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Description

We will guide you through the discovery of a medieval jewel of a castle, built upon a rocky outcropping that from time immemorial has dominated the Arno river valley. This is Vicopisano, still surrounded by its ancient walls, defended by its towers and impregnable from its lofty, craggy post, an engineering feat of the brilliant Florentine architect Filippo Brunelleschi.

Vicopisano, which likely has its origins in Roman times, was for centuries a vital strategic outpost for the Pisan Republic, located as it was between Lucca and Florence. The Republic always kept a keen eye on their fort, considering it crucial to maintaining their power. This was confirmed when in its fall in 1406 opened the way to the conquering of Pisa, which months later came under Florentine dominion.

We will walk the charming streets of this 14^th century medieval village and visit the Romanesque Pieve, whose austere but enchanting simplicity remains to this day unaltered, true to the original basilica plans.

We will visit the Palazzo Pretoria, with its façade embellished with stone and earthenware coats of arms made by the famous Della Robbia workshop. On the weekends one may also visit the dungeons of the Palazzo and Brunelleschi’s castle, a military masterpiece by a genius widely considered the greatest architect of the Renaissance.

Description

Amidst a rolling field just a few miles from Pisa lies the stark and impressive Basilica of San Piero a Grado, an extraordinary example of Romanesque architecture. According to popular tradition, it was founded on the very spot that Saint Peter, the apostle destined to become the first pope, first touched Italian soil.

The present structure was erected at the turn of 11^th century on the foundations of a 5^th century basilica and Roman ruins (likely shops and urban edifices). For millennia legend has maintained that Saint Peter disembarked here on his way to Rome in order to celebrate the first mass ever conducted in Italy, subsequently making the church a major point of pilgrimage.

In fact, in centuries past, before the Arno changed its course away from the coast, the church sat very close to the port of Pisa. Our tour will explore the secrets of this centuries-old edifice, beginning the archeological excavations in the central nave, still surrounded by Roman columns re-purposed to erect the basilica. Glancing upwards, our attention will be captured by the awe-inspiring fresco cycles, produced for the occasion of the Jubilee of 1300, which recount the life of Saint Peter from his first meeting with Christ  to Constantine’s dream and the foundation of the Church of Saint Peter in Rome.

Description

From the slopes of Monte Pisano rises the Certosa di Calci, or Charterhouse of Calci, which for centuries was the home of Carthusian monks. It is a remarkable complex of monastery buildings and a treasure trove of priceless art, and retains to this day an air of mysticism that unites earthly and heavenly realms.

The Certosa was founded in 1336 by Carthusian monks whose cloister rules obliged them to retreat to the most isolated places for prayer and meditation. It remains a very mystical place, and the architecture and spiritual symbols which adorn the monastery have a transportive effect, rendering the entire a structure a place seemingly outside of time.

The monastery’s function as a place for spiritual reflection was transformed in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, when it became a refuge of spiritual retreat for the Grand duke of Tuscany, and thus a space for both Carthusian religious dedication and all the refinement of the Florentine court.

Among the sections open to visitors are a sumptuously frescoed baroque church (used for communal prayer), monks’ quarters, cloisters, the rich Granducal forest, the Charterhouses’ pharmacy, and numerous chapels and refectories decorated with frescoes featuring sovereigns sharing their table with the monks. We aim to bring the history of these monks to life, and to reveal the secrets of this fascinating place just a few kilometers from Pisa.

Description

We invite you to visit the two fascinating towns of Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci, situated against the panorama of classic Tuscan hills overlooking the Mediterranean sea, famous for their local history, gastronomic excellence, and timeless poetry of Giosuè Carducci.

Bolgheri, an enchanting medieval Lombard village, welcomes you with the castle of the Counts of Gherardesca, which comes into view at the end of the strikingly beautiful Cypress Lane. The Lane, nearly 5 kilometers long, is comprised of over two thousand cypresses, each hundreds of years old, and immortalized in the verses of Nobel Laureate for Literature (1906) and native son of the region Giosuè Carducci.

The expansive vineyards of the Bolgheri hills surrounding the Maremma valley have been cultivated for centuries and produce some of the most prize-winning wines in the world, notable among which are Bolgheri Sassicaia, L’Ornellaia, and all the other wines of the Bolgheri Superior D.O.C. A few kilometers away lies Castagneto Carducci, established ca. 1000.

The village sits at the foot of another castle belonging to the Gherardesca dynasty, the undisputed rulers of this territory and from which they dominated both land and sea, where the green Tuscan hills reflect against the blue of the Mediterranean sea. Wandering among the captivating lanes and alleyways of Castageneto Carducci one witnesses a thousand years of Gherardesca family history.