VILLA GAIA CULINARY & WINE VACATION - HALF WEEK

THE 3 NIGHT/4 DAY TRIP INCLUDES:

• 3 nights accommodations at the country estate of Villa Gaia, near the small village of Seggiano, province of Grosseto.
• All meals as indicated in the itinerary.
• Small groups: 4 to 14 people.
• 2 hands-on cooking courses in “La Cucina Povera Toscana” – Tuscan country cooking including homemade pasta making.
• 2 wine tastings at wineries in Montalcino and Montepulciano.
• 2 guided excursions to Montalcino and Montepulciano (home of the Brunello & Nobile wines); Siena and the early Renaissance town of Pienza.
• All transportation (Arrival transfer: Rome or Grosseto ~ Departure transfer: Grosseto).
  

SAMPLE ITINERARY:

• ARRIVAL: DAY 1 (SAT) – Meet in Rome or in Grosseto – Arrival at Villa Gaia
  Our meeting place will be in Rome or at the Grosseto train station. After having arrived at the Villa Gaia Estate (about 2.5 hours drive from Rome) you will settle into your rooms. Then you can relax, feel at ease at the villa and receive a welcome tour of the estate. Dinner at a local trattoria (restaurant).
   
• Siena and local food festivals
  In the morning, after your breakfast, you’ll set off for Siena. You will visit the famous Piazza del Campo, the main square where the people from Siena (“i Senesi”) organize, twice a year, a medieval horse race known as Il Palio. Facing the square there is the beautiful tour Torre del Mangia where, if you wish, you can climb up to the top to admire a marvelous view of the city. You can also visit the Duomo which is a gothic style cathedral. You will have lunch in a quaint restaurant nearby Piazza del Campo. During different times of the year, there are many celebrated local food festivals which take place to honor different types of harvest (Porcini mushroom, Olive oil, wine etc). These will be experienced whenever they are taking place! Once home, you can prepare a healthy Tuscan dinner at the villa (cooking lesson).
   
• Montepulciano & Montalcino (Wine tasting of Nobile, Rosso & Brunello) and the town of Pienza
  Today, you will enjoy a trip to the various wineries of Southern Tuscany. Montalcino is known as a “luminous place” and its ancient name was Monte Ilcinus after the leccio "holm oak" (Quercus ilex.) The Oaks of Montalcino have covered its hills and valleys from prehistory to present day, sharing their territory with the Olive tree, the Chestnut tree and Montalcino's most famous plant the Brunello grapevine, also known as Sangiovese Grosso. Here, you will taste this famous Brunello wine in a unique ‘best-kept-secret’ winery. You will enjoy a tasty lunch at a local restaurant and also visit Montepulciano (and taste the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano) as well as experience the extraordinarily charming town of Pienza. Pienza owes its beauty and fame to Enea Silvio Piccolomini born in Corsignano on 18 October 1405 and elevated to Pope in 1458 taking the name Pius II. During the course of his Papacy, he changed the ancient Castello di Corsignano (first mentioned in 828) into a Papal residence in the Renaissance style, planned and constructed under the supervision of Bernardo Gambarelli called il Rossellino, a student of Leon Battista Alberti, and renamed it Pienza ("Pius"). In the evening, at Villa Gaia, you will have a cooking class followed by dinner.
    
• DEPARTURE: DAY 4 (TUE)
  Transfer to Grosseto.