We plan on visiting a few vineyards in Tuscany while we are staying in Umbria!
We want to visit these vineyards the weekend after the wedding, and we plan to split these trips between 2 days.
Saturday, May 16th will be focused around the bigger ($$$) wineries (i.e. Antinori).
Sunday, May 17th will be focused on boutique wineries ($).
If you would like to join us for one (or both!) of these days, please state so on the questionnaire, and we will be sure to add you to the vineyard excursion list and report back with finalized plans & prices.
PLEASE NOTE: This is completely optional, and we promise we will not be offended if you prefer to sightsee elsewhere instead of coming to the vineyards! We want everyone to enjoy their trip to the fullest, so please don't hesitate to make a decision based on what you would like to do.
Lake Trasimeno is located extremely close to our villa, in the green heart of Umbria, amidst beds of reeds and charming white water lilies. It’s a true natural paradise home to wild ducks, cormorants, kites and kingfishers. Beyond the downward slope, gentle hills form the backdrop to the lake, along with sporadic woods and sunflower and corn fields, vineyards and olive groves. Agriculture here is still carried out following traditional techniques.
Several towns are located on Lake Trasimeno. Some of them directly face the lake while others are nearby and are affected by the charm and attraction of this sheet of water.
For example, Castiglione del Lago is located on a limestone promontory, above the ruins of several Etruscan tombs. The castle can also be admired from here, as well as the medieval walls of Palazzo Ducale, which is connected by a local pathway to Rocca del Leone fortress, one of the most important examples of Umbrian military architecture.
The narrowest alley in all of Italy is situated in Città della Pieve, a peaceful and characteristics medieval village once also inhabited by the Etruscans and Romans. The birthplace of artist Pietro Vannucci (also known as the Perugino), this town is home to several of the artist’s works of art, including his Madonna with Child, which is kept in the cathedral of SS. Gervasio e Protasio, and his magnificent fresco Adoration of the Wise Men in Palazzo della Corgna, a marvelous exclusive residence.
You can read more about the incredible town of Panicale on the "Italy" page, but because the heart of the town is so close to our villa, it would be a lovely excursion to explore its medieval history, architecture, and not to mention it's amazing FOOD!
About an hour away from the villa, Val d'Orcia fuses art, landscape and ecosystem in one geographical space, and is the expression of a series of marvelous natural characteristics. It is also the result of and testament to the people that has long-inhabited it. In fact, according to UNESCO this Valley is an exceptional exemplar of the way in which a natural setting was redesigned during the Renaissance (14th-15th Centuries), reflecting the ideals of good governance in the Italian City-State. Additionally, these splendid localities were celebrated by the painters of the Sienese School, which flourished between the 13th and 15th Centuries.
The images of Val d'Orcia, and particularly the reproductions of their landscapes, in which they depict citizens living in harmony with nature, became icons for the Renaissance Age. A perfect example is Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s fresco cycle “Allegories and Effects of Good and Bad Government” in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico from c. 1338-39. The cycle is not only a masterpiece in artistic terms, but a work that goes above and beyond merely artistic value: it transcends such, also comprising architectonic, environmental and social themes.
Gently-rolling hills covered in the dense vegetation of vineyards, olive groves, cypresses, beech and chestnut trees alternate with Medieval habitations, rural villas and castles boasting impervious towers – all of which is diffused in a tranquilly-isolated nature. This is the scenario that is laid out before the eyes of the visitor to Val d’Orcia – just as evocative in real life as it is when depicted by the Sienese Masters.
Five-million years of geological history have left their mark on this territory that, today, is abundant in plant and animal species. Even the deposits of lava from volcanoes no longer active – such as Mounts Radicofani and Amiata – have contributed to the delineations and details of the area; the lava, hardened, gave form to those dark stones known as trachytes.
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHJs8TeZSzo