GASTRONOMIC TOUR

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE ITALIAN VINEYARDS DAY BY DAY ITINERARY Escorted Tour

ROME
Arrival at Fiumicino airport, we are met by our English speaking assistant and we board our private motorcoach to our 1st class hotel in Rome. Dinner and overnight at hotel.

ROME/SIENA
Breakfast at hotel. We leave Rome by private motorcoach to Tuscany, one of the most representative Italian regions for wine production. We will be impressed by the high number of cellars and wineries of its territory where we meet the real protagonists of the vintage life, the Italian wine producers who will be our "guides " in this discovery trip. We will cross Umbria region, the green heart of Italy, then we will enter the Chianti region, almost a mithological area for wine lovers. We stop at the Fattoria Banfi near Montalcino located inside the medieval castle of Poggio alle Mura. Here, we will have a guided visit to their cellars and the nearby glass museum ending with a wine tasting of the Brunello di Montalcino, Grey Pinot, Sant'Antimo Doc. We then move on to Montepulciano, known for the production of the " vino nobile ", we stop at the Fattoria del Cerro near Acquaviva, one of the biggest cellars in Tuscany. We will be guided through their cellar and we will have lunch in nearby estate tasting the typical tuscan dishes. At the end of our lunch we board our private motorcoach to reach Siena. Free time for relaxing at our 1st class hotel . Dinner and overnight at hotel.

SIENA/POGGIBONSI/FLORENCE
Breakfast at hotel. We leave Siena and we make our way to Florence. While on the way, we stop at Montesanto Castle near Poggibonsi close to the 17th century castle overlooking it. Here, we find endless cellars where we will taste home made wines such as Chianti Classic and we will follow the explanation on tasting and making wine techniques. At the end of our visit, we board our private motorcoach to check-in at our 1st class hotel in Florence. Dinner and overnight at hotel.

FLORENCE
Breakfast at hotel. We meet our English speaking local guide to introduce us the marvels of this amazing city. We will start from the historical centre visiting the Franciscan church of Santa Croce where it is possible to admire the tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and Rossini. We then continue to the Academy of Fine Arts with the original David by Michelangelo and other masterpieces of this same artist, then, our next stop will be the bronze gates of the Baptistry and Giotto's bell tower. Lunch on our own, rest of the afternoon at leisure to discover other interesting areas such as the Boboli Gardens, Palazzo Pitti or the Uffizi Gallery. Dinner and overnight at hotel.

FLORENCE/BOLOGNA
Breakfast at hotel. We leave Florence to reach Bologna, city located in an eminently gastronomical region, whose porkbutchers' meat is the most famous in Italy: salami, mortadella, pigs' trotters, ham and the wine produced in this area is the sparkling Lambrusco. Upon arrival we check-in at our 1st class hotel then we will be guided through a half day city sightseeing including the Neptune fountain, the Town Hall dating the 13th century, the Basilica of San Petronius and ending at the two towers which belonged to noble families and which represented the conflict between the Guelph and Ghibelline parties. Lunch on our own. In the afternoon we will pay a visit to a nearby farm for a Lambrusco wine tasting . Dinner and overnight at hotel.

BOLOGNA/ROME
Breakfast at the hotel. We leave Bologna by private motorcoach heading south toward Rome. On our way we will stop in Pisa for a short visit at the Leaning Tower and the nearby Baptistries. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant . We will then continue to Rome where we will check-in at 1st class hotel. Dinner and overnight at Hotel

ROME
Breakfast at hotel. Our last day in Italy is the Eternal City which we will discover with the aid of a local guide who will head through a half day panoramic city sightseeing including St Peter Basilica, Navona Square, Trevi Fountain and Coliseum. Our tour will end in the city centre so that we will have free time shopping. Tonight a farewell dinner will be served a typical restaurant located in the hills around Rome where the Frascati wine produced. Overnight at hotel.

ROME
Breakfast at hotel. We board our motorcoach to reach Leonardo da Vinci airport where we will board our flight home our suitcases full of gastronomic souvenirs to remind us the deliciousnesses tasted in Italy ! End of our services