San Gimignano is one of the few remaining Italian “borgos”or walled medieval hamlets that remains intact, capturing its feudal character and spirit and recognized by UNESCO for its unique cultural heritage. San Gimignano was an ancient Etruscan city with a strategic location chosen for its dominant position over Val D’Elsa read more
Tuscany accounts for 45.000 km of the so called “Strade bianche” (“white streets,”) more than any other Italian region. By strade bianche we mean unpaved but otherwise well marked roads suitable for bike tours (but also accessible by foot, motorcycle, horse or car), which are considered heritage sites protected by read more
Sammezzano Castle, surrounded by a large park, is in a spot of great beauty, in Leccio, Municipality of Reggello, province of Florence. Its splendour is comparable to the fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. The castle, along with its park, one of the largest in Tuscany, is of rare historical, architectural read more
In the small town of Borgo a Mozzano, in the province of Lucca, there is a famous humpbacked stone bridge, so dramatic, and so admirable, that it was said it only could have been constructed by the devil himself. In fact, legend holds that the head stonemason was so worried read more
The residents of Greve in Chianti are born and grow up around the central square, which since the middle ages, has been a vital marketplace; the crossroads where the Val d’Arno (the Arno Valley), the Val di Greve (the Greve Valley) join the road from Florence to Siena. It is read more
This historic fortified abbey in Passignano has a dramatic position in the Chianti hills. It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times throughout history, and today it appears more like a castle than a monastery. In 1866 when the Siccardi Law suspended the monastic orders, the property passed to the read more
In Chiusdino, in the province of Siena, there is an ancient Cistercian abbey. The site consists of the old hermitage (called “Montesiepi Rotonda”) and the great abbey, of which only the skeleton of the walls remains. The hermitage is dedicated to the legendary San Galgano (1148-1181) who after his noble read more
Volterra, dramatic and atmospheric, is a place which has been immortalized in international literature. The first to put this walled village to paper was Gabriele D’Annunzio,legendary poet, soldier and novelist from Pescara, set his novel Forse Che Si Forse Che No within the city’s ancient walls.This tragic novel tells the read more
«[…] però che, come in su la cerchia tonda Monteriggion di torri si corona, così la proda che ‘l pozzo circonda torregiavan di mezza la persona li orribili giganti, cui minaccia Giove del cielo ancora quando tona» As Monteriggioni crowns its round wall with towers, so the terrible giants, whom read more
The Eroica is a bike “race” – depending on the itinerary – which winds its way through attractive landscapes from Gaiole in Chianti to such scenic and iconic destinations as Siena, Valdorcia or Montalcino. It is open exclusively to riders with vintage bikes called Bici Eroiche (Heroic Bikes). The event read more