Our private driver guide will meet clients at their Siena hotel at 09.00am for our journey to San Gimignano.

San Gimignano is a cosy village dating back to the Etruscan age, whose medieval architecture has been preserved during centuries! San Gimignano is reachable in a 45 minute drive from Florence. Located on the top of a hill viewing the countryside, surrounded by stone walls, San Gimignano is said to be “the Manhattan of Tuscany”, because of its high towers, built by the ancient noble families, enriched with commerce, who wanted to show their power! Visiting San Gimignano is a unique chance to go back in time, walking along narrow streets, admiring old stone buildings, the 13 remaining towers and loose yourself in a pleasant medieval atmosphere. We suggest a stop at one of the many wine shops of the village to taste the typical local wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano!

Volterra -the Etruscan town of alabaster

Volterra, a famous town thanks to its alabaster production and to its Etruscan walls of which there are still standing ruins, is reachable in an 80 minute drive from Florence. The squared Piazza dei Priori, with Palazzo dei Priori, is certainly an example of a medieval Piazza. In the XII - XIII centuries Duomo, there is among the other works, a fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli. Of great value is the Battistero with the font by Andrea Sansovino (1502). The Quadrivio dei Buomparenti and via Ricciarelli are starting points for an unusual excursion to the XII century church of San Francesco with the image of the Madonna di S. Sebastiano dating back to 1400, the patron saint of the town, going on towards the Pinacoteca and to the Museo Civico with works, among the others, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, Luca Signorelli and Daniele da Volterra. It is interesting to visit S. Michele Arcangelo, the romanic theater and the fortress, Renaissance stronghold, the Etruscan Museum Guarnacci with a collection of IV century B.C. Etruscan cinerary urns made of tuff, alabaster and terracotta. Via Matteotti, medieval street, in the historical center and Porta all'Arco are ideal destinations for alabasters lovers who can find here a wide range of works in the many shops. A walk in Viale dei Ponti that starts from Piazza dei Martiri della Libertà will let you enjoy a wonderful panoramic view.

Chianti

Chianti, the area in which Chianti Classico wine has been produced for centuries, is that part of Tuscany that is bordered to the north by the suburbs of Florence, to the east by the Chianti Mountains, to the south by the city of Siena and to the west by the valleys of the Pesa and Elsa rivers. The area is traversed by the Superhighway of the Palio. It is a land of ancient traditions that was civilized in remote periods first by the Etruscans, who left many traces of their activity in the wine sector, and then by the Romans. In the Middle Ages, the cities of Florence and Siena battled for control over the zone. Villages and monasteries, castles and fortresses appeared during that period and many of them were later transformed into villas and country residences when times were more tranquil. It was then that spaces were cleared in the vast forests of chestnuts and oaks for the cultivation of vines and olive trees, an activity that progressively assumed major economic importance and established an international reputation.