Orvieto in Umbria is perhaps the most beautiful hill town in Italy, perched atop volcanic rock, with a history dating back to the Etruscans.

Although just one hour from Rome, the architecture is distinct, with many buildings constructed from “tufo”, a volcanic rock. Orvieto’s main attraction is its 14th-century Cathedral – a masterpiece of Gothic architecture with a glistening façade of stained glass, mosaics and sculptures. Another attraction is St. Patrick’s Well, a 62-meter-deep (203 feet) feat of engineering characterized by two spiral staircases that wind around the well (yet never meet), with 248 steps down to the water. A pleasant guided tour along a straightforward route makes it possible to know Orvieto’s underground world, created by its ancient inhabitants over about 2,500 years of uninterrupted digging. A tour at the discovery of a millenary, surprising and unexpected “Underground City”, you will surely enjoy it!

In Orvieto, don’t miss “salumi di cinghiale o cervo” (boar or deer sausage) and pecorino cheese and taste the region’s prized white truffle oil together with the delicious white wine of the area, Orvieto Classico!

Civita di Bagnoregio, the spectacular “borgo” slowly sliding towards the valley, is also known as the “Dying City”. The town is famous for its unique position atop a plateau  of  friable volcanic tuff overlooking the Tiber River valley. It is in constant danger of destruction as the edges of the plateau collapse due to erosion, leaving the buildings to crumble as their underlying support falls away.

Val d’Orcia is one of the most fascinating places in Italy, and UNESCO has designated it a World Heritage Site. Its landscape is a part of the agricultural hinterland of Siena, redrawn and developed when it was integrated into the city-state’s territory in the 14th and 15th centuries to reflect an idealized model of good governance and create an aesthetically pleasing picture. The landscape’s distinctive aesthetics, flat chalk plains with almost conical hills and fortified settlements on top, inspired many artists. Their images have come to exemplify the beauty of well-managed Renaissance agricultural landscapes. 

Your first stop will be in Pienza, “Pio’s town”: here, Pope Pius II decided to build the perfect palazzo for his papal court according to the project of an “Ideal City” drawn up by artists such as Piero della Francesca. From the loggia of the Palace, you will enjoy a breathtaking panorama of the valley. Pienza is also home to the typical “Pecorino di Pienza” cheese, an absolute delight to the palate! The unique flavour of this cheese is due to a combination that cannot be replicated elsewhere: the clayey soils of the pastures, whose fragrant herbs give the milk a distinctive flavour of chestnut, laurel and herbaceous; and the sheep, only 3000 in Pienza, and their milk. In fact, they are Sardinian sheep, since in the past, the farmers of Sardinia, experts in the production of pecorino, moved to Tuscany with sheep, handing down their craftsmanship and making this territory a reference point for dairy production. This delicacy was even sought after by Lorenzo il Magnifico, who went purposely to Pienza to taste it.

In Montepulciano, our friend Francesca will lead you to discover this beautiful town full of stories, legends, and a thousand flavours, introducing you to the excellent products of this unique land: olive oil, pecorino cheese, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

Then, you will stop in Bagno Vignoni, a tiny and charming village where the main square is a pool 49 meters long and 29 meters wide. Several hot springs, whose therapeutic qualities have been renowned since antiquity, bubble up from its bottom! All this creates a pleasant sensation; leaving will be hard!

In Siena, the city of the Palio, you will walk on the famous Piazza del Campo, the concave square where horses run twice a year in a dangerous race that symbolizes the city’s freedom. On the days of the Palio, the whole town goes wild; read about it in our BLOG.

Indeed, you will not forget the color of the facades and roofs—the famous color “Sienna,” a pigment first created during the Renaissance—that makes the city charming and warm. And don’t forget to try the Sienese sweets: “cantucci” (biscuits with toasted almonds), “ricciarelli” (soft biscuits with icing sugar), “panforte” (a fruit, nut, and spice cake), and “cavallucci” (honey, walnut, candied fruit, and herb biscuits). Travelers who love desserts will be thrilled!

Then, you will stroll with your head up along the streets of one of the most beautiful cities in Tuscany, San Gimignano, also known as “the Medieval Manhattan“, thanks to its old and impressive 14 towers that dominate the town’s skyline. Initially, the towers were 72, built by patrician families probably to demonstrate their wealth and power. Seven of San Gimignano’s towers are around Piazza del Duomo; the tallest one is Torre Grossa, 54 meters high, dating back to 1298.

Welcome to Florence, the land of Giotto and Dante!

Despite its international fame and greatness, Florence is also a small city whose history has been interwoven with that of its passionate citizens for more than one thousand years.

In Piazza Duomo, you will be astonished by the Duomo, with its incredible Brunelleschi’s dome, a masterpiece of art and architecture whose construction techniques remain shrouded in mystery. Beside it, Giotto’s Campanile (Belltower) and the Baptistery, one of the oldest buildings in the city, with its famous bronze doors made by Giambellino and Ghiberti in the 14^th and 15^th centuries. In Piazza della Signoria, inside the marvellous Loggia dei Lanzi, you will walk in the middle of bronze and marble masterpieces by Giambologna and Cellini, and you will admire the imposing Palazzo Vecchio, one of the symbols of Florence and still the seat of government of the city. You may also spare some time to relax, visit a typical market for shopping, stroll through the city’s pedestrian streets, and cross the oldest bridge in Florence, “Ponte Vecchio” (Old Bridge), rich in jewellery shops.

Your itinerary will include the Galleria dell’Accademia, hosting Michelangelo’s David, the most famous sculpture in the world. The David was uncovered and shown to the Florentines on September 8, 1504, and, with its height of 4 meters, the impeccable physical features and the political significance that the iconography of David had taken over the previous century, it left the Florentines of the time speechless and has done the same ever since with visitors from all over the world. Also, you should will not miss the Uffizi Gallery, one of the most famous museums in the world for its extraordinary collections of paintings. Here, you will admire works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio and a lot more. And finally, a hidden jewel: Cappelle Medicee, the Funeral Chapel of the Medicis, boasting 4 powerful marble statues by Michelangelo, anticipating the mythical figures of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Florence is also the main Italian centre for the production of high-quality leather goods. Florentine artisans are so famous that many fashion brands have opened factories in the city or nearby, drawn by their high skill and the continuous inspiration designers draw from the town’s masterpieces. The area around Piazza Santa Croce, in particular, is home to numerous leather shops and workshops.

Thanks to the tradition of Tuscan tanneries, there is no better place to find shoes for all tastes than Florence: from the creations, designed and produced by hand by skilled craftsmen, to the extensive collections available in stores, renewed every season. Above all, Ferragamo (also worth seeing the museum), Gucci and Prada for refinement and elegance. If you prefer a simpler style, many shops across the river Arno specialise in handmade shoes and sandals.

Florence is renowned for its perfumes, its tradition going back to the Renaissance. On an exclusive activity, you may sit down with a Master “Profumiere” who will teach the secrets and techniques of Florentine perfumes and help you create your own fragrance to bring home as a memory of this incredible experience.

Tuscan cuisine is strong and spicy, with a solid reference to its territory and the recipes dating back to the Middle Ages. For lunch, you can enjoy “Panino con Lampredotto” at a typical Florentine market. At dinner, taste the simple yet unforgettable recipes of the Tuscan tradition, such as “Crostini“, “Panzanella“, and “Peposo“. And remember, Florence is the home of “Fiorentina” steak! If you are a vegetarian, don’t worry: Tuscan cuisine offers tasty alternatives like “Pappa al Pomodoro” or “Ribollita”.

Here you are in Rome, where ancient history, excellent art and religious icons mix uniquely!

Start from the 2,000-year-old Colosseum, the most famous amphitheatre in the world, and the Imperial Fora, the administrative and monumental centre of the Roman Empire. On the Palatine Hill, the majestic ruins of the Palaces of Augusto, Tiberius and Domiziano still dominate the Circus Maximus valley, 50-meter-high structures giving a unique view of the city.

Close to the Colosseum, inside the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, you may see the famous Michelangelo sculpture of “Moses”. Supposedly, Michelangelo, admiring his Moses, enraptured by the so realistic shapes of the imposing statue, was struck by a violent outburst of anger and exclaimed the famous phrase “Perchè non parli?” (Why don’t you speak!?)

From Piazza Venezia, you will head into “Baroque” Rome, starting with the Pantheon, dedicated to worshipping every god (Pan-every Theon-divinity), now a memorial chapel for great Italians of the past. After that, don’t miss the Church of St. Louis of the French, famous for the cycle of paintings of the great Caravaggio at the end of the 16th century. Then, Piazza Navona, the splendid oval area corresponding to the underground Domitianus’ Stadium, with the gorgeous Fountain of the Four Rivers by Lorenzo Bernini in the centre of the Piazza. And finally, Fontana di Trevi, the city’s biggest and most famous fountain, a Roman icon renowned worldwide: here, statues of travertine marble stand over the cliff and the broad basin in an epic representation of the Kingdom of the Oceans. Rome’s city centre is much more than its most renowned monuments.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic to sit back and relax while discovering the most hidden corners of the “Eternal City”? Enjoy a fun-filled ride on an electric golf cart and let your senses experience a 360° journey through space and time, moving from one breathtaking location to another. Once on board, you will be driven by an Authorised Driver-Guide on this bonding and unforgettable trip, visiting the most significant monuments and top squares and enjoying the most beautiful sights.

On the other side of the River Tiber, Vatican Hill is the home of the tiny state of Vatican City. The immense St. Peter’s Basilica dominates the extraordinary Piazza framed by the magnificent four-column-deep colonnades designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The Basilica is an extraordinary casket for some of the world’s most beautiful works of art, such as Michelangelo’s “La Pietà” and Bernini’s “Baldacchino”, as well as works by the most important Renaissance artists, from Raphael to Canova.

Inside the Vatican Museums, you will be astonished by the exquisite and unique Sistine Chapel, the “Sancta Sanctorum” (“Holy among the Holiest” in Latin) of the Roman Catholic Church, where cardinals gather to elect the new Pope! The Sistine Chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere (pontiff from 1471 to 1484), who restored the old Cappella Magna between 1477 and 1480. The walls were decorated by a team of painters, Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Cosimo Rosselli, assisted by their respective shops. Julius II della Rovere (pontiff from 1503 to 1513), the nephew of Sixtus IV, decided to partly alter the decoration, entrusting the work in 1508 to Michelangelo Buonarroti, who painted the Ceiling and, on the upper part of the walls, the lunettes. The nine central panels show the Stories of Genesis, from the Creation to the Fall of Man, to the Flood, and the subsequent rebirth of humanity with the family of Noah. Again, towards the end of 1533, Clement VII de’ Medici (pontiff from 1523 to 1534) asked Michelangelo to paint the Last Judgement on the altar wall. How could he refuse? And, in fact, he did not, but painted his vision of the Judgement, with a powerful and furious Jesus Christ.

At the end of the day, sit down at a local “trattoria” or “fiaschetteria”, the typical home-style restaurant, to taste authentic Roman cuisine in a popular and cheerful atmosphere.