Gardens and Grand Estates of Tuscany

From 30May11 to 05Jun11 and from 12Sep11 to 18Sep11 Villa La Massa invites you on a fascinating journey through the grand villas and gardens of Tuscany. Over the course of 6 days, the dynamic duo of Armand de Foucault and Andrea Ghiottonelli, a Frenchman and a Florentine, both specialized in History of Gardens (Hortibus – Paris/Florence), will be your hosts as you tour magnificent estates to learn of the raison d’etre behind their lush landscaping as well as the history of the art, architecture and the place that surrounds them.

Rates

• The above rates include everything specified in the programme except for transportation to/from
  airport or activities not mentioned in the detailed itinerary and meals not stated on official itinerary;
  additions or substitutions to group meals; incidentals, tips, and gratuities.
• The organizer, Villa La Massa (part of the Villa d’Este Group), reserves the right to make
  substitutions to the itinerary with similar activities/venues as those described in the original official
  programme.

Itinerary

DAY 1

Arrive at the Hotel Villa La Massa and check-in.

7:30 PM – Welcome cocktail in the Bar Mediceo

8:00 PM – Dinner at “Il Verrocchio” restaurant, Executive Chef Andrea Quagliarella

DAY 2 – PALACES AND VILLAS NEAR FLORENCE

9:00 AM – Breakfast

10:00 AM – Departure for Villa Capponi (private residence).
Built in the 15th century and most recently the Florentine residence of the Queen Mother of England, this estate boasts beautiful terraces of green with breathtaking views of Florence, secret gardens with hanging ancient wisteria and a fine stone lily-pool. The most recent landscape design was done by English landscape architect Cecil Pinsent. The ‘gardener’ that will open the gate for us will showcase where he cultivates the thousands of floral varieties found throughout the gardens.

11:30 AM – Visit to Palazzo Corsini (private residence).
Located in the center of Florence, and built in classic baroque style, this home is currently owned by Countess Miari, who will welcome us for our visit. The home was originally built in the early 18th century when a member of the Corsini family was elected Pope in Rome, to host him on his visits to Florence.

1:00 PM – Lunch at Villa Gamberaia with owners, Luigi Zalum and his daughter, Camilla.

3:00 PM – Visit to the Villa.
Set on a hillside overlooking Florence and the Arno valley, this villa is a favorite of landscape architects and garden historians and is renowned for its marvelous gardens. Built in 1610, its unique architecture combines elements of both city and country living. At the end of the 19th century, the Romanian Princess Jeanne Ghyka began the transformation of the old parterre de broderie into beautiful flower-bordered pools, enclosed at the southern end by an elegant cypress arcade, while the following owner, the American-born Mathilda Cass Ledyard, Baroness von Ketteler, introduced the wide box borders and topiary forms that still give the parterre its distinctive architectonic effect. It is believed that the sculptures found throughout the gardens were works by Princess Ghyka, who was educated at the School of Fine Arts in Paris.

5:30 PM – Return to the Hotel.

8:00 PM – Dinner at a traditional Chianti trattoria.

DAY 3 – PALACES AND VILLAS OF FLORENCE

9:00 AM – Breakfast

10:00 AM – Villa Medici di Castello and La Petraia
The largest of the Medici homes in the hills surrounding Florence, these villas offer an opportunity to review the rich history of the Medici family. Duke Cosimo 1 gifted La Petraia to his son, Francesco 1. Its gardens offer spacious terraces with wonderful views. The villa served as the royal residence in the late 19th century when Florence was the capital of Italy and King Vittorio Emanuele II lived here. The garden was designed by Buontalenti during the middle of the 16th century and was embellished with citrus trees and fish ponds later by Cardinal Ferdinando, owner of the Villa Medici in Rome (today home of the French Academy in Rome).

1:30 PM – Lunch in the center of Florence and leisure time.
A guide will be at available to tour the centre of Florence (from the Duomo to the Piazza Signoria).

5:30 PM – Return to the Hotel.

8:30 PM – Gala dinner at Palazzo Corsini (private residence) with Princess Corsini (Black Tie attire).
After the end of the Medici dynasty in 1737, the Corsini became the most important family in Florence. They owned 2 large palazzos, one in the city on the banks of the Arno for official events and the other their private residence, with lush gardens, near Porta al Prato. After visiting these gardens, we will be welcomed into the estate for dinner in one of the many rooms which are rich with art and furniture of the Barberini collection. The garden offers three examples of ‘limonaia’, lemon orchards, where throughout the winter lemons are gathered and placed into the hundreds of vases located throughout the garden.

DAY 4 – VILLAS OF SIENA AND SAN GIMIGNIANO

9:00 AM – Breakfast

10:00 AM – Villa Cusona (private residence)
Owned by Prince and Princess Strozzi, descendants of the renowned Francesco Guicciardini, author of the History of Italy (from 1492-1515), whose secretary was Macchiavelli. The villa was the site for intellectual exchange for the political minds of the time and the attention given to its gardens is largely attributed to the grandfather of the palazzo’s current owner, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy under King Vittorio Emanuele II. The garden design was completed in 1910. 1:00 PM : Lunch in San Gimignano, known as “San Gimignano delle belle torri”, for the towers that grace its skyline

3:30 PM – Castello Celsa near Siena
The original garden was designed by Baldassare Peruzzi, who also did Villa Farnesina in Rome. The villa underwent a grand renovation in the 19th century beginning its transformation from imposing stone fortress to private villa. From the pool it is possible to admire the panorama over the valley and the magnificent path lined
with cypress trees that have been pruned to create the effect of an undulating parapet. This path, which also ends in a large fish pool, is the only completed section of the grand, but unfinished Baroque garden.

5:00 PM – Leisure time in Siena
A guide will be available for the visit to the Biblioteca Piccolomini in the Cathedral of Siena (paintings of the Pinturicchio)

7:30 PM – Return to the Hotel.

8:30 PM – Dinner at Il Verrocchio with tasting of Frescobaldi wines.

DAY 5 – VILLAS OF LUCCA

9:00 AM – Breakfast.

10:00 AM – Villa Torrigiani Santini (private residence)
Located in the town of Camigliano in Lucca, the villa was built in the 16th century and bought later by Nicola Santini, who rebuilt the south facade in the Baroque style at the end of the 17th century, probably in imitation of the architecture of Versailles where he was ambassador to the Republic of Lucca. A row of magnificent cypress trees complements the façade of the villa, but the heart of the park is the Nymphaeum of Winds, named for the statues personifying the winds, where the paths converge. There are many ‘giochi d’acqua’ by means of which the marquis would bemuse unwary guests, chasing them into the garden from the upper terrace. Once there, they would try to shelter in the Temple of Flora, only to find themselves soaked by water pouring from the domed ceiling. You will be greeted by the Principessa Vittoria Colonna di Stigliano.

1:00 PM – Lunch at Fattoria Maionchi, which regularly hosted noted tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

3:30 PM – Villa Reale di Marlia (private residence).
The residence of Elisa Bonaparte when she was Princess of Lucca and prior to when she became the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, she lovingly transformed its grounds in neoclassical style. The garden is the largest of the region. Left in disrepair for decades, it was restored when the home was purchased by the Pecci Blunt family, the last aristocratic family to provide a Pope to Rome. The villa played host to illustrious members of society and heads of state, no doubt as a result of the Pecci-Blunt’s connections to New York in the 1930’s where they, along with John D. Rockefeller founded the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art).

5:00 PM – Villa Grabau (private residence).
We will be greeted by its owner, Francesca Grabau. The park possesses an extraordinary citrus garden with an orangerie dating back to the 17th century and a traditional English garden containing numerous exotic species.

7:00 PM – Return to the Hotel.

8:00 PM – Evening at Leisure

DAY 6 – VILLAS OF FLORENCE

9:00 AM – Breakfast.

10:00 AM – Villa La Pietra (private residence).
We will be greeted by head gardener, Dick Dakin Alliot, who will take us on a tour of perhaps one of the best examples of the Anglo-Florentine estate. Originally built in the 15th century and at one point owned by the Capponi family (see Day 2), its garden was redesigned in the English style at the beginning of the 20th century, by the Acton family. They, along with many other English flocked into Tuscany, to feed their passion for Renaissance art. So numerous was the Anglo Saxon population that Protestant churches and English cemeteries began to arise throughout. The gardens are full of statuary by Orazio Marinali from Vicenza and Antonio Bonazza from Padua.

1:30 PM – Lunch in Florence in a traditional trattoria and leisure time.
A guide will be available for those who wish to tour the Uffizi or Palatine Gallery (please confirm your choice upon arrival).

6:00 PM – Return to the Hotel.

7:30 PM – Departure to Badia a Passignano and dinner in the restaurant of the Antinori Family.

DAY 7 – DEPARTURES

9:00 AM – Breakfast.