Tuscan Heritage
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2020: September 5–14
Hop aboard our time machine for a journey into Tuscany’s past. During your slow odyssey through the millennia, you’ll indulge in the succulent steak of a Palaeolithic cow, hunt for truffles with an Etruscan dog, stand in front of the greatest frescoes of Piero della Francesca, walk a 15th-century smugglers’ road to arrive at a festival of contraband tobacco and dine in a 15th-century tax haven. As the decades glide by, you’ll spy out the countryside from a 16th-century fortress, taste Chianti Classico wine from 17th-century terraces and get lost in the music of Puccini, the great 19th-century composer born within the 16th-century walls of Lucca. Coasting into the 20th century, you bake focaccia with 1930s wheat, and on the landing pad of today you’re welcomed by 21st-century Italian craft beer. Pack your curiosity and get your boarding pass now. Really small group (maximum 10 people). Click on tabs below for more information To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com |
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Itinerary at a glance Arezzo to Sansepolcro Day 1 — Arrival at accommodation and welcome dinner Day 2 — Tobacco has deservedly lost its glam, but for four centuries it was a big player in Tuscan rural life. Visit tobacco farm and history of tobacco museum; dinner at former smuggler’s den Day 3 — Smuggler’s Walk (3 hours) and festive lunch Day 4 — Visit Sansepolcro, birthplace of Piero della Francesca, to see frescoes and free time for sightseeing; free time by the pool; sightseeing and dinner in Anghiari Sansepolcro to Valdichiana Day 5 – Piero’s ‘Madonna del Parto’ at Monterchi; ‘Legend of the True Cross’, lunch and sightseeing at Arezzo; arrival at agriturismo; BBQ Chianina beef steak Valdichiana to San Miniato Day 6 – Tour of Chianina farm; Chianina tasting lunch; tour of vineyard & wine tasting in Chianti Classico region; tasting of traditional Tuscan salumi San Miniato to Lucca Day 7 – Truffle hunt and white truffle lunch at truffle hunter’s home; tour of Brunelleschi Castle at Vicopisano; arrive at Agriturismo Alle Camelie Day 8 — Private tour of cigar factory at Lucca; free afternoon in Lucca; afternoon tea at experimental tea plantation Day 9 — Make focaccia from heritage wheat; lunch on the farm; free afternoon at Alle Camelie; dinner and Puccini concert Day 10 – Free morning at Alle Camelie; lunch at rice-polishing mill; boat trip on lake to visit Puccini’s villa at Torre del Lago; tour of craft brewery with beer tasting; farewell seafood dinner at private home Day 11 – Departure For more details, please click itinerary tab above Highlights of tour Food, wine & beer
Art & culture
Social history
Sightseeing
For more details, please click itinerary tab above To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com |
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Arezzo to Sansepolcro Day 1: Friday Afternoon arrival at Arezzo station (on the main rail line between Rome and Florence) where we’ll collect you and whisk you off to the rural tranquility of Locanda del Viandante (Inn of the Wayfarer), in the Valtiberina (Tiber Valley). We’ve chosen to begin our journey across Tuscany in its extreme southeastern corner because few travellers know of its beauty and importance to Tuscan history and culture. Within a few square kilometres we have the birthplace of one of the most important early Renaissance painters, the pivotal battle of Anghiari in 1440, the early cultivation of tobacco in Italy and a flourishing smuggling economy, all set against an exquisite mountainous backdrop. Introduction to the tour, welcome dinner featuring local specialities at the Locanda. Accommodation: Locanda del Viandante | Meals: Dinner Day 2: Saturday We spend the morning on Roberta’s farm near Sansepolcro where she and her husband cultivate Kentucky tobacco for the Toscano cigar. Tobacco arrived in Rome in 1561 and in Sansepolcro in 1574. Until the 1960s tobacco was a major source of agricultural income and seasonal work for women, which gave them a degree of independence from their husbands. Tuscan Heritage wouldn’t be complete without it, even though we can’t ignore its health and environmental impacts. Since it’s harvest time, everyone is going back and forth from the fields, where they hand-pick the enormous leaves, to the rooms where the leaves are fire-cured. Roberta explains all. Free afternoon around the pool at the Locanda. Late afternoon we visit the Science and History of Tobacco Museum at San Giustino (just over the border into Umbria) for a private tour with the Museum curator. Dinner at a former smugglers’ inn. Accommodation: Locanda del Viandante | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 3: Sunday Today we become smugglers with the locals who stage a walk every year along ancient mountain trails once used for transporting contraband goods like tobacco and salt to the Free Republic of Cospaia, a tiny country that became independent by accident in 1441 and remained a hotbed of free trade until 1826. You might be challenged by some carabinieri, but we guarantee no arrests. In fact, the police join us for a five-course lunch with much singing and celebrating at the workers’ club of Ponte alla Piera. A light supper will be served at the Locanda, in case you’re hungry later. Accommodation: Locanda del Viandante | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 4: Monday Sansepolcro’s claim to fame is as the birthplace of the early Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca. We visit some of his masterpieces in the Civic Museum of his home town. You’ll have free time during which you can visit the Aboca Museum of Medicinal Herbs and the cathedral or relax at a cafe. Lunch and free time at the Locanda. In the cooler late afternoon, we go to the town of Anghiari, spectacularly perched on the edge of a cliff. This is where in 1440 the battle of Anghiari took place which was commemorated in a now lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Sightseeing and dinner. Accommodation: Locanda del Viandante | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Sansepolcro to Valdichiana Day 5: Tuesday This morning we pack our bags and say goodbye to the Valtiberina. We stop at the tiny village of Monterchi to view Piero della Francesca’s ‘Madonna del Parto’ before proceeding to Arezzo for one of the greatest masterworks of the Renaissance, his cycle of frescos ’The Legend of the True Cross’. We lunch just outside the historic centre in a restaurant where I have yet to see another tourist. Mamma cooks and the son is a gifted sommelier of the sangiovese grape. We end the day at Tenuta La Fratta, an estate with a history going back at least to 1208. We chose this farm for its Chianina cattle, but decided to spend a night to give you the experience of a vanished Tuscany. Barbecued steak for dinner. Accommodation: Tenuta La Fratta | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Valdichiana to San Miniato Day 6: Wednesday The white Chianina is a giant of a cow. Once a work animal, it has been saved from extinction and is now prized for its meat. Our tour of the estate takes in the stalls and fields, a peasant farmer’s house frozen in a time warp and the frescoed chapel. After lunch based on the white cow, we go in search of the black rooster, emblem of chianti classico. We visit a winemaker in the Lamole area and find out how his obsession with dry-stone walling affects his wine. We end the day at Agriturismo Cafaggio below San Miniato. Accommodation: Agriturismo Cafaggio | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner San Miniato to Lucca Day 7: Thursday San Miniato’s present-day fame is based on the white truffle of Tuscany, and this morning we have an appointment with Riccardo and his truffle hound. He takes us to a private truffle wood where we hope to find the first white truffles of the season. Even if we’re unlucky, there’s no need to fear a lack of truffles at lunch, which Riccardo and his wife Amanda prepare for us at their home. On the way to Lucca we visit a castle designed by another of Tuscany’s famous sons, Brunelleschi, better known as the architect of the dome of the duomo at Florence. The exuberant Giovanni guides us from the dungeons to the tower from where the Florentines could keep an eye on their enemies from Lucca, which is where we’re headed next. Light supper at Agriturismo Alle Camelie. Accommodation: Agriturismo Alle Camelie | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 8: Friday The Manifattura Tabacchi is where the Toscano cigar takes its final shape. We follow it from the arrival of the cured tobacco leaves to the finished cigar. We watch the skilled women (no man has stayed the course) who can roll more than 500 cigars a day by hand (not on their thighs). Equally fascinating are the machines that do the same, as if they had fingers, albeit producing cigars of lesser quality. Free time in Lucca for lunch and sightseeing. Then a surprise. Did you know there’s an experimental tea plantation in Tuscany? We’ll prove it. And better still, you’ll have a guided tour with the owner and a tea tasting. Tuscan olive oil is famous worldwide and none more so than that of Lucca. Our agriturismo is an organic olive estate where we dine and taste some of Lucca’s typical dishes seasoned with their olive oil. Accommodation: Agriturismo Alle Camelie | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Day 9: Saturday Guido Favilla is one of an increasing number of farmers who are dedicating themselves to rescuing food plants of the past. We join him and his family on their farm to see some of the heritage varieties, but especially to make bread and focaccia with his stone ground flour. Lunch in their home composed entirely of produce from the farm. The afternoon is free for you to visit Lucca again or return to laze around the pool at Alle Camelie. Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca and our heritage tour wouldn’t be complete without a concert of his opera arias given by the young and vibrant Lucca Opera Festival in a splendid frescoed oratory. Accommodation: Agriturismo Alle Camelie | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 10: Sunday After a relaxing morning at Alle Camelie, we depart for Lago Massaciuccoli where we have lunch at a former rice polishing mill. After lunch a fishing boat transports us across the lake for a tour of Puccini’s villa at Torre del Lago, where he spent most of his time from 1891 until his death in 1924. A pleasure he couldn’t enjoy is the recent fluorescence of craft beers in Italy. We visit an award-winning micro-brewery for a tour with the brewer and a tasting of the beer. For our farewell dinner we go to the nearby home of Gabriella Lazzarini who is a master of the seafood cuisine of Viareggio. This will be a dinner to remember. Accommodation: Agriturismo Alle Camelie | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 11: Monday Departure. Transport will be provided to Lucca or Pisa railway station or Pisa airport after 9.00 am. When booking your departure, allow 30 minutes to Lucca, 1 hour 30 minutes to Pisa plus check-in time (we recommend an hour and a half) or time to get to your train platform. If you need to travel earlier, a taxi can be arranged at your own expense. To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com |
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Erica JarmanFollowing Heather’s careers as archaeologist, orchestra and artist manager and chef, she Italianised her name to Erica and came to Lucca to pursue her passion for traditional artisan food. Her tours, inspired by her infectious curiosity, open captivating new worlds to her guests.
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Locanda del Viandante, Ponte alla Piera (Arezzo) True to its name Inn of the Wayfarer, this beautifully restored Tuscan farmhouse welcomes the weary traveller. Bedrooms and apartments with en suite bathrooms, breathtaking views, restaurant featuring local produce. Swimming pool, wifi. http://www.locandadelviandante.toscana.it/en |
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Tenuta La Fratta, Sinalunga (Siena) Arriving at La Fratta you’re transported to another century. The rooms were home to farm labourers. Electricity and en suite bathrooms make them a little less spartan. We couldn’t miss this chance to experience a night on a crumbling Tuscan estate where the Marchioness can be glimpsed tootling around in her beat-up station wagon. Swimming pool, two restaurants, chapel with fresco by Sodoma. www.tenutalafratta.it/ |
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Agriturismo ‘Alle Camelie’, Pieve di Compito (Lucca)
‘Alle Camelie’ has been the country seat of the Orsi family for centuries. The present Orsi, Claudio, produces olive oil and wine. His father has sensitively converted the old olive drying rooms and press into a comfortable, modern B&B while retaining Tuscan farmhouse features. The estate is entirely organic and most of their power comes from their own solar panels. They are active members of Slow Food. Dining room, swimming pool, wifi. www.allecamelie.it/ |
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Price Per person: 3575 Euros Single supplement: none (single room included in fee) Claim your 5% loyalty discount if you've booked a small group tour with us before. Includes Friendly knowledgeable English-speaking guide throughout your stay 10 nights welcoming, relaxing accommodation, en suite bathrooms Local ground transportation for 11 days (includes one group transfer between meeting point and accommodation and one return after the tour). Please check with us before you book your travel to make sure it fits the tour schedule. Transfers at times other than those provided for the group will be at your own expense. Daily continental breakfast, 8 lunches, 10 dinners Guided visits and workshops with artisans, entrance fees Does not include Airfares Travel and cancellation insurance (compulsory) Wine and drinks other than those served with meals, additional meals Personal expenses Meeting point Arezzo railway station (nearest international airports are Rome and Florence). Pick up from Italian airports can be arranged at your expense. If you are flying from outside Europe, we suggest you arrive a couple of days early to recover from jet lag so you can fully enjoy your time with us. We are happy to advise about where to stay and eat and what to do before and after your tour. Departure point Transport will be provided to Lucca or Pisa railway station or Pisa airport after 9.00 am. When booking your departure, allow 30 minutes to Lucca, 1 hour 30 minutes to Pisa plus check-in time (we recommend an hour and a half) or time to get to your train platform. If you need to travel earlier, a taxi can be arranged at your own expense. Diet Most dietary requirements can be accommodated as long as you tell us in advance. There is a space on the Booking Form for this information. Please bear in mind that the tour focuses on the art of choosing, cooking and eating good food. If your diet is very restricted, you may not get full enjoyment from it. Physical fitness There will be a lot of walking on this tour. You must be fit enough to walk on steep cobbled streets, easy mountain trails and rough farm tracks. Dress Informal. Jeans or smart trousers are acceptable everywhere. Good walking shoes required for smuggler’s walk, farm visits and cobbled streets. Weather in August / September Weather is no longer average, but here’s what the statistics say: Arezzo: 17–31˚C / 62–87˚F, rainfall 24.1 mm / 0.9 in Lucca: 15–26˚C / 59–78˚F, rainfall 36.4 mm / 1.4 in This year August temperatures went up to 38˚C / 100˚F. The itinerary is subject to change if necessary due to weather or agricultural conditions or other events outside our control. To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com |
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Come along on this new tour and then tell us what you think.
