Come share the beauty and culture of Tuscany with our good friends, Giovanni and Marzia Innocenti, owners of Poggio de Papi, one of Tuscany’s finest B&B’s, not far from Florence.

We are excited about leading this very unique “inside” tour for you. Through our own travels and Giovanni’s and Marzia’s knowledge of the region, we’ve discovered countless “hidden gems” in Tuscany's many small towns and villages. We pulled together our favorite, secret places to offer a small group of up to just 12 “family guests”, the chance to visit these special places and savor the slow-paced, yet invigorating Tuscan lifestyle.

This tour is not about visiting popular tourist destinations. It is designed for the person who wants to live like an Italian for a while - shop in the markets, enjoy home cooking, visit small family vineyards, attend local events, and especially to relish great conversation over exquisite Tuscan cuisine served al fresco. looking out over the Italian countryside.

We will cook, dine, taste, travel, and savor the best of Italian village life. It will also be a chance to make new friends both with each other and the numerous families, shop owners, farmers, artisans, chefs, and vintners we meet.
YOUR HOSTS: Diane Dente and 
Giovanni and Marcia Innocenti
TOUR SIZE: 12 Adults
TOUR PRICE:  $3695 Dbl. Occupancy
Single Occupancy $480 additional.

All inclusive - meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner with wine), tasting events, cooking classes, local transportation, guided tours and entry fees, 3-Star B&B accommodations with private bath, airport transfers, tips. 
Excludes airfare.

For more information or to book your 
trip, call Diane Dente Riemer at
978-771-3992 or email her at
diane@tuscanyvillagetours.com
Diane and Giovanni meet you at the Florence airport to whisk you away to Poggio De Papi and another life among the olive groves and vineyards in the Tuscan hills. Unpack, rest and relax. In the late afternoon we will gather for an orientationa and then visit Fattoria Sabattini. This small vineyard, managed with great pride and dedication by Silvio Sabattini and his brother, produces nearly 20,000 bottles of wine each season
Sunday is a leisurely day with a drive to the seaside town of Viareggio along the coastal strip of Versilia. Viareggio was one of the first seaside resorts In Europe and is still popular with Italians and foreign visitors. There are over twenty kilometers of beaches in this area, which is known as the Versilian Riviera.

After a leisurely breakfast, we take a scenic drive south to Vinci, birthplace of Leonardo Da Vinci. The Museo Leonardino, located in a 13th century castle, in the center of Vinci, houses models of Leonardo’s machines and inventions, all constructed from his notebooks and drawings. We have a picnic lunch on our way back to Poggio di Papi. 

Dinner tonight includes a pasta tasting. For our primo piatti, we taste several kinds of fresh pasta from Montecatini Terme’s P & P Paste Alimentari, famous since 1945 for its specialita e piatti pronti.
We all yearn for those long, leisurely meals and know in our hearts how good they are for us – both body and soul. Yet we also lament the lack of time to prepare and enjoy meals like this. This morning Marzia Innocenti shares several of her tastiest, yet simplest recipes in a cooking demonstration. Her cooking demonstration becomes lunch before our drive to historic Lucca. 

Lucca is the most wonderful small town; its famous walls enclose a place that can be wandered with ease, yet it remains full of secrets. One of Italy’s finest mediaeval treasures, the centre is relatively unspoiled and is sprinkled with palazzi, towers and seemingly countless splendid churches. 

Today we see a little more of historic Pistoia Province as we meander through the outdoor market in nearby Monsummano. When we are sure we have found all the best bargains, we visit Studio Chironi, and try to resist their beautiful Italian ceramics.

We’ll move on to a world renowned artisanal chocolate and coffee producer, Slitti Lavorazione Artiginal. The founders of Slitti believe that “chocolate and coffee join us with a magic thread, to the countries where they grew and ripened, holding on in time to tropical sunbeams and scents.” 

After lunch we visit the medieval village of Seravalle and then return to Poggio de Papi for a restful afternoon. Dinner is in nearby Montevettolini, just down the hill from Poggio De Papi.

No trip to Tuscany can be complete without a day in Florence. But to really appreciate the cityscape of Florence, you must see it from the hilltop town of Fiesole, 8 km north of Florence. We travel to Fiesole as the Italians do - on the #7 bus from Santa Maria Novella station. Once there we explore the Roman and Etruscan ruins, have lunch and admire the view of Florence — a photographer’s dream! After lunch in Fiesole, we return to Florence for a free afternoon. 
It was the Romans who first built the bath complexes over Tuscany's numerous volcanic hot springs. The complexes were originally built as a place where Roman army veterans could go to relax. Today's destination, the Grotta Giusti Spa is a unique and luxurious place. Guiseppi Verdi, who was known to visit often, described it as the eighth wonder of the world.

Your spa treatment includes a 50 minute visit to the Grotta, followed by a refreshing hydro massage. Then you are free to relax at the outdoor thermal pool and enjoy the buffet lunch. Additional services, payable directly to the Spa via your credit card are also available, but must be booked two weeks in advance. Call us for a list of services.
For those who prefer a more athletic form of relaxation the Montecatini Golf Club is nearby. Immersed in the Tuscan countryside, the Montecatini Golf Club is an 18 hole golf course of natural beauty that has been built in the hilly countryside. The player is faced with many natural hazards such as lakes, streams, forests, and ditches which have been formed as part of the natural contours of the land. As well, the course features many dog legs and the greens are very fast and are also undulating, putting the best golfer’s skill to the test.

Our day ends on a relaxed and satisfied note with a farewell dinner at Poggio de Papi.

~ Breakfast at Poggio de Papi
~ Transportation to Florence Airport