Tuscany
This trip may be booked as a vacation package or as a privately-guided tour.
Another option:
You may also request that any portion of this trip be guided and do the rest on your own. For example, some guests want to be completely on their own in Florence and Le Cinque Terre, but prefer to have transportation and a private tour for the Chianti portion of the visit (5 days) with private transport back to the airport at the end of the trip. Just let us know.
Days 1, 2, and 3 – FLORENCE
You will fly directly into the Florence airport with private transportation service from the airport to your 4-star hotel, where you will remain for 3 nights.
Sights to see in Florence:
• The Uffizzi Museum
• The Galleria (Michelangelo’s david)
• Duomo, Campanile, Battistero
• Bargello Museum – a former prison where executions took place reformed into a museum that holds, amongst other important works, the David by Donatello and Bacco (the god of wine) by Michelangelo.
• Orsanmichele – the garden of lost time, this used to be a market and was transformed into a church.
• Piazza della Signoria
• San Lorenzo church – several works by Michelangelo are housed inside
• Santa Trinity church – artwork telling the story of St. Francis of Assisi
• Ponte Vecchio
• Palazzo Pitti – this is the Medici palace in which you can view the art collection as well as the rooms of the house
• Boboli Gardens – the Medici gardens which contain an anfiteatro and other notable works.
Day 4 – LE CINQUE TERRE (with a stop in PISA or LUCA on request)
Bed & Breakfast ccommodations for 3 nights:
Days 5, 6 – LE CINQUE TERRE
Le Cinque Terre means ‘the five lands’ and is called so because they are 5 towns, all connected by walking paths (they are also connected by train and by ferry).
Paths completion times:
Riomaggiore – Manarola: 1,0 km. Completion time: 25 min.
Manarola – Corniglia: 2,8 km. Completion time: h 1,00.
Corniglia – Vernazza: 3,4 km. Completion time: h 1,45.
Vernazza – Monterosso: 3,8 km. Completion time: h 2,00.
Recommended itineraries for exploring the 5 lands:
One – go from Vernazza to Manarola on foot, starting off in the morning (wear your suit under your clothes in case you want to swim), and bring both a hat to block the sun and a jacket for your return by ferry or train. Take your time going from town to town, jump in for a swim when you get hot, shop when you’re inspired, and lunch before heading back.
Two – go from Vernazza to Monterosso and plan on staying the entire day; bring a beach towel and wear your swimsuit under your clothes. (You may also want to bring a change of clothes for the evening.)
Three – just hang out and be on vacation in Vernazza or Monterosso for the day, or, if you’re feeling more energetic, take a day trip to either Parma (30mins) or to Portovenere (60mins).
Day 7 – CHIANTI
Drive to the Chianti region, stopping at the Verazzano Castle to visit the wine cellar and do some wine tasting with a four-course gourmet lunch! (Giovanni Verazzano was a wealthy adventurer who sailed upon Brooklyn, amongst other places, and it is after him that the Verazzano Bridge is named.)
We will also stop at a private vineyard for more wine tasting along the way, before arriving at your villa accommodation.
Accommodations for 4 nights at a Villa in the countryside:
Day 8 – CASTELLINA in CHIANTI (daytrip)
With under 3,000 inhabitants, Castellina in Chianti is a quaint and absolutely lovely town nestled in the wine country of of Tuscany. With incredible views, intimate piazzas and some wonderful restaurants, boutiques and art galleries, Castellina makes a perfect base for a holiday in Tuscany and your villa is right nearby!
More so than some of the other towns in the region, Castellina seems to have more going on, in terms of night life and festivities. There are some quaint lounges and fun locals, making it an ideal place to enjoy a typical Italian “aperitivo” before the dinner hour. Some well known Tuscan artisans and artists display their work here regularly.
The town may have been inhabited before the area was dominated by the Etruscans, but most historians place its founding to as early as the 7th century BC. At Mount Calvario outside the town on the road to Florence, there is an Etruscan burial vault about 53 meters in diameter that testifies to these ancient origins. In the early 15th century, a formidable and severely architected castle or fort, La Rocca, was built along with defensive walls containing well-spaced towers.
Of interest in and near Castellina in Chianti:
• Rocca Comunale – 15th century – the town hall and museum with an impressive atrium, once the Captain’s Hall. Ascend to the top floor for a spectacular view of the town and surrounding landscape.
• Via delle Volte – an impressively arched passageway along the eastern walls. Originally open, it is now a vaulted “tunnel” formed when various structures were built above.
• Palazzo Ugolini - formerly Palazzo Squarcialupi – its wide facade, featuring three ashlar doors, bears the coat of arms of the Ugolini. Note the eight arched windows on the primo piano – the first floor above the main floor.
• Palazzo Biancardi – three stories with two tiers of sandstone framed windows. Above the entrance is the Medici coat-of-arms of Pope Leo X (Giovanni de Medici, son of Lorenzo il Magnifico and pope from 1513 to 1521) who stayed here when passing through in 1513.
• Chiesa San Salvatore – 16th century – neo Romanesque – mostly destroyed in WWII, but rebuilt. Contains a staccato fresco of the Madonna attributed to Bicci di Lorenzo and a wooden statue of San Barnabas, the town’s one-time patron saint. The present patron saint is San Faustus, and the church has a gold urn purportedly containing his remains. Other objects include works from the 15th, 16th and 17th century. The massive organ dates only to 1965.
Oh yes, and wine tasting of course!
Day 9 – SIENA (daytrip)
Siena is a small city divided into three neighborhoods and offers everything a city has to offer from art galleries and museums to churches and towers to bustling cafés, restaurants and bars – all worth seeing and doing. However, if you are to only spend one afternoon in Siena, Marena recommends seeking out what Siena does the best: arts and crafts.
During the Middle Ages creating the colors that we now take for granted required considerable expense and ingenuity. Blue was obtained by grinding down lapis lazuli, white was based on animal bone meal, and red, known as dragon’s blood, was made from the resin of a special palm tree. Siena and the surrounding area is a treasure-trove of art and traditional crafts. A wander through the city streets reveals myriad workshops that are still abuzz with creative energy: weaving, pottery, wrought iron work, leather goods, stone carving and other activities that make use of techniques handed down from one generation to the next. So after marveling at the tower that shadows over the main piazza, take every ‘viccolo’ (backstreet) you come upon and watch the artisans at work.
Day 10 – SAN GIMGNANO (daytrip)
San Gimignano rises on a hillside dominating the Elsa Valley with its skyline of towers. Once the seat of a small Etruscan village of the Hellenistic period (200-300 BC) it began as a 10th century village taking its name from the Holy Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano, who is said to have saved it from the barbarian hordes. The town increased in wealth and developed greatly during the Middle Ages thanks to the “Via Francigena” the trading and pilgrim’s route that crossed it. Such prosperity lead to the flourishing of works of art to adorn the churches and monasteries.
So why all the skyscrapers? Although dominated by the Bishop, control often changed hands with that of the Holy Roman Empire. To maintain control, the Bishop offered a tax break to the town for erecting yet a second set of walls to keep it protected from outside control. The tower-building became an intense competition, and a local ordinance had to be passed to prohibit the building of any tower higher than the 50 meter (165 ft) high city hall, known as the Rognosa. Seventy two such towers were built, of which only 14 remain standing today.
But one doesn’t visit San Gimgnano just to see the skyline; the town is one of the most well-maintained in all of Tuscany, with pristine streets, and its duomo without barely an inch of wall that’s not covered with important frescoes. It is also known for Saffron and for its Vernaccia wine.
We will also stop at a very special and entertaining vineyard and cantina for wine tasting with a yummy selection of meats and cheeses to accompany the many wines you will be offered!
Four-course farewell dinner at your villa!
Day 11 – Arrivederci! Transport to airport.
Price: varies depending on vacation package, fully guided or partially guided, and number of guests (with 6 guests: from euro 2690 to euro 3460)
Included on a fully-guided private tour:
• airport pick-up and drop-off in Florence in private mini-van with A/C, snacks and spirits!
• 10 nights accommodation 4-star
• daily guided tours explaining the art and history along the way
• all tickets and entrance fees
• wine tasting and honey tasting
• full-course welcome meal
• ‘un bel divertamento’ (lots of fun!)
• special Marena treats!
• A True Italian Experience
Included on a complete vacation package:
• airport pick-up/drop off in private vehicle (if you don’t rent)
• 10 nights accommodations 4 star
Not included:
• airline ticket (but Marena will help you to find a good ticket)
• meals not mentioned above
• gratuities
• insurance (see website for insurance link)
BIKE TOUR in wine country available! Please inquire.
