The Green Heart of Italy Umbria & Tuscany

Upon arrival your personal driver will wait for you outside the airport gate to drive you the resort in Umbria countryside. On the way to Umbria countryside, you will stop to visit an extraordinary Etruscan town in northern Lazio. Civita di Bagnoregio is a unique wonder, a tuft of medieval houses clinging to a spur of tufa rock. The visit of Civita di Bagnoregio begins along the narrow breathtaking bridge that leads, suspended on the steep valley, to the perched village. Crossing the characteristic door you reach the church of San Donato that preserves inside a wooden crucifix of the '400 attributed to the school of Donatello. To admire some medieval palaces, the characteristic "profferli" (medieval Vineyard balconies), the cave of Our Lady of the Contrada Prison (ancient Etruscan tomb) and the remains of the house of San Bonaventura. A walk along the small streets of Civita allows you to discover small and pretty local craft shops and research local wine and oil resells. Overnight at your accommodation

Today you will discover the indigenous olive varieties of Umbria! Umbrian olive oil, one of the best in Italy, is famous for its taste, flavors and benefits for our health. Learn about the real meaning of extra virgin, tasting a very special product made only by organic olives grown on the rolling hills of Umbria. Scent, color, texture and taste: oil is not always the same. Thanks to this tasting you can learn to recognize an extra virgin oil of quality, by savoring different oil types right in the place where oil is produced.. Meeting at the table and tasting locals specialities are the perfect conclusion of a day spent among the green olive trees of the oil mill, the tradition and history of oil. Before coming back to your resort, you will stop to visit Todi by yourselves.. Known as "the most livable city in the world", Todi is a medieval town with a unique beauty and elegance that stands on top of a hill dominating the enchanting valley of the Tiber. Situated a few kilometers from Perugia and Orvieto, the town is limited in three rings of walls (Etruscan, Roman and medieval) that en-close countless treasures. Among the things to do in Todi, one of the most beautiful views is surely to Piazza del Popolo, the heart of the town overlooked by some of the most important buildings of the historic center that contrast with a striking effect, the religious complex. Overnight at your accommodation

Today you will meet your guide to visit Montefalco. Famous for its wine, this small city reserves artistic and historic treasures for the visitor. It is called the "Umbria's railing." From its lookouts you will discover a part of Umbria and you can admire all around the centers of Perugia, Assisi, Spello, Foligno, Trevi, Spoleto, Gualdo Cattaneo, Bevagna. In the distance, you can see the reliefs of the Apennine, the Subasio and the Martani Mountains, but what is most striking are the hills covered with olive groves and vineyards! The tour will begin with its beautiful medieval walls, internsed by the gates of Frederick II, St. Augustine, Camiano, Rocca and San Leonardo. Within the first wall there are many churches, among which it is worth mentioning St. Augustine, built together with the convent in the second half of the twentieth century on a small pre-existing building, probably consecrated to St. John the Baptist. Once inside the city, you can visit the church-museum of St. Francis which represents a synthesis of the history, culture and tradition of Montefalco. It was built between 1335 and 1338 by the minor friars, the third Franciscan settlement in the Montefalchese area, but the first within the walls. In 1863 it was owned by the municipality, which, from 1895, made it the home of the Civic Museum. After Montefalco visit you will enjoy an unforgettable An exciting tour in the vineyard in search of the best bunch of Sagrantino and among the barrels to seize all the secrets of the winery and wines. You will enjoy an Eno-safari to discover the Umbrian territory. The tour will take place on board a Jeep, in a vineyard among shady paths and valleys. You will visit the winery, tasting a glass of wine and typical products of the Umbrian territory. Overnight at your accommodation

Transfer from Umbria countryside to Tuscany countryside with a stop at Lake Trasimeno. Today you will reach Lake Trasimeno to enjoy a guided bike tour to admire the beauty of the lake. A journey through ancient fishing villages, small beaches, scenic spots of great beauty and interesting villages. The tour is an easy route on a cycle path and a little traffic road, almost completely level and offers continuous glimpses of the lake. The only slightly uphill stretch is to reach Punta Bella, from where you can enjoy a magnificent view of the lake. Overnight at your accommodation

This morning you will enjoy a guided visit of San Gimignano known as the City of Beautiful Towers. It is a classic medieval walled hill town in Tuscany. You can admire its 14 surviving medieval towers that create a beautiful skyline visible from the surrounding countryside. The historic center is an UNESCO world heritage site for its architecture. You will see the landmark Great Tower - Torre Grossa. After the visit you will reach a farmhouse close to San Gimignano to learn more about the Crocus Sativus L. which is the Latin name of saffron. Saffron is a spice obtained from the dried flower stigmas of a bulb that belongs to the iris family. This plant is originally from Persia, but has found some very favorable climatic and soil conditions in the San Gimignano area. Some documents show that its cultivation was widespread in the region in medieval times, although it is reasonable even to think that was introduced long before by the Etruscans, the ancient inhabitants of these lands. Since ancient times, thanks to its antioxidant and anti-depressant properties, saffron’s main use was in medicine. It has been proven that the minerals, vitamins and carotenoid substances in the spice have beneficial effects on the nervous system and were used in the past to regulate mood swings, depression, premenstrual syndrome, and various learning disabilities. Today, however, the main use of saffron is culinary. After a brief tour, you will enjoy a delicious lunch starring the "red gold" of San Gimignano tasting a glass of Vernaccia. Overnight at your accommodation

This morning you will enjoy a hot air balloon ride ( Grouped or Private ). You will fly above the beautiful hills of Chianti at the early hours of the morning. Discover the rolling fields of Tuscany from a unique aerial perspective with a luxury hot air balloon ride. After getting picked up from your hotel, head to the starting point where you will receive a quick safety briefing before take-off. If you wish, you can help with the aeration of the balloon before entering the cart for your flight. During your 1-hr flight, you will sail at heights varying from 500 feet to 3000 feet, depending on the wind of that day. Admire the breathtaking landscape of Tuscany and see gentle hills dotted with pretty Italian villages, cypress trees, dominant castles, and abundant vineyards, olive groves and orchards. Upon landing, toast your experience with a glass of sparkling wine and light breakfast. *Flight routes and taking off locations are subject to flying conditions. After the hot air balloon ride, you will reach Monteriggioni, another charming little town located in Tuscany countryside, where you will meet your personal guide. Monteriggioni represents one of the most important walled castles in the territory. It has incredibly preserved an intact structure as if time had never passed on the hill from which it elegantly dominates the surrounding landscape. Its perfect circular perimeter makes one suppose it to be an artificial construction while in actuality it was created by just following the curves in the natural ground. The castle was built by the Sienese between 1213 and 1219 for defensive purposes: its strategic location atop a hill overlooking the Cassia Road allowed the castle to control the cities of the Val d’Elsa and Staggia and be on the lookout for any armies approaching Siena. Overnight at your accommodation

A unique natural experience walking through the area of the Crete Senesi around the famous area for the precious truffle in S.Giovanni d’Asso to discover the secret of the nature guided by local expert truffle seller all united by a very special passion for this priceless and with his unique fragrance fruit. Our clays are indeed a valuable habitat for truffle, the Summer Truffle, the Marzuolo but in particular the clays of this medieval village are renowned for the quality of the Truffle Bianco of the Crete Senesi. You will enjoy an unforgettable day accompanying the truffle seller with his trusted dog, that nose on the ground, he will guide you walking in group among the clays and the Tuscan landscape in the various periods of the year as established by the different calendars for the three types of truffles mentioned above. You will taste a wonderful lunch of local food based on truffle ingredients. It is a classic fairytale hilltop town, set within a full circle of fortified walls and watched over by a mighty castle of medieval perfection. Montalcino is a beautiful village immersed in the breathtaking Val d' Orcia Natural Park, renowned all over the world for the production of its precious Brunello red wine. You can't miss a visit to an important winery and you will taste one of the most important wines in Italy, Brunello di Montalcino. You will learn more about the process of producing this delicious red wine. Overnight at your accommodation

This morning your personal driver will lead you to Pienza, where you will enjoy a walking guided tour. Pienza is a small village in southern Tuscany that you should visit! Is the most renowned town of the famous Val d’Orcia, known all over the world for its art, landscape and Pecorino cheese Pienza is the town of Pecorino, a very tasty cheese made from sheep’s milk, more or less aged, very well known and very delicious . Pienza is known around the world as the “ideal” city of the Italian Renaissance, built by Enea Silvio Piccolomini who became Pope Pius II . Pope Pius II was born in the small village of Corsignano (the ancient Pienza) and wanted to transform his own village into a “utopian” city embodying the principles and philosophy of the classical age and the Italian Renaissance. So under the direction of Rossellino and Leon Battista Alberti it has become the city we know today: a complex of beautiful and harmonious buildings, the beautiful Piazza Pio II, the Cathedral, the papal residence, its picturesque alleys and suggestive views. When you visit Pienza you have to taste Pecorino Cheese, the most famous typical product of the area. You can learn all the secrets of Pecorino di Pienza, taste it and see how it is produced. You will visit a farm in the countryside a few kilometers from Pienza and using the milk of our 150 sheep and 30 goats we produce Pecorino di Pienza in its dairy. The milk used comes from the farm’s livestock and production is carried out without pasteurization and cheese ripening varies in length and mode. Here you can join a guide tour with an experienced dairy man. He will guide you through the entire production process from milking aging. Overnight at your accommodation

This morning your personal driver will pick you up at the hotel lobby to reach Florence airport to catch your flight back home.