MEET YOUR HOSTS

Villa Gaia is owned and operated by the Cannaviello family, Anna, and her two sons Francesco and Fabrizio. Originally from Naples, they gave up the busy city life for the peaceful, elegant Seggiano country side. Restoring this villa estate back to its original beauty and luxury, they have graciously agreed to open their doors to aspiring Italian chefs from all over the world. Warm, hospitable, and welcoming, the Cannaviello family personifies Italian fine living and traditional Italian hospitality.

Romeo Innocenti - your host and wine leader (fluent in English), a native son of Tuscany, sommelier in training of fine Italian wines and master chef specializing in "La Cucina Povera Toscana", will accompany you on your journey along Tuscany's famous "Road of Wines" where you will discover the finest wine estates & sommeliers and learn the art of wine-food pairings (three visits and tastings daily). You will also experience quaint family run cellars for tastings and be immersed in the countryside of Southern Tuscany and also help you learn the basics of wine pairings, the “must-have knowledge” for any good host or hostess!  Meals will be planned according to the days wine selections, from antipasto right up to desserts.

Villa Gaia is a luxurious Italian Villa, nestled in organic olive groves, Sangiovese grape vineyards, and medieval forests; Villa Gaia represents Tuscany in the elegant, classical style of the Noble Etruscans. As our guest at Villa Gaia, we offer you an exclusive wine and culinary tour of our beloved Tuscany. The territory of Seggiano, where Villa Gaia is located, is rich with the well-preserved Italian culture and cuisine of generations of Tuscans. Geographically close to the cities of Rome and Florence, Seggiano is worlds away from the hectic pace of these urban areas. Here you will be immersed in a culture of gentle nobility; simple, understated elegance. Traditional Tuscan foods, and sublime Italian wines combine with a healthful country atmosphere to create a unique culinary and cultural tour experience you won’t soon forget. Delightful Italian wine flows at every meal and fresh, organically grown foods make every meal a culinary delight. Your guided excursions of the Italian countryside will immerse you in the culture and heartbeat of the Tuscan people.

WHERE YOU WILL STAY:

In the countryside of the Seggiano township (Province of Grosseto just a few kilometers from the border with the Province of Siena) – A charming storybook landscape of a lesser-known area that is considered by many Italians to be one of the most beautiful areas of Tuscany.  It’s about 50 minutes away from the seaside, less than 1 hour South of Siena, about two hours from Florence, and two and a half hours north of Rome. 

Villa Gaia lies sheltered by the rolling hills of Monte Amiata and cooled by the sea breezes of Castiglione della Pescaia. As yet un-exploited by tourism, this region, famous for it’s sublime Italian wines, delicious, smoky Pecorino cheeses, and award winning organic olive oils, remains true to its pure Italian culture, maintaining it’s traditional Tuscan flavors and style. The Villa Gaia estate lies next to the San Bernardino 15th century Franciscan monastery. It features frescoes painted by Italian artists Bernardino Gagliardi, Clemente Maioli, Giovanni de Vecchi, and Biagio Puccini. Villa Gaia is also located in the center of some very important Italian cultural locales, where we often take part in traditional Italian cultural and music festivals, Italian art exhibits, and theatre events during the spring and summer months. Villa Gaia reminds one of the country gentry, the noble Romans and Florentines who built their homes here, with simple, comfortable elegance.

At Villa Gaia, you will live with elegant Tuscan styled creature comforts, newly designed and renovated, amidst the rich fertile lands and countryside of perhaps the most beautiful, if we daresay such a thing, lesser known micro-region in Tuscany.

WHERE YOU WILL SLEEP

Villa Gaia is comprised of a main house and a separate building.  The separate building is called La Foresteria, which has four double rooms, each with its own en-suite bathroom.  These rooms enjoy the use of a large common living room with fireplace, kitchen, laundry, storeroom, telephone and a large summer porch.

The main house has two apartments: Amiata on the first floor and Le Rondini on the second floor.  Both Amiata and Le Rondini have their own separate private entrances.  Amiata has a large living room, kitchen, two double bedrooms with one large bathroom and a beautiful outdoor porch.  Le Rondini has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room with a fireplace, kitchen and a 550 square foot panoramic terrace that has an external wood-burning stove.

WINE TASTING IN TUSCANY, ITALY

Italy is the mother land of fine wines. Italians produce more varieties of wine than any other nation, and Tuscany produces some of the finest Italian wines. The soil and climate is rich and ideal for growing superb grapes that become, with age old Tuscan techniques, classic, delectable and award winning Italian wines. Tuscan wines are desired by sommeliers and connoisseurs not only in Italy, but through out the world. Tuscany is home to several distinct wine producing regions.  Each wine producing region within Tuscany creates wines with different personalities and flavors. We will take you on a wine sampling tour that will introduce you to many of the regions fine wines, including the Chianti and Chianti Classico, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Pienza, and Pitigliano. Romeo will educate  you about pairing Italian wines with Italian foods through wine-tastings in exclusive wine cellars. This wine-lovers tour will open your eyes and palates to various Tuscan wines, and you will see why Tuscany is the leading producer of fine Italian wines!

Experience the deep, red Italian wines; smoky; enticing Pecorino cheese; gourmet, organic, cold pressed olive oils; unspoiled vineyards and centuries-old olive groves. The pure, delicious flavors of Tuscan peasant cooking; fish fresh from the unspoiled sea, vegetables hand-picked from the Tuscan soil every morning, pasta hand-made by your chef’s nonna (grandmother). Wine tastings in ancient Italian wine cellars; the aroma of Italian breads baking in traditional stone ovens; meals enjoyed like a true Italian in authentic Tuscan trattorias (popular restaurants), shopping for groceries in an outdoor market that is hundreds of years old. These are just some of the exclusive cultural and culinary experiences you will enjoy as a welcome guest at Villa Gaia.

EXCURSIONS & ITINERARY:

Romeo Innocenti will take you to discover the famous Southern Tuscan wine towns of Montalcino (Brunello wine & great shopping for ceramics), Montepulciano (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano), the seaside Maremma region with pure San Giovese wine tasting “in purezza” (in its purest form) specifically – Morellino di Scansano, the “colli Senesi” (the hills of Siena) with classic Chianti Antinori reds and a day dedicated to the lesser-known Tuscan seaside white wine known as “Ansonica di Monte Argentario.” You will be following the “Strada del Vino” (the celebrated ‘Road of Wine’ that is recognized by the Region of Tuscany Authority & Governing Body). You will be visiting and tasting wines in the smaller family owned wine cellars of these different towns daily with one tasting late morning and the other in the mid to late afternoon. Every day during lunch hour you will visit a very prestigious winery where the chosen wine estate’s Sommelier will accompany you, along with Romeo of course who will assist in translating and interpreting, and explain how to match specific wines with different foods. Then all this will be put to great practice on-the-spot with a full course Tuscan lunch.

The wine map above (next to Romeo) shows the different wine production geographic “zones” with the appellations of “DOC” and “DOCG”. These are areas defined by the Tuscan region as being authentic for the making of certain wine types. DOCG stands for “Di Origine Controllata Garantita” which means of controlled and guaranteed origin. In other words, the Italian government in Tuscany   inspects and monitors all of the wine production awarding labels only to those who pass the test. You will experience the following wine zones: 1. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (red – Sangiovese whose dominant form is “Prugnolo Gentile”) 2. Morellino di Scansano (red – Sangiovese...almost a “low-key” Brunello, the next Super Tuscan blend) 3. Chianti (red – Sangiovese blend with Malsavia white grape) 4. Brunello di Montalcino (red – pure biggest & boldest Sangiovese) 5. Ansonica di Monte Argentario (white – made from very tasty Sicilian white grape, better than Trebbiano).

VACATION OPTIONS:

We created an exciting package for you:

• 1 Week (6 Nights / 7 Days) Vacation
• 5 Nights / 6 Days Vacation
• 4 Nights / 5 Days Vacation
• 1/2 Week (3 Nights / 4 Days) Vacation