VILLA GAIA CULINARY & WINE VACATION - ONE WEEK

THE ONE WEEK TRIP INCLUDES:

• 6 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.
• 4 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.
• 5 guided excursions to the enchanting towns of Monte Amiata; Montalcino and Montepulciano (home of the Brunello & Nobile wines); Siena; the early Renaissance town of Pienza; the Etruscan towns of Pitigliano & Sorano, food market in Grosseto and the seaside village of Castiglioni della Pescaia.
• All transportation (including transfers to and from Rome or 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.
   
• The Etruscan villages: Pitigliano & Sorano
  You’ll start off the day by heading south to Pitigliano and Sorano. These striking towns are of Etruscan origins and are built on tufa stone. Pitigliano also features a fascinating ghetto with its own Synagogue and Jewish cemetery. Then, you’ll continue to Sorano, where you can visit the massive fortress (built by the Orsini family), and the rest of the village and have lunch in a local restaurant. Evening dinner with cooking course at the villa.
  
  
• The villages of Monte Amiata
  Today you will go to Santa Fiora, a village on the slopes of Monte Amiata. There you’ll visit the historic center and an ancient Parish Church which contains fine terracotta bas-relief by Andrea della Robbia (15th century), and La Peschiera, the private gardens and swimming pool of the Sforza family (16th century). Then you will continue to the other side of the mountain and stop in Abbadia San Salvatore where you will visit its famous abbey and crypt. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant in the area of Monte Amiata. For dinner you will stop in Arcidosso and pay a visit to Carlo Innocenti, at his trattoria, La Locanda del Prete.
   
• The Food Market in Grosseto & Castiglione della Pescaia
  For the last day in southern Tuscany, you will enjoy a trip to the coast. You guide will stop by in Grosseto and show you its food market which takes place every Thursday morning. Then you will continue to the pretty seaside village of Castiglione della Pescaia. This old fishing village stands up high on a hill with its castle looking over the turquoise bay. You will enjoy a tasty lunch at a local restaurant. In the evening, at Villa Gaia, you’ll enjoy your last hands-on cooking class followed by a farewell dinner.
   
• DEPARTURE: DAY 7 (FRI)
  Transfer to Rome or Grosseto.