A Taste of Tuscany and Pleasures of

Discovery

~ Hosted by Marco Betti ~

Itinerary Recommended Departure from Atlanta: Saturday 2nd September 2017 -

Meeting Place: Florence Airport Sunday 3rd

September 2017 @ 10.30am

Day 1 Sunday Departure from Florence Airport at 11am for Villa Triboli, for a welcome lunch prepared by

Marco’s Parents and Aunties.

Early Afternoon departure for a private visit and wine tasting of the award winning winery

Fonterutoli owned by the Mazzei Family.

Late afternoon return to Villa Triboli.

Evening gathering in the patio for a glass of wine and departure to Florence for dinner at

Giovanni’s Restaurant.

Return to the Villa.

Day 2 Monday Visit to Tignanello and the Antinori new state of the art winery followed by a private wine tasting.

Afternoon visit to Siena.

Return to Villa Triboli for a Tuscan dinner cooked by Marco’s family

Day 3 Tuesday 10am departure for Il Borro for a private visit and wine tasting of the Ferragamo family estate

followed by lunch at the fine dining estate restaurant.

Early afternoon return with visit of the award winning winery of Fontodi in Greve for a private

tour and wine tasting.

Return to Villa Triboli for an aperitif at the Villa and dinner at a local pizzeria restaurant

Day 4 Wednesday Early departure for Florence for a private tour of the Uffizi Museum and the Corridoio

Vasariano.

Lunch at the Frescobaldi Restaurant in Florence

Afternoon at leisure in Florence

Early evening departure for the Villa, aperitif in the patio followed by dinner prepared by

Marco’s Parents and aunts.

Day 5 Thursday Early departure for Bolgheri for a private visit and wine tastings at the Sassicaia and Guado al

Tasso wineries followed by late lunch at Michelin starred La Pineta restaurant owned by my friend

Luciano Zazzeri. Afternoon visit of the historical city of Lucca. Return to the villa and dinner at the

Bellavista Impruneta Ristorante

Day 6 Friday Early departure to Montalcino for a private visit and wine tasting of the award winning wineries

Col d’Orcia and Caparzo.

Mid afternoon return with stop over in San Gimignano for a stroll and gelato in the beautiful

medieval towers’ town.

Return to the Villa, aperitif in the patio and early departure for a seafood dinner at Trattoria del

Pesce.

Day 7 Saturday 10 am departure to Florence for a whole day at leisure enjoying the beautiful capital city of

Tuscany (lunch 1pm at the roof top restaurant of Hotel Excelsior).

Late afternoon (6pm) return to the Villa for the final dinner prepared by Marco’s parents and

aunties.

Day 8 Sunday Early departure - 6am - to Florence airport

Day One: 3 September 2017 Sunday

Private transfers to Villa Triboli, the Rucellai estate, from Florence Airport.

Upon arrival meet Marco’s Aunties and Parents, a light lunch will be provided for guests

along with a tour of the estate.

Villa Triboli http://www.villatriboli.eu/

Villa Triboli was designed in 19th century by Giuseppe Poggi, one of the greatest

architects of Florence of that time, famous for extraordinary works such as Piazza della Libertà

and Piazzale Michelangelo. The villa is located in the south of Florence, near to the town of

Impruneta, famous for its terracotta and olive oil. The views of the Italian garden and the

Chianti hills are breathtaking

Early Afternoon departure for a private visit and wine tasting of the award winning

winery Fonterutoli http://www.mazzei.it/en/The-estates/Castello-di-Fonterutoli/The-estate/

owned by the Mazzei Family.

Late afternoon return to Villa Triboli.

Evening gathering in the patio for a glass of wine and departure to Florence for dinner at

Giovanni’s Restaurant.

http://www.osteriadigiovanni.com/

In 1898 Angelo Latini started up a fiaschettiera in Via della Vigna Nuova, selling wine of

course, but also local cheeses and cold cuts. By the 1950s his nephew Narcisio Latini had

managed to change the local business into a tavola calda and his wife Maria made steaming

dishes of ribollita and pappa al pomodoro to be sold alongside the cold cuts, cheeses and

freshly made panini.

In 1965 the ever-growing business transferred to the old stables of Palazzo Rucellai,

Famously Narcisio served plates of hot food to both Florentine residents and the mud-

angels during the flood of 1966, despite the fact that his own premises were overflowing with

mud and debris. It was now that Narcisio’s and Maria’s two sons, Torello and Giovanni began

to make themselves heard in the running of the business and Maria expanded her output to

include grilled and roasted meats, and many other typical Florentine dishes.

And so time passed. The business grew and so did the Latini family! At the beginning of

the new milennium (2004) Giovanni, his American wife Carole and their two daughters

Chiara and Caterina took over the failing Osteria Numero Uno literally just around the

corner. Up until the age of 96 Narcisio split his time between the two businesses (thank

goodness they are closeby!)

At L’Osteria di Giovanni the influence of Chiara, Caterina and Carol meant not only

maintaining strict allegiance to traditional Tuscan dishes, but also experimenting in new

flavours and combinations, whilst remaining faithful to local and season produce.

Day Two: 4 September 2017 Monday

Visit to Tignanello and the Antinori new state of the art winery followed by a private

wine tasting.

Tenuta Tignanello

Tenuta Tignanello, with its famous Tignanello and Solaia vineyards, is situated between

the Greve and Pesa valleys in the heart of Chianti Classico exactly between the little villages of

Monteridolfi and Santa Maria a Macerata, 30km south of Florence.

Tignanello covers 325 hectares of land, 147 of which are planted with vineyards, These

are divided into small plots: the Tignanello vineyard covers 47 hectares with the 10-hectare

Solaia alongside. These lands derive from Pliocene marl, with chalky elements, and are situated

at an altitude of 350-450m, enjoying warm days and cool nights during the growing phase.

The native Sangiovese variety and the non-native Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet

Franc varieties are planted at Tignanello. There is also a small quantity of white grapes -

Malvasia and Trebbiano - used in the production of Vinsanto. Other non-native varieties grown

at Tignanello include small quantities of Syrah, Pinot Nero and Merlot, planted experimentally

in the Seventies.

Antinori initially experimented with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in the

Twenties, but these varieties were then abandoned during the Second World War; they were

replanted in the Sixties and began to be used commercially in the Seventies. The grapes are

picked in about three weeks, between the end of September and early October and crushed and

fermented on the estate. Afterwards the wine is aged in the old cellars below Villa Tignanello.

The property includes 37 hectares of olive groves for the production of small quantities of

extra virgin olive oil. Tignanello and Solaia are grown, made into wine and aged at Tignanello

while other grapes grown on the estate are used in the production of Santa Cristina, Villa

Antinori and Tenute Marchese Antinori.

All of the above information has been retrieved from the Antinori family’s website. For

more information, please visit www.antinori.it

Afternoon visit to Siena.

Evening: Return to Villa Triboli for a Tuscan dinner cooked by Marco’s family.

Day Three: 5 September 2017 Tuesday

10am departure for Il Borro for a private visit and wine tasting of the Ferragamo family

estate followed by lunch at the fine dining estate restaurant.

http://www.ilborrowines.it/en/

Early afternoon return with visit of the award winning winery of Fontodi in Panzano for

a private tour and wine tasting.

http://www.fontodi.com/

Fontodi is located in the heart of Chianti Classico precisely in the valley which lies south

of the town of Panzano and is called the “Conca d’Oro” (the golden shell) because of its

amphitheater shape. A genuine and characteristic “Terroir”, famous for centuries for its

tradition of quality wine cultivation, thanks to a unique combination of high altitude, calcar clay

schist soil, lots of light, and a fantastic micro-climate – warm and dry with a marked difference

in day and night-time temperatures

Return to Villa Triboli for an aperitif at the Villa and dinner at a local pizzeria restaurant

Day Four: 6 September2017 Wednesday

Early departure for Florence for a private tour of the Uffizi Museum and the Corridoio

Vasariano.

https://www.visitflorence.com/ http://www.uffizi.com

Florence and the Uffizi Gallery

Lunch at a Frescobaldi Restaurant in Florence

Afternoon at leisure in Florence

Early evening departure for the Villa, aperitif in the patio followed by dinner prepared by

Marco’s Parents and aunts

Day Five: 7 September2017 Thursday

Early departure for Bolgheri for a private visit and wine tastings at the

Sassicaia and Guado al Tasso wineries

Followed by late lunch at Michelin starred La Pineta restaurant owned by my friend

Luciano Zazzeri.

Afternoon visit of the historical city of Lucca.

Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile

plain near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca.

Lucca was founded by the Etruscans (there are traces of a pre-existing Ligurian settlement) and

became a Roman colony in 180 BC. The rectangular grid of its historical center preserves the

Roman street plan, and the Piazza San Michele occupies the site of the ancient forum.

Plundered by Odoacer, Lucca appears as an important city and fortress at the time of Narses, who besieged it

for three months in 553, and under the Lombards it was the seat of a duke who minted his own coins. It became

prosperous through the silk trade that got a start in the 11th century, to rival the silks of Byzantium. In the 10th

and 11th centuries Lucca was the capital of the feudal margravate of Tuscany, more or less independent but

owing nominal allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor.

Lucca was the largest Italian city state with a republican constitution ("comune") to remain independent over

the centuries - next to Venice, of course. In 1805 Lucca was taken over by Napoleon, who put his sister Elisa

Bonaparte Baciocchi in charge as "Queen of Etruria". After 1815 it became a Bourbon-Parma duchy, then part

of Tuscany in 1847 and finally part of the Italian State. Lucca is twinned with the English market town of

Abingdon, near Oxford.

Unusual for cities in the region, the walls around the old town were retained intact as the city expanded and

modernized. As the wide walls lost their military importance, they became a pedestrian promenade ringing the

old town although they were used for a number of years in the 20th century for racing cars. They are still fully

intact today; each of the four principal sides is lined with a different tree species.

The academy of sciences (1584) is the most famous of several academies and libraries.

The Casa di Puccini is open to the public. At nearby Torre del Lago there is a Puccini opera festival every year

in July/August. Puccini had a house there.

There are many richly built medieval basilica-form churches in Lucca with rich arcaded facades and

campaniles, a few as old as the 8th century.

Historical attractions are:Piazza Napoleone - Piazza San Michele -Duomo di San Martino (St Martin's

Cathedral) Ducal Palace. The original project was begun by Bartolomeo Ammannati in 1577-1582, and

continued by Filippo Juvarra in the 18th century. The ancient Roman amphitheatre, Church of San Michele in

Foro, Basilica di San Frediano, Torre delle ore ("Clock Tower"), Casa and Torre Guinigi, Museo Nazionale

Guinigi, Museo e Pinacoteca Nazionale Orto Botanico Comunale di Lucca, a botanical garden dating to 1820

and Palazzo Pfanner

Return to the Villa and dinner at Bellavista Ristorante

http://www.bellavistaimpruneta.it/en/restaurant/

Day Six: 8 September2017 Friday

Early departure to Montalcino for a private visit and wine tasting of the award winning

wineries Col d’Orcia http://www.coldorcia.com/

and Caparzo http://www.caparzo.it/index-eng.html

.

Mid afternoon return with stop over in San Gimignano http://www.sangimignano.com/en/ for a

stroll and gelato in the beautiful medieval towers’ town.

Return to the Villa, aperitif in the patio and early departure for a seafood dinner at

Trattoria del Pesce. http://www.latrattoriadelpesce.it/

Day Seven: 9th September 2017 Friday

10 am departure to Florence for a whole day at leisure enjoying the beautiful capital city

of Tuscany (lunch 1pm at the roof top restaurant of Hotel Excelsior)

http://www.westinflorence.com/dining

Late afternoon (6pm) return to the Villa for the final dinner prepared by Marco’s parents and

aunties.

Day Eight: 10th September 2017

Early departure - 6am - to Florence airport

10 Rooms available

$ 6,000 per person double occupancy = $ 12,000

$ 7,000 for single occupancy

We will need a minimum of 15 ppl and maximum of 18 ppl

Included in the above price:

*Seven night stay at Villa Triboli (including room tax and VAT) *Transfers from Florence Airport at 11am Sunday 3rd September and

6am Sunday 10th September 2017

*All transportation during the tour

*All meals and selected wines during the tour

*Entrance and guided tour

Documents required are subject to participants’ nationality.

Not included in the above price:

Air Tickets

Contact information for

Marco Betti Antica Posta

Tuscan Restaurant & Bar

519 East Paces Ferry Road NE

Atlanta - GA – 30305

bus. 404 - 262 71 12

marco@anticaposta.com

www.anticaposta.com