Eight days made by hand,
and by June.
Florence to the Sienese hills with twelve people, built around the three things Tuscany still makes itself.
Quoted per group. Rooms, host and private hours vary.
Twelve places. The private list hears first.
Early June, and not late: the first fortnight has the longest light of the year, the gardens at their peak, and the vines just set.
The second half of the month is a different country. San Giovanni on 24 June fills Florence, the coach season starts, and the same rooms cost half again as much. Over eight days a small group moves down the map — three bases, never more than twelve people, and an open afternoon in each place.
One morning in the Uffizi before it opens to the public. Vespers sung by the monks at San Miniato al Monte, which is the best half hour in Florence and costs nothing. A dinner where the grower who made the bottle sits at the table and is asked about it.
Florence
art & hands
Three nights in the hills at Fiesole, twenty minutes above the city. One morning in the Uffizi before it opens, one day with the people who still make things by hand in Oltrarno, and vespers at San Miniato al Monte.
Base — Il Salviatino, Fiesole, three nights
Chianti Classico
cellars & the hill
South on the Chiantigiana to the cellar Antinori cut into the hillside, then two nights on a walled estate at Tavarnelle. One dinner is a winemaker’s: the grower who made the bottle sits at the table and is asked about it.
Base — COMO Castello del Nero, Tavarnelle Val di Pesa
The Sienese hills
garden & fire
Siena at eight in the morning, before the coaches, then two nights on a three-hundred-acre farm at Chiusdino. Friday starts in the kitchen garden at seven and ends with the group eating what it cut.
Base — Borgo Santo Pietro, Chiusdino, two nights
The first fortnight of June, and not the second. San Giovanni on the 24th fills Florence, the coach season starts, and the same rooms cost half again as much.
Twelve travellers, so that everyone has a place at the bindery bench and at the winemaker’s table.
Three bases in eight days, moving south, and one open afternoon in each. They are left free on purpose.
Tell us who is travelling, and we will write back.
Price on enquiry. Every week is quoted for the group that takes it — rooms, the host, and how much of it is private. We answer within two working days, by letter or by telephone.