The Medicean Villas in Florence and the Val D'Orcia
6 Days / 5 Nights
Day 1: Rome - Siena area
Arrival at Rome Airport. Meet your local Tour escort and departure to Siena
area.
Accommodation at the hotel in Chianciano where you will stay for 5 nights, dinner
and overnight stay.
Day 2: Siena area – Montalcino – Bagno Vignoni
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Montalcino, whose fortress is the symbol
of the independent and warlike character of this town’s people who defeated
many invading armies. The pentagon-shaped fortress has towers in every corner,
and its walls overlook the Val d’Orcia.
Departure for Castello Banfi. Here you will taste the famous wine Brunello and
enjoy a typical lunch. Through enchanting landscapes the itinerary reaches Sant’Antimo’s
Abbey. It is said that it was built in one day by fairies carrying columns on
their heads and rocks on their fingers. Built by monks, the abbey is a remarkable
work of Romanesque architecture.
On the way back stop at Bagno Vignoni to visit the square-pool, where the famous
film-maker Tarkovski shot one of his movies. Back to the hotel, dinner and overnight
stay.
Day 3: Pienza – Montepulciano
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Pienza, the ideal town wanted by Pio
II. Seen from the valley below, this little town looks as if it were floating
up in the sky, outlined in the light of the sun. The local little shops where
you can taste the famous “cacio delle crete” and the “pecorino
di Pienza” (typical cheese) are well worth a visit. Tasting of local products
in a charcuterie. After a short journey, arrival at Montepulciano where Medieval
architecture is still visible but Renaissance elements, due to the work of famous
architects such as Antonio da Sangallo il Vecchio, Vignola, Baldassarre Peruzzi,
and Ippolito Scalza, are prevalent. Tasting of Nobile di Montepulciano in a
typical wine-shop.
Back to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4: Garden’s in Siena area
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for an itinerary which winds through the
soft and undulating Tuscan countryside to visit some enchanting private gardens
in Siena’s area. We start with a visit to Castello Celsa, a neogothic-style
estate surrounded by an interesting garden offering a wonderful panorama. We
proceed to Vicobello’s Garden, designed in 1531 by Baldassarre Peruzzi,
with its terraced gardens which go up to the villa, offering an interesting
collection of exotic plants. After a stop to Villa Geggiano the journey will
continue to Villa Cetinale where the spacious garden rises up to the hermitage
on the top of the hill, inhabited by friars up to the end of the XIX century.
During the tour we will enjoy a buffet offered by Margherita and Benedetta Anselmi,
the Vicobello’s owners. Back to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 5: Medicean Villas
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for a tour of the most interesting Medicean
Villas. We start with Poggio a Caiano. Designed by Giuliano da Sangallo for
Lorenzo the Magnificent and built around 1480, this is the best known of the
Medicean villas. Visit both to the villa and garden.
After the lunch in a typical restaurant visit to Villa Petraia known for its
garden planned by Tribolo. Visit both to the villa and garden. Buffet in a typical
farmhouse. Transfer to the near Villa Reale, (also known as Villa Castello)
for a visit to its garden designed by Tribolo. An artificial grotto contains
a basin, shaped like a classical sarcophagus, surmounted by a pyramid-shaped
group of both exotic and ordinary animals, that look as though they are escaping
from the rock, carried out by Giambologna and school in various types of stone
and marble. Back to the hotel dinner and overnight stay.
Day 6: Departure
Breakfast at the hotel and end of tour.
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