A Wine Lover’s Tour of Italy 
(Example Itinerary)       
 

Day 1

Arrival in Milan airport and transfer to Villa Beccaris for 2 Nights
 

Day 2
Course for Trifolau, which means Truffle Searcher

Learn where search, how to search, how to train the dogs, and how to recognise the truffles.  Discovering on the more precious secrets of the Piedmontese trilolau, jealously kept from generation to generation. Our friends Mario, official trifolau, together with his dogs Mara and Mirko, will accompany you along the country lanes of the truffle searchers

A.) Welcome and presentation of the visit and his precious friends: the dogs!

B.) Characteristic of the local tradition and characteristic of the truffles

C.) Guided visit and truffle Hunting

D.) Tasting of the Truffles with local wine

Overnight at Villa Beccaris
 

Day 3
Tour Marchesi di Barolo Winery & vineyards

Following the tour, transfer to Pedemonte – Verona

Stay at Relais & Chateau (tba) for 2 nights
 

Day 4
Tour of the Historic Bertani wine estate

Suggested dinner at the restaurant (tba)

Overnight in Verona
 

Day 5

Transfer from Verona to Siena with stop for lunch in Bologna (lunch paid locally)

Stay at Grand Hotel Continental for 2 nights

Free afternoon in Siena (suggesting a visit to historic Verrazzano winery)

Evening Wine Tasting at the Rocca delle Macie winery
 

Day 6

Tour Fonterutoli (Mazzei family) and wine tasting

Overnight in Siena at Grand Hotel Continental
 

Day 7

Visit Col d’Orcia Brunello estate winery

Transfer to Rome and stay at Regina Baglioni Hotel for 2 nights
 

Day 8
Free day in Rome

**Suggestions of things to do:

* Half Day City Tour

The tour begins at the Church of San Clemente, three structures built on top of each other, cataloging ancient mythologies and medieval beliefs. From here it is a short walk past the Gladiator Training Center to the most recognized monument in the world, the Coliseum. The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an amphitheatre in Rome, capable of seating 50,000 spectators, which was once used for gladiatorial combat. It was built by Emperor Vespasian and his son, Titus, between AD 72 and AD 90. It was built at the site of Nero’s enormous palace, the Domus Aurea. The Colosseum’s name is derived from a colossus (a 130-foot or 40-metre statue) of Nero which once stood nearby.Then we proceed to the Roman Forum is the most important archaeological area in the city, the ideal place to understand that having a “historical sense” means, as the great writer T.S. Eliot says, feeling that the people of the past are our contemporaries. The Forum was the centre of the public life of the ancient city; it developed after the reclaiming of the marshy valley that extended from the Palatine and Capitoline hills in the 7th century BC and the last monument –the commemorative column of the emperor Phocas – was erected there in the 7th century AC, exactly 1200 years later.

You complete your “triumphal” march at the top of the Capitol Hill to gaze back at the ruins of an empire before marvelling at the magnificent Piazza Del Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo to house the political powers of Renaissance Rome
 

*Half Day tour Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St Peter

Arriving at St. Peter’s Square, the visitor is immediately impressed by the size of the memorable quare facing St. Peter’s, surrounded by the magnificent four-row colonnade masterpiece of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Only when one gets inside the basilica, slowly climbing up the sweeping three flights of steps designed by Bernini, one will be truly amazed by the size and splendor of the largest church in the world, the symbol of Christianity, extending over a total of about 22,000 sqm.

The building is 136 m. high, the diameter of the Cupola, designed by Michelangelo, measures 42 m. It is possible to reach the top of the Cupola climbing 330 steps: once up there the view of the square below and of Rome is unforgettable. The church contains the masterpieces of important artists: the 29 m. high bronze baldachin by Bernini, the Pietà by Michelangelo, the tomb of Clement XIII by Canova and the mosaic of the of the Navicella by Giotto, located above the middle entrance to the Portico. Numerous and timeless are the works of art, mainly paintings, kept in the Vatican Museums, which preserve the art of the most illustrious artists of all times. A visit to the Sistine Chapel, a milestone in the history of Italian painting, should not be missed. Remember that the Vatican and St. Peter’s require all visitors to have their shoulders and legs covered. Dress comfortably with good walking shoes.

Overnight in Rome at Regina Baglioni Hotel
 

Day 9

Transfer from Rome to Naples to stay at Grand Hotel Vesuvio for 2 nights

Tour of Feudi di San Gregorio Winery
 

Day 10  
Free day in Naples

**Suggestions of things to do: 

*Half Day Tour in Pompei with private driver and private guide for Pompei ruins

Pompeii was destayed in 79 A.C. by a volcanic eruption of the Vesuvio , some people of Pompeii grabbed their beasts of burden and attempted to flee the area; others perhaps chose to wait until the streets were clear of the panicked masses; still others sealed themselves up in rooms, supposing that the ashes and poisonous gasses would not harm them there. The unfortunate people who could not escape in time to avoid disaster were killed by falling buildings, overcome by the mephitic gas, or simply buried by the rapidly falling ash. This important archaeological site, well known all over the world, is the testimonial of the Roman lifestyle. Walk through the ruins and admire the fantastic mosaic in the fabulous Patrician Villas, temples, theatres, gymnasium and public bath under a perfect preservation.
 

** Full Day Tour in Amalfi Coast

Today is dedicated to discover the Amalfitana Coast.  The first stop is in Amalfi. Situated as an amphitheatre located between the mountains and the sea, at the exit to the Valley of Mulini (paper-mill), Amalfi offers unique scenery, clean houses, ancient ruins of fortresses on pinnacle rocks, the green of the palm trees, the warm colour of lemons and of the citrus. The small port was formally a prosperous centre for commerce and the clean sea.  As seen through the centuries; arabs, libians, sicilians and africans trading in gold, silver, and fine cloths. In the low part of the town, in front of the sea, were the shops for currency change; a “soldo bizantino”. We will stop for lunch at the San Pietro or at the Santa Caterina.  Both hotels offer a wonderful and romantic restaurant .The second part of the day is for the small village of Ravello.  Quote “the village is closer to heaven than it is to the coast”; wrote André Gide in his work L’Immoraliste after spending some hours among the flowers of the Villa Rufolo garden at Ravello. The mixture of a nature rich of lights and colours and rich of an art which has an oriental taste with its little terraces, spires, columns and arches, The Villa was built between the year 1270 and 1280 by the Rufolo family. The villa was designed as King Palace and in the people’s imagination is remembered as “the villa with 365 rooms”. Overnight in Naples at Grand Hotel Vesuvio.
 

Day 11

Private transfer from Grand Hotel Vesuvio to Naples Airport

Return flight to the US