|
Day Six
|
||||||||||||||
|
Mon. 26 June
|
||||||||||||||
|
The day begins with a visit to Castel Brolio, in the heart of Chianti, where late 18th century changes lead to the planting of a formal parterre in front of the castle. The Ricasoli family which owns the castle were responsible for the rejuvenation of Chianti as a wine and today produce some of Chianti’s finest wines. We visit the Brolio cellars and have a private tasting of their contents. Lunch at Colti Buono and a walk through the monastery’s garden before taking a scenic drive through the local countryside. Dinner al fresco at Finerri. Talk on Medieval culture and society in Siena.
|
 |
|||||||||||||
|
Landscape
|
||||||||||||||
|
Day Seven
|
||||||||||||||
|
Tue. 27 June
|
 |
|||||||||||||
|
After a Tuscan breakfast we are off to Siena to discover the heart of the medieval city. We visit the Duomo and then are free to walk through the city before meeting again after lunch. In the late afternoon we visit Siena's Bottini, an underground warren of watercourses and wells that have provided the city with water and a means of escape for over a millennium. Dinner at Finerri.
|
||||||||||||||
|
Siena
|
||||||||||||||
|
Day Eight
|
||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||
|
Wed. 28 June
|
||||||||||||||
|
We begin our day with a drive through some of Tuscany's finest landscape to Pienza, Pope Pius II's architectural masterpiece. Enjoy fine shopping and stop for lunch in a local trattoria. Then our first Cecil Pinsent garden, La Foce, commissioned by Iris Origo, American author and arisocrat, built around an old inn used by pilgrims on their way to Rome during the Renaissance. This is followed by an early return to Finerri and a relaxing evening and aperitif around the pool.
|
||||||||||||||
|
Landscape
|
||||||||||||||
|
Day Nine
|
||||||||||||||
|
Thur. 29 June
|
||||||||||||||
|
We have a morning visit to a local market nearby for shopping and choose something for lunch for everyone, as we prepare a picnic under some shady oaks. Then we visit Villa Cetinale, near Siena, the area's most developed and well known formal garden. Take the walk to the Romitorio for splendid views over the Tuscan hills. After our picnic we visit Peruzzi's masterpece Villa Cenci. Here Peruzzi shows the extent of his talent in the seamless melding of landscape and architecture. Final evening at Finerri with a formal dinner prepared by a Michelin chef who will run an open kitchen.
|
 |
|||||||||||||
|
Villa Cetinale
|
||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||