TUSCANY AND ITS WINES
Day 1 – (Friday) ROME
Arrival at the local airport and transfer to the Hotel. Free afternoon to tour the city on our own and do some shopping. Overnight.
Day 2 – (Saturday) ROME
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Today we will enjoy a sightseeing panoramic tour of the city with a local guide, driving through the most important places: Piazza Venezia, Via Veneto, the Roman Forums, the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, Castel Sant’Angelo, and others. We will continue with the visit of the Vatican Museums including the famous Sistine Chapel and the Basilica of St. Peter. Lunch is included. Afternoon free, we recommend an optional visit inside the Coliseum and the Forums. Overnight.
Day 3 – (Sunday) ROME
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Free day to continue visiting this fascinating city on your own.
On Sundays at noon, the Pope traditionally prays the Angelus in St. Peter’ Square and imparts the blessing Urbi et Orbi to the crowd: we recommend to attend it on your own, no tickets are required.
Overnight.
Day 4 – (Monday) ROME – PISA – FLORENCE
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Pisa. Upon arrival we will enjoy a regular city sightseeing tour. Pisa is a quiet city and very pleasant, close to the sea, that has preserved various evidences of her past greatness. We visit the famous Piazza dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles), and will admire its Duomo, the Leaning Tower and the Baptistery. We visit the Cathedral. In the afternoon we will continue to Florence known worldwide as the “Cradle of the Renaissance”. Overnight.
Day 5 – (Tuesday) FLORENCE / CHIANTI REGION / FLORENCE
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Today we leave for an unforgettable excursion day in the CHIANTI region, famous throughout the world for its wines and its enchanting landscape. We will
travel through the most amazing areas of Tuscany, renowned around the world for its delicious wine and for the incomparable beauty of its countryside, where woods, vineyards and olive groves alternate, studded with rural estates, mansions and castles of rare beauty. We will visit an imposing medieval Castle with its historic winery, its beautiful garden and the Patio: here we will enjoy a tasting of selected fine wines accompanied by local products. In the afternoon we return to Florence accommodation. Overnight.
Day 6 – (Wednesday) FLORENCE / MONTERIGGIONI / SAN GIMIGNANO / SIENA
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Our journey will start with an excursion through the beautiful hills of the Chianti countryside, offering an impressive vineyard setting and olive groves. Along the way, from the wide panoramic windows of our coach, we will discover the medieval village of Monteriggioni, surrounded by its famous walls that have remained intact until today. Upon arrival in Siena, we enjoy a walking guided tour of the old town starting from the famous Basilica of San Domenico (visit inside), a jewel of Renaissance art built in the thirteenth century, and preserving an important relic of Santa Caterina da Siena. The guided tour will continue with a visit to the Museum and the oratory of a “Contrada” where we will discover the authentic atmosphere of the city. The “Contradas” (the neighborhoods into which the city is divided) are the real core of local social life, where the inhabitants of each district compete with each other to prepare the famous horse race known as the Palio. Each contrada is not simply a neighborhood: it can be compared to a small state with its own legacy of traditions, memories and feelings, in addition to its flag and anthem. After free lunch we head to San Gimignano, a small walled town located on a hill, which has remained intact throughout the centuries and is famous for its tall towers, frescoes and other valuable works of art. We will visit a small and fascinating museum housed in a medieval palace. At the end of our visit, we enjoy a tasting of the aromatic and delicious Sienese artisan pastries of medieval tradition (ricciarelli and panforte) together with the famous local wines, among which the Vernaccia di San Gimignano stands out. We return to Florence. Overnight.
Day 7 – (Thursday) FLORENCIA – PIENZA – MONTEPULCIANO (Vino Nobile) – ORVIETO – ROME
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. We will start our excursion to the Val D’Orcia, a World Heritage Site for the Unesco since 2004, where we will find two little gems of Italy, the cities of Pienza and Montepulciano.
Pienza is considered the “touchstone of Renaissance urbanism”. It is considered the Renaissance utopia incarnation of an ideal city, which, from an architectural point of view, is characterized by a rational organization of the open spaces and perspectives of squares and palaces, for this reason, in 1996 the Unesco declared the historic center of the city as Humanity’s Heritage. The city is also renowned for its pecorino cheese that we can taste and buy in local stores during our free time, when we will also have the opportunity to enjoy this charming little town and the captivating landscapes of its surroundings. Later we will continue our tour to Montepulciano, birth town of the famous Italian poet Angelo Poliziano. Here we will admire its architectural treasures, its beautiful Renaissance buildings and impressive
churches. Another feature of this city is its old wine tradition, the Nobile of Montepulciano, one of the most famous Tuscan wines. We will enjoy a fantastic wine tasting in one of the most popular wineries in the region. We then continue to Orvieto, a small town of Etruscan origin, known for its beautiful 14th century cathedral considered one of the masterpieces of Italian Gothic architecture. After visit we continue on to Rome and our hotel. Overnight.
Day 8 – (Friday) ROME
Breakfast. Free time until your transfer to the local airport, in time for your flight back.