Tour Tuscany, Art, Wine and Gastronomy in Toscana

Tuscany : splendid cities of art, at the heart of the Italian Renaissance, rolling green hills and mountains, fine sandy beaches and excellent tourist facilities. A great gastronomic tradition, a rich array of typical products, representing the raw materials of a cuisine with echoes of the past and rural influences, today rediscovered in the search for high quality, unadulterated foods. Last but not least, the wines. Tuscany is a wine lover’s paradise, as is evident in the presence of no fewer than 14 wine trails. Any brief summary is bound to mention one of the most famous wines in the world, the ruby-coloured, dry Chianti, with its intense aroma. Chianti is produced is much of the region, and the highest quality Chianti Classico bears the Gallo Neero ( black rooster) trademark. Nor should we forget dry red Montepulciano, or Brunello di Montalcino, the strong velvety, full-bodied red produced in the hills around Siena. Fine white wines include the elegant dry Vernaccia di San Gimignano and Galestro, which is excellent with fish.

ITINERARY

1 Day: Arrival in Chianciano Terme. Accommodation in hotel. Welcome cocktail. Dinner and overnight.

2 Day: Breakfast. Excursion to the Brunello vinyards and visit of a cellar. Sampling of local wines and products for lunch. In the afternoon, visit of St. Antimo and the beautiful church. On to Bagno Vignoni, a characteristic thermal locality. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight. .

3 Day: Breakfast. Excursion to the Chianti region. You can admire the picturesque landscapes of Radda in Chianti, Greve in Chianti, Castellina. Visit of a wine factory followed by sampling of various types of Chianti wines. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

4 Day: Breakfast. In the morning, visit of Pienza then on to Montepulciano, where you can enjoy lunch in a local restaurant and taste the typical "Pici". After the city tour, sampling of the Vino Nobile of Montepulciano. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight

5 Day: Breakfast. Excursion to the amazing Monte Oliveto Abbey. In the afternoon, you will visit Murlo, a typical Etruscan town, and Buonconvento. On route back to the hotel, stop for sampling of the excellent Tuscan olive oil! Dinner and overnight. .

6 Day: Breakast. Home journey. .

OPTIONAL VISITS / EXCURSIONS

Lucca
It is a delightful place simply to wander at random, with much of the centre free from traffic.It set inside a ring of Renaissance walls fronted by gardens and huge bastions.

Florence
Since early in the nineteenht century Florence has been celebrated as the most beautiful city in Italy. Cradle of the Renaissance and home of Machiavelli, Michelangelo and the Medici, the city seems overblessed with art, culture and history. The major sights are contained in an area that can be crossed on foot: the multicoloured Duomo with its high Campanile, the octagonal structure of the marble-clad Baptistry, the medieval shop-lined Ponte Vecchio, the Town Hall of Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery.

Florence: Museums & Galleries
The National Museum of Bargello has Italy's most comprehensive collection of Tuscan Renaissance sculptures (of Michelangelo and Donatello too).
The Uffizi Gallery holds Italy's greatest art collection. In the 45 rooms thare are so many masterpieces that you need minimum 3-4 hours to visit it. It contains works of Cimabue, Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, to name just a few of them.

Siena
In Siena the Piazza del Campo is a beautiful square in the heart of the city, where each year rival neighborhoods complete in the "Palio", the horserace around its perimeter. The province of Siena is famous for its great wines, such as Chianti and Brunello that yoy can taste also in the villages of Montepulciano, and San Gimignano, with its famous towers and turreted houses.

Vinci & Torre del Lago
Occupying the picturesque vine-and olive-planted southern slopes of Montalbano, Vinci is inextricably associated with Leonardo da Vinci, who was born here on 1452. The main sight is the thirteenth-century castle, now home of the Museum, packed with models reconstructed from Leonardo'n notebook drawings - his celebrated bicycle, helicopter and multi-barrelled machine-gun are all on display.