Italy | Delicious Central Italy
This special itinerary takes a leisurely roam through the famed and the fabulous nooks of beauty, history and culture of this rightly much-lauded part of Italy, with time to get to know and enjoy the wines and cuisine, observe, experience, share thoughts and contemplate along the way. The tour covers much of the land once known as Etruria which extended roughly from the river Arno around Florence in the north to the river Tiber around Rome in the south, east to Perugia and west to the Tyrrhenian Sea. This was the land of the ancient Etruscans. We will take you on a detailed exploration of this area, along the way uncovering something of the legacy of these skilled, cultured people who lived, loved and ruled here for almost a thousand years.
| Duration: | 16 Days |
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| Tour Code: | ITW432 |
| Trip Style: | Superior - 4 star |
| Departure Dates: | 06 May 2011 |
| Price: | Please Contact Us |
| Single Supplement: | $935 |
| Places you'll visit: |
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| Highlights: |
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Ideal for Solo Travellers
This tour offers an exciting, personalised, out of the ordinary travel experience with an emphasis on the local, the authentic, the exquisite, the unusual. The tour leaders love and know Italy well, speak Italian fluently and move around as locals, so they can help you discover it too, with time to savour special moments and make lasting connections with people and places. This tour is suitable for solo travellers.
Trip Details
GROUP SIZE: 4 to 8
Our trip begins in Rome, where we meet for an evening drink and dinner in a typical trattoria before a stroll around some of Rome's wonderful floodlit icons by night, enjoying the heady mixture of history, culture, vibrancy, beauty and chaos that is Rome today.
Travel into southern Tuscany along the ancient Roman Via Cassia to Sovana from where we walk the Valley of Etruscan tombs, see Pitigliano rising seamlessly out of the volcanic tufa, explore clifftop Sorano, taste the wines typical of this tufa soil area - the white Bianco of Pitigliano and the red Morellino. Enjoy some memorable meals in restaurants dedicated to the philosphies of slow food and of bringing only products from within a few kilometres to the table.
Stay six nights at our villa apartments, part of a picturesque oil and wine-producing farm near the medieval village of Trequanda. Dine on excellent local foods and wines and meet many of the people who produce them. Learn to make the local pasta and spend an afternoon in the kitchen of a local restaurant, preparing a meal then enjoying it together with perfectly matched local wines.
From this idyllic base we visit Perugia with its wonderful food markets and medieval herb garden, Montepulciano noted for its Vin Nobile wine, Pienza, specialising in Pecorino cheeses, Montalcino in Brunello wine country, Siena and Cortona.There'll be time too to wander tranquil country lanes and gardens, breathing in their timeless perfumes, and to shop for those special gifts in hilltowns such as Siena, Florence and Perugia.
Spend three days in Renaissance Florence appreciating just some of what this amazing city offers - Michelangelo's extraordinary Medici tombs, the Cathedral and Ghiberti's bronze Baptistry doors, Ponte Vecchio, the leather market of San Lorenzo, the Loggia della Signoria.
In Bologna, a city famous for its food culture, experience a day being guided through fabulous food markets, delis, cheese and wine shops, then experience a hands-on cooking extravaganza based on a multi-courses menu with traditional recipes of Emilia Romagna. On the second day, there will be time to get to know the city and browse some of the elegant shops in its historic centre.
SUMMARY ITINERARY
DAY 1 Tue 18 May
Meet Rome Hotel 5.30pm / Welcome drink / Dinner at trattoria selected for its typical rustic Roman cuisine / Stay hotel Rome
DAY 2 Wed 19 May
Travel to and settle hotel Sovana / Lunch and explore Sovana / After lunch, visit the Valley of the Etruscan Tombs and the Ildabranda Tomb at Sovana / Evening drink in Sovana and dinner Sovana at restaurant which espouses the Zero Km philosophy of presenting dishes made from all local produce / Stay hotel Sovana
DAY 3 Thu 20 May
Sovana / Drive to San Rocco for views over Sorano / Wander the labyrinthine streets of Sorano / Lunch / Wine tasting Cantina Sociale in Pitigliano (Morellino and Bianco di Pitigliano area) / Explore Pitigliano and visit Jewish Ghetto / Dinner in Pitigliano restaurant recommended in Slowfood guide / Stay hotel Sovana
DAY 4 Fri 21 May
Travel to Trequanda / Settle Villa apartments / Lunch Trequanda / Afternoon guided visit Villa winery with wine and olive oil tastings / Dinner Villa restaurant and stay Villa Trequanda
DAY 5 Sat 22 May
Trequanda / Visit wine centre Montepulciano (Vin Nobile wine area) / Lunch osteria and explore Montepulciano / Continue to Pienza for pecorino cheese factory visit and tastings and browse the food shops of Pienza / Dinner local restaurant specialising in Tuscan high-class fare / Stay Villa Trequanda
DAY 6 Sun 23 May
Trequanda to Perugia / Enjoy a stroll through the market area and lunch / Walk city centre / Afternoon visit to the medieval herb garden of San Pietro Church / Continue to Cortona / Drink and dinner restaurant Cortona / Stay Villa Trequanda
DAY 7 Mon 24 May
Trequanda / Visit winery in Brunello vineyard area / Lunch Sant'Antimo / Explore Montalcino / Pasta making class in evening / Dinner Villa restaurant and stay Villa Trequanda
DAY 8 Tue 25 May
Trequanda / Late morning start to visit Siena / Lunch / Museum visits / Shopping time / Dinner Siena / Stay Villa Trequanda
DAY 9 Wed 26 May
Trequanda / Morning visit Truffle Museum San Giovanni d'Asso and picnic lunch in the Ragnaia gardens / Afternoon cooking class traditional Tuscan recipes Scrofiano / Dinner Scrofiano restaurant / Stay Villa Trequanda
DAY10 Thu 27 May
Trequanda to Florence, visiting a winery in the Chianti area on the way / Lunch Castellina in Chianti / Continue to Florence and settle hotel / Explore central Florence - Cathedral, Medici Chapels / Evening drink / Dinner and stay hotel Florence
DAY 11 Fri 28 May
Florence / Morning wander though produce market followed by early lunch nearby / Afternoon shopping time or spent in Boboli Gardens / Dinner and stay hotel Florence
DAY12 Sat 29 May
Florence / Museum visit to Uffizi or Bargello sculpture museum or Galleria dell'Accademia (original David) or San Marco (Fra Angelico) or Santa Croce (church and leather school) / Meet up for lunch / Browse San Lorenzo leather market / Dinner and stay Florence
DAY13 Sun 30 May
Florence to Bologna and settle hotel / Lunch in historic centre Bologna / Explore central Bologna / Drink and dinner at hotel Bologna
DAY14 Mon 31 May
Bologna guided market shopping / Light lunch before afternoon cooking class followed by dinner that we've prepared / Stay hotel Bologna
DAY15 Tue 01 Jun
Bologna / Special tour of the ancient underground waterways of Bologna / Afternoon shopping time / Dinner and stay hotel Bologna
DAY16 Wed 02 Jun
Tour finishes Bologna Railway Station 11am
Inclusions
- 4-star and superior 3-star accommodation
- Travel in comfortable air-conditioned 9 seater buses and/or cars
- Bi-lingual guide drivers
- All meals and complimentary glass of wine with dinner
- Entry to scheduled activities
- All scheduled drinks, tastings and coffees
Terms & Conditions
Click here for our Terms & Conditions
For more information, availability and pricing and options, please contact our expert travel specialists at Inspired Travel Worldwide on (02) 9449 8598 or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.
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