Day Trips from Florence

Chianti

We’ll start with Chianti, the first Italian DOC wine, which gets its name from the rolling hills between Siena and Florence, that historical region of Chianti Classico. What is the Chianti emblem? The famous Gallo Nero (Black cockerel), the historic symbol of the Chianti Military League, painted by Giorgio Vasari on the ceiling of the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio, in Florence. Your itinerary, which you can either follow by yourself, or under the guidance of top sommeliers, includes vineyards and historic wine cellars.  As you drive down one of the most atmospheric roads in Italy, you will encounter l’Impruneta, Bagno a Ripoli, Castellina in Chianti, Radda di Chianti, and on the way to Siena, Colle Val d’Elsa, Sovicille, Monteroni d’Arbia, Murlo and Rapolano Terme. Masterpieces wherever you look.

Siena

If you are travelling in the picturesque Crete Senesi, from Monteroni d’Arbia to Rapolano Terme, then you are in the heart of the first landscape of Italian art. Shall we prove it? Go into the Palazzo Pubblico di Siena and admire Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s marvellous fresco from 1338, il Buono e Cattivo Governo. You will see the same fields, the same hills, the same vineyards. Everything is still exactly as it was then, just as if nothing in Siena has changed, from the Piazza del Campo to the Duomo, from the Torre del Mangia to Fonte Gaia. And wherever you look, your eyes will feast on artistic wonders, look no further than Duccio’s Maestà in the Museo del Duomo and Michelangelo’s sculptures on the Piccolomini altar. We should also remind you of that globally unique event, the Palio horse race, which runs every year on 2nd July and 16th August. 

Vernaccia

Dante mentions this wine with golden reflections and flowery and fruity aromas in the Divine Comedy. But Vernaccia di San Gimignano has seduced other famous sommeliers, such as Giovanni Boccaccio, Ludovico il Moro and Lorenzo il Magnifico, who in 1466, chose it for the wedding of Lucrezia di Piero de’ Medici and Bernardo Rucellai.  Even Michelangelo, who used to stop at San Gimignano en route to Rome, loved to refresh himself with a glass of this superb white wine. The medieval version of Vernaccia was most probably sweet, with a high alcohol content. Today’s Vernaccia, which has been DOCG classified since 1993, is dry and harmonious on the palate, with an almond after taste. We recommend you explore this wonderful town and to sample the grapes, which grow only in the San Gimignano region.

San Gimignano

San Gimignano, a UNESCO world heritage site, is famous for its impressive number of medieval towers, 72 to be exact. The oldest is Torre Rognosa, dated circa 1200, and the tallest is Torre Grossa, standing at a height of 54 metres. Building began at the start of 1300, four months after Dante visited the city. We can assure you that as you stroll through the ancient streets of this XIII century Manhattan, you will find yourself immersed in the same atmosphere that delighted that exalted Italian poet.

Nobile di Montepulciano

The ancient wine of Etruscan origin, Nobile di Montepulciano, which has been drunk since Medieval times, is produced in the magnificent settings of Val di Chiana and Val d’Orcia, a UNESCO world heritage site. In the XVI century, this Rosso Scelto from Montepulciano was the preferred wine of Pope Paolo III Farnese, also a staunch admirer of Michelangelo. So let’s raise our glasses to the great artist and to the Last Judgement (Il Giudizio Universale), commissioned by Paolo III himself, in 1534.

Pienza

The perfect city. This is Pienza, a UNESCO world heritage site, dreamed up by Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Pope Pius II, in 1458. One of the greatest Renaissance architects, Bernardo Rossellino, designed it in 1462. The Palazzo Piccolomini, the Palazzo Vescovile and the Duomo all face each other in the trapezoid piazza. This perfectly proportioned, harmonious jewel of a city is a tribute to the pontiff’s name and his incredibly human belief in the beauty of the Renaissance. A little anecdote: Pius II wanted an austere church and threatened to excommunicate anyone who tried to decorate the inside of the Duomo, which remains pure and unspoilt to this day.