Day 5: Ancient Monasteries and Brunello Wine
Your driver will pick you up after breakfast to take you through the Crete Senesi to Montalcino. The Crete Senesi (clay hills) create a surreal, moonscape effect, with their rolling waves all the way to the horizon in the direction of Monte Amiata.
On the way to Montalcino, you will stop to visit the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, a magnificent monastic compound that features fresco cycles by Luca Signorelli and Antonio Bazzi. You will also visit the isolated Abbey of Sant'Antimo just on the outskirts of Montalcino. An extraordinary example of Romanesque architecture in French-Lombard style, Sant'Antimo was built in the 12th and 13th centuries by Abbot Azzo dei Porcari. According to legend, it is on the site of an ancient chapel built to the orders of Charlemagne in 781. With luck, you'll hear the Gregorian chanting of the resident monks.
Proceeding to Montalcino you will have lunch and a tasting of the town's renowned Brunello wine at a local estate. Your driver will return you to the hotel for dinner in the evening.
Day 6: Siena and the Colli Senesi
 Your morning will begin with a guided walking tour of Siena. The walk will not be too physically challenging, and will offer a new and entertaining way to become familiar with the extraordinary beauty of this medieval town. Your route will take you away from the ordinary tourist routes, as your guide illustrates Siena's eventful past through tales of bankers, pilgrims, artists and Saints.
In the afternoon, you will depart with your driver to the Arno Valley to experience the Colli Senesi: a dry, fruity red wine with a warm, spicy taste. You will arrive at a local winery for a truly unique 'tasting tour'. Starting with enoteca, the first wine will be accompanied by an olive oil tasting and an explanation of the peculiarities of the area that combine to make the wine's distinctive flavor.
The second wine will be sampled in the estate's chapel, in an atmosphere of ancient and sacred stillness.
The final wine will be sampled in the cellars themselves, together with salami and goat cheese. Your guide explains the importance of the different types of earth on which the vineyard is cultivated.
Your driver will return you to the hotel where you will enjoy a gala dinner with accompanying wines of the five Chianti denominations.
Day 7: The Chianti Countryside and Tuscan Cuisine
 Your driver will pick you up from the hotel this morning and take you to Radda, where you will begin your excursion into the Chianti countryside. Radda has retained more of its ancient character than most towns and villages of the area. It still retains the elliptical form it had in medieval times, and the streets of the miniscule town center are centered around the square, Piazza Ferrucci. It is here you will find the Palazzo del Podesta, with frescoed decorations and numerous ancient shields and crests, and the main church, raised on a platform directly opposite the palace.
Your route will take you to the tiny village of Volpaia, and on the way you can stop to admire an old watermill. In Volpaia, a delicious lunch awaits you before your tour of the cellars and wine tasting at a prestigious local winery.
In the afternoon your driver will return you to Figline Valdarno, where a cooking lesson with the expert cooking staff has been organized for you. You will enjoy private instruction in the preparation of authentic Tuscan dishes, and will enjoy your creations for dinner.
Day 8: Wine and Olive Oil in the Arno Valley
This morning you will depart with your driver to the Arno Valley. This unique and picturesque valley begins at the point where, in the vicinity of Arezzo, the river Arno changes course and heads north.
 A landscape of olives, vines and forest sculpted by man with wisdom and respect. Here, in every small ancient village we feel this atmosphere an occasion to discover all the secrets of the "yellow gold" from Tuscany: the olive oil.
An interesting route covering the natural development of the journey made by Tuscan's who for centuries have produced olive oil with the attention and respect for the value of olive trees. By cold pressing in a traditional crushing press, by careful selection of the olives, by harvesting at the correct time and by filtering only through cotton, they are able to produce oils which retain all the character of the original fruit.
To appreciate this properly means that you should know how to taste. A voyage around the culinary table offers a chance to experiment and take part in a sampling of the mill's products.
You will then proceed to a local Chianti vineyard for a guided tour of the cellars and the estate. Afterwards, you will be given a private oenological lesson before dining with the house Sommelier. Your driver will return you to your hotel in the evening.
Days 1-4  Days 9-13 | 
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