San Gimignano and San Vivaldo tour with wine tasting

San Gimignano and San Vivaldo tour with wine tasting starts at your lodging where a minivan with private driver will pick you up.

The first stop will be at the medieval town of San Gimignano.

San Gimignano stands 334 metres above sea level on the site of a small Etruscan settlement, but it takes its name from the Bishop of Modena who saved the town from Barbarians in the 6th century.

It developed considerably during the Middle Ages thanks to the Via Francigena which runs straight through the town.

The Via Francigena is an ancient road and pilgrim route running from the Cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France to Rome and Apulia, where there were the seaports to embark for Holy Land.

The Elsa Valley around this famous Tuscan town is everyone's image of a wine producing region in Italy.

Cypress trees, vines and olive orchards form an impressive landscape.

The vines cultivated around San Gimignano produce the "Vernaccia", a dry, pale, white.

It is a wine so gentle you could be drinking a refined mineral water and its character hasn't changed for centuries.

This the reason why our wine tasting will be right in a fabulous wine estate situated in San Gimignano, The lovely family who runs it with care and commitment, love sharing their passion for the land, the wine and the olive oil with their guests.

The location is unique. You will be overwhelmed by the beauty around you. It is possible to arrange for cooking class too, using the products of their land.

Afterwards we will head to the "Living Jerusalem" at San Vivaldo.

San Vivaldo, a hidden gem that really few people know. It is a special place, a unique site in which history, art, spirituality and nature blend together perfectly. It hosts the “Jerusalem” of San Vivaldo - one of the most significant examples of Western reproduction of the Holy Land - built at the beginning of the 16th century by order of the local community of Franciscan friars and conceived like a “real” Jerusalem for pilgrimages. For centuries going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem was not possible due to the Ottoman Occupation. The Franciscan friars built several Chapels that represent the important sights of the city in order to allow pilgrims to do a symbolic pilgrimage.

After touring it, we will head back to your lodging.

Tour length: 6/7 hours

Transportation: minivan with private driver

San Gimignano square — San Gimignano detail

Chianti and Siena Tour with wine tasting

Chianti and Siena Tour with wine tasting is an amazing day trip that takes you from Florence into the super picturesque Chianti region.

This tour gives you the chance to explore the rolling hills of the marvelous Chianti Wine region. It’s a getaway from the noise and the crowds of the city.

During our drive through the famous Chianti region, you will be spoiled with spectacular views of this famous landscape. As we drive, admire the cypress trees, vineyards and olives groves.

Our first stop will be in Siena where we will explore Piazza del Campo and the Cathedral.

Once in the Piazza del Campo, you’ll see why it’s so well known and well loved. It’s a semi-circular piazza, in a bowl-like shape, surrounded by beautiful red-brick buildings. This is the heart and soul of Siena, not to mention one of its most distinct landmarks. It was built with the intention of all the locals being able to meet there for events, games and socializing. It’s still doing its job of bringing people together, as you’ll see from the amount of people sitting on its curved base, eating, drinking and chatting.

The piazza is also home to Siena’s famous bareback horse race, the Palio di Siena, which is held twice a year. They do put sand on the tiled flooring of the piazza, so the horses aren’t galloping directly on stone, but the turns are still incredibly tight.

Siena’s Gothic cathedral is considered one of the most beautiful in Europe. Even if you’re not into cathedrals, it’s worth seeing and is one of the highlights of the city. Its green-and-white-striped interior is even more impressive than Florence’s duomo, and the exterior is pretty snazzy too, with one of the most detailed facades you’lI’ve ever seen on all your travels.

Afterwards we will head to Panzano in Chianti to visit a winery where we will have a wine tasting.

The stop at winery is also an excuse to get know a little bit more about the winemaking process, we will explore the Estate, the vineyard and the cellar with one of the staff of winery who is very knowledgeable and passionate about the wine.

Harvesting by hand and rigorous quality selection of the grapes are the distinctive hallmarks of their harvest. Cutting-edge technology and the final, hands-on-touch of their winemaker are the secrets of the high quality of this winery’s wines.

Once we’ve covered every aspect of winemaking, we sit down to taste three Chianti wines accompanied by fresh olives and cheese. It is possible to have lunch too.

After the wine tasting we will head back to your lodging.

Tour length: 6 hours

Transportation: minivan with private driver

Which are the grapes of Chianti Classico?

Sangiovese, the region’s principal grape variety, is the exemplar of the unique characteristics of the land of the Black Rooster. Chianti Classico wine can be produced with Sangiovese grapes at a minimum of 80% or with the maximum addition of 20% of other red varieties.

Over time, thanks to the commitment to research in the field, the importance of Sangiovese in Chianti Classico wine and the use of red varieties has become increasingly important: since 1996 it has been possible to produce DOC wines using pure Sangiovese grapes, and since 2006 Chianti Classico can be produced exclusively with red grape varieties.

Jewish Florence Tour

Jewish Florence Tour

We will start our tour at Piazza della Repubblica that during Roman times, was Ancient Florence downtown. As of the Middle Ages and for several centuries thereafter, it remained the old city market. Although it has undergone many changes over time, the Piazza della Repubblica was very lively and busy, until recently.

Cosimo I forced the Jews to reside in that area of the city, which thus became a ghetto known as the Jewish Quarter. The changes were part of urban planning that resulted from the establishment of Florence as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (1865-1871). Consequently, many buildings, including the ones forming the ghetto and the Loggia del Pesce (Lodge of the Fish) were demolished.

After visiting the square, we will head to the Baptistry of the Duomo to learn about the Biblical stories of the door panels.

We will proceed then to the Academy where we will admire the perfection of David’s Michelangelo.

This astonishing Renaissance statue was created between 1501 and 1504. It is a 14.0 ft marble statue depicting the Biblical hero, represented as a standing male nude. Originally commissioned by the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral, it was meant to be one of a series of large statues to be positioned in the niches of the cathedral’s tribunes, way up at about 80 mt from the ground.

Then we will go to Synagogue or Tempio Maggiore that is one of the largest synagogues in South Central Europe and was built between 1874 and 1882. Travertine and pink pomato stone were used to build it, in the Moorish style, centrally planned and with a dome flanked by towers. Standing in a garden filled with exotic plants, surrounded by cast-iron railings designed by P. Franci, the synagogue will evoke in you a sense of oriental splendour.

At the end of the tour we will take a break for lunch at the Kosher restaurant right around the corner.

The Queen of Sheba — Baptistry the Queen of Sheba

Pisa and San Miniato Tour with Truffle Hunting

Pisa and San Miniato Tour with Truffle hunting will allow you to discover the most impressive part of Tuscany.

The first stop will be in Pisa that is a small city and the most important sights are concentrated in the famous Piazza dei Miracoli.

The square is the obvious starting point for a visit to Pisa. You can spend an hour exploring the architectural wonders of the piazza, which is one of Italy’s most impressive squares. The leaning tower is a world famous attraction and you will see a lot of people taking pictures of themselves “trying” to push it straight!

The tower started to sink during its construction (12th century) that took about 200 years.

Next to it the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta with its Baptistery that is the largest building of the religious complex on this square. Its construction started in 1063 and almost a hundred years later it was consecrated. The cathedral houses the city patron’s relics, Saint Ranieri.

The white marble Baptistery was founded in 1152 and due to its construction on the same unstable soil as the Tower, it is also leaning slightly.

After touring the city, we will head to San Miniato.

San Miniato is a beautiful medieval city. The tour starts in Piazza del Prato del Duomo where you will find the most important buildings. On the top of the square there is the famous Frederick II Tower from where you can enjoy a great panorama over the city and the valley.Another important highlight is the concave colored façade of the Episcopal Seminary in Piazza della Repubblica.

San Miniato is worldwide known for its Truffle Festival every year in November.

That’s is the reason why you will take part in a once-in-a- lifetime experience: truffle hunting.

You will meet a professional truffle hunter with his dog and with them you will start your truffle hunting through the woods.

He will explain to you the different species of truffles and share with you the secrets of the hunting.

The tour will end with a local meal prepared with the truffles you found!

Tour lenght: 6/7 hours

Transportation: minivan with private driver

Pisa piazza Cavalieri — Pisa Piazza Cavalieri

Florence Day Trip

One day in Florence? Mission possible!

One should always try to dedicate more than one day to any of the world’s great cities, Florence included. With this premise, if you’ve got to do it, I will help you choose what to see so that you make the most out of your limited time.

We can catch the train in Rome and in 1h20 we will be there!

Starting from St. Maria Novella station we will walk up to the famous Duomo with Brunelleschi’s cupola, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery. Nearby we will visit the Accademia with Michelangelo’s David (reservation in advance).

Strolling down via Roma we will find ourselves in Piazza della Signoria in front of Palazzo Vecchio, the city’s seat of government with an incredible outdoors statues setting. The David out there is a cop.

We will walk then to the end of the Uffizi buildings (no time to visit them) to the Arno and catch a view of the river and the Ponte Vecchio.

On the way back to the station, we will go to via Tornabuoni – the luxury shopping street – and hop into the church of Santa Trinita where you’ll be rewarded by a beautiful fresco by Ghirlandaio. Look carefully at the backgrounds of each scene as you should recognize some of these locations – we’ve seen them together!

It is possible to go to Florence from Rome by train (1hour 20 minutes) in order to spend a day there and come back in the late afternoon.

Your Travel and Tours pictures

Pictures of your tours

I am not a professional photographer but I do love taking pictures.

It’s my passion!

Aaron Siskind once said “Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever…it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything”.

For this reason I will so glad to take pictures of you, family and friends during the tours with my camera.

I will try to immortalize the best moments of your stay in Italy.

It will be like a little souvenir to bring home.

The service is complimentary.