. I've never been there, one can get good Italian food almost anywhere and we prefer nature to cities. This post is about a residential neighbourhood in the City of Calgary which was named after the region in Italy.
When one enters Tuscany via the train station, they first gaze upon the Sierras of Tuscany where one can buy a small apartment for $300,000. Amenities include a ball room, swimming pool, mountain views and a bowling alley.
At the center of the Subdivision lies a plaza which has everything you need - a grocery store, drug store, and a starbucks for your Cappuccino! There's even a Dominos Pizza parlour for an authentic taste of Italy.
One can get lost exploring the back alleys of Tuscany and its stone roads. American Pickup Trucks and double wide garages dot the landscape but hey, they recycle!
Most of the streets have the word Tuscany it them, while super confusing because there's a Tuscany Springs BLVD, WAY, LANDING, HEIGHTS, HILL, TERRACE, PL, GARDENS, ETC. One does not forget where they are. A benefit of having back alleys means the front of the houses have a neighbourly feeling to them like a 19th century village where people sit on the porch and wave at passerby's.
Parks are everywhere between the houses, Tuscany is home to the twelve mile coulee, which is a ravine, or small stream running through the subdivision down to the Bow River.
There's a fire station with a nice mountain view, a few schools, etc. Tuscany has got it all.
They paint the boxes with the traffic light controls to honor some of the more famous residents of the region.
An arch is the most well known man made landmark in Tuscany, fashioned in the ancient roman style, out of cement, using a keystone.
Also in the Center of Tuscany lies the Tuscany club, it's some neighbourhood association with tennis courts, splash pads, and a bunch of other things residents can enjoy for a small annual fee. One however must be forewarned, there is an evil rock guarding the entrance.
We come here to walk through the Coulee, other than that there really is no reason to visit unless you know one of the locals.
One almost forgets they are in Tuscany walking through the hills and valleys surrounded by nature and low rise housing.
On a clear day in early Spring you realize you're not in the Italian countryside, you are in a North American Suburb an hour West of the Rocky Mountains. One trades culture and good weather for twice the annual income and a large detached home with a two car garage.
People enjoy the outdoors throughout the year, engaging in sport with their friends and families.
You're never far from nature, even in a suburb with a density ten to twenty times greater than Tuscany Italy.
The electric light rail train is the most European thing about Tuscany, it gets people downtown in less than thirty minutes. Transit is notoriously poor in most North American cities, but if you are living near one of the few transit lines you could survive without a car.