Accompanying Persons

FULL DAY - 29 September 2022

PRIVATE SANTA MARIA NOVELLA AND OLTRARNO DISTRICT TOUR WITH SANTO SPIRITO CHURCH

Meeting Point with the guide: 10am - In front of the entrance of Basilica Santa Maria Novella

Private local English speaking guide at disposal for 6 hours

Lunch in a typical restaurant

Drop-off: Approx 6:00pm at Grand Hotel Baglioni

In the morning meet your private guide in front of the entrance of Santa Maria Novella Basilica to start your enchanting tour. Santa Maria Novella Basilica was founded by the Dominican Fathers at the beginning of 1200 and magnificently stands with its splendid Renaissance façade, in the namesake beautiful square. Inside it, you will have the chance to see masterpieces such as the "Crucifix" by Giotto the "Trinity" by Masaccio and the spectacular frescoes by Filippino Lippi and Ghirlandaio. The tour ends inside the elegant "Green Cloister" so named for its beautiful murals in green earth by Paolo Uccello. As early as the 14th century the Dominican monks of the Santa Maria Novella monastery, who cultivated the land belonging to the monastery behind the cloisters, were selling rose water to use as a disinfectant, primarily during periods of epidemic. In the 16th century, under the influence of Cosimo I de' Medici and his successors, who took a profound interest in the natural sciences, and with the founding of the first "Giardino dei Semplici" (medicinal plants), the monks began to cultivate awide variety of plants, distil herbs and flowers and prepare essences, ointments and balms. The current "workshop" at Santa Maria Novella dates back to 1612, a period when apothecaries were plying their trade here, which we will have an opportunity to visit after seeing the Basilica. Here, within the ancient halls that form part of the old Dominican monastery, beneath the vaulted ceilings with their magnificent frescoes and surrounded by the aromatic scent of herbs from the Tuscan countryside, you will be captivated by their resistible and extraordinary products that are known and acknowledged throughout the world. A real "top must see" amazing place. The tour continues with a walk in Borgo Ognissanti to end up with a delightful lunch in a typical Florentine "Trattoria" . After lunch you will discover with your guide the authentic district of the "Oltrarno": the Florence of the ancient workshops and traditions. Admire the beauty of churches, squares, monuments as well as the artisan shops, markets. Here, if you wish, you will have the opportunity to discover the wonderful Santo Spirito Monumental complex (cloister, refectory, chapter house, and sacristy), where to admire the only existing wooden sculpture of Michelangelo: a crucifix that he carved at the age of only 17 (. If the group will be with minus of 10 participants we can also arrange the visit of some of the extraordinary workshops where to admire local artisans at work, producing marvelous traditional handicrafts such as engravings, art prints, marble paper, enamel and silver objects.

FULL DAY - 30 September 2022

CHIANTI TOUR WITH WINE TASTING AND LUNCH

9am Departure from Grand Hotel Baglioni

Free time in Greve in Chianti

Typical Tuscan Lunch including starter, first course with truffle, tasting of 5 types of

pecorino cheese accompanied by honey and marmalade, Vin Santo and Cantucci,

grappa and coffee.

After Lunch return to Grand Hotel Baglioni

9am Departure from Florence (meeting point TBA) and through this enchanting journey you will discover one of the most suggestive areas of Tuscany: the Chianti Classico area. The first stop of the tour is in the picturesque medieval village of Greve in Chianti, considered the gateway to the Chianti territory and famous for the main square, a treasure of art, history and flavors. It will be wonderful to snoop in the typical shops and experience the lively atmosphere of the village! Left Greve in Chianti, you will reach a family-run estate, located in the heart of the Florentine area of Chianti Classico. Here the wines are crafted with a bio-sustainable focus, always showing the respect to the soil and the beautiful Tuscan countryside: enjoy fantastic wines and experience a true distilled of Tuscany! After that you will stop in a second boutique winery, where the family passion for the wine and Tuscan land, expresses itself in the excellent quality of its local products and its wines. Let yourself be embraced by the lovely atmosphere of both wineries, nestled in the vineyards, and by the flavor of their full-bodied wine accompanied by delightful local products. The experience in the second winery is enriched by an appetizing truffle-based lunch: the genuineness of the Tuscan ingredients is accompanied by the tasting of wines that exalt the flavours of each course and make for a merry mood around the table. After lunch return to Florence.