Tour Tuscany - Umbria, Tour of smaller Tuscany and Umbria

The region Umbria is the green hearth of Italy with its lush river valleys, bu it hs also full-bodied wines, pristine medieval hill towns, flavorful black truffles, and the monasteries and churches of a host of home-grown Saints. Perugia, the lively home of the University for Foreigners,is a place where you'll hear music late into the night and almost any language you can name on the streets. The medieval town (reached by a very unmedieval escalator) is dominated by the Rocca Paolina, Italy's largest fortress. verificare , the immaculate medieval hill town that was home to Italy's patron saint, St. Francis, always a vortex of beauty and spirituality, it also offers some wonderful frescoes by Giotto and Cimabue. San Gimignano, perched high on a hill, with a forest of fantastic towers between with run medieval streets. The greatest delight is just to wander through these medieval streets, in the shadow of the towers, admiring this " outdoor museum" . Pienza is a small town of the Sienese, and it’s a rare example of Renaissance town planning, declared patrimoniio dell'umanita by unesco. Pienza is defined the "ideal town", the "utopia town", and it represents nowadays one of the most concrete method construction through which in Renaissance age they tried to realise a model of life and an ideal government on earth, working out an idea of town able to give concrete answers to the desire of civil, pacific and laborious coexistence between man. Montalcino is a small town about twenty miles from Siena, some 1900 feet above sea-level and overlooking the valley of the Ombrone. Having arrived at the summit the eyes can behold the splendour of an ample and varied panorama from the Senese hills to the mountains of Amiata.In this area is produced the best italian red wine : rosso di montalcino

ITINERARY

1 Day:
Half day guided tour of Montepulciano, the highest of the Tuscan hill-town, at more than 600m. The main street, the "Corso" is flanked by a series of dark alleys which drop away to the walls, providing slives of views between Renaissance Palaces out over the rolling countryside. Henri James, who compared the town to a ship, spent most of his timehere drinking the much celebrated "Vino Nobile", an excellent local table wine.

2 Day:
Full day excursion to S. Gimignano, the town with the many towers. then continue towards Volterra for a visit of the etruscan town centre.

3 Day:
Full day excursion to Lake Trasimeno and Perugia, the capital city of Umbria, where you can admire marvellous medieval constructions. Continue towards Assisi, the home of St. Francis. Stop in St. Maria degli Angeli to visit the "Porziuncola" chapel and the Basilica.

4 Day:
Full day excursion to Pienza and free time to visit this charming town, a perfect example of Renaissance architecture. Continue towards Montalcino, the medieval town renowned for its Brunello wine. Sampling of the local wine and products in a typcial cellar.

5 Day:
Full day excursion to Spoleto (an ancient city with architectural traces left by man that date back over 2500 years) and the Marmore waterfalls, which are the highest in Italy, created artificially by the Romans in 271 BC. Today is a beautiful place for walking and a starting point for rafts descending the Nera river.

6 Day:
At disposal for optional excursions and departure.

OPTIONAL VISITS / EXCURSIONS

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.

Carrara: for the mountains here have been a principal source of marble since the ancient Romans; everyone from Michelangelo to Henry Moore has trampet up here in search of the perfect block. Carrara ist still the world's largest producer and exporter of marble. The visit includes the marble quarries and a local craftsman's workshop where the various techniques will be explained.

Montecatini
The Thermal Center is located in a pleasant and green area at the foot of the hill, where the historical medieval village of Montecatini Alto rises, a few hundred metres above the "new" town. It is connected with the city through a funicolar. The views here are splendid, and the delightful Piazza Giusti is home to some good bars and restaurants.

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.

Elba Island
The sea, the beaches, the green of the countryside, the small fortress towns, archaeological treasures, chestnut woods and more, continue to exist for what seems like an eternity. Elba gives the sensation of so much in so little as in the small spaces of the island we travel over tourist attractions and natural landscapes of such contrast; areas dried out by sun and wind, others green with life, sandy or pebble stone beaches, rocky coastlines and cliffs. Napoleone would have had to consider him fortunate to have been exiled in such an attractive place!

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.