LUCCA: OIL AND TREAUSURES

1° Day Pistoia

Arrival at hotel for lunch. In the afternoon departure for Pistoia. You will meet up with our guide, if booked, in Piazza San Francesco, and the first stop will be the Church of Sant’Andrea, famous for its pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, then the façade of the Ospedale del Ceppo with its characteristic glazed terracotta frieze by Giovanni della Robbia. You will also get to admire the Piazza del Duomo, around which are the most important buildings of the town (Council, Palazzo Pretorio, Campanile, Duomo, Battistero, Palazzo dei Vescovi). Next stop is a visit to the Palazzo Pretorio with its sixteenth century stone bench where laws were passed. A visit to the Dome with its important silver altar, built in honour of San Jacopo, the patron saint of Pistoia, then the Church of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas, and the medieval Square of the room, home to a lively market. In the evening, return to hotel for evening meal and accommodation.

2° Day Farm, oil mill, wine cellars - Ville Lucchesi

After breakfast in hotel, departure for Lucca, where you will go on a tour of the beautiful ancient part of the city entirely surrounded by a Renaissance wall; visit to the Dome of San Martino, very popular among the pilgrims along the Via “Francigena”, Piazza Napoleone, the impressive medieval streets like Via Filungo and Via degli Antiquari, the Basilica of San Frediano, Piazza Anfiteatro, a walk along the curtains and ramparts of the sixteenth century wall, Piazza San Michele with the beautiful Romanesque church bearing the same name. In the months of November and December the Desco is celebrated: cuisine and information of Lucca on show, wine tasting and selling in the squares in Lucca. Next stop the Farm in Capannori then lunch in a restaurant. Next stop one of the Ville Lucchesi , an excellent example of the typical elegant residence of an important noble family of the Republic of Lucca. Villa Torrigiani Santini: a magnificent baroque villa owned by the ambassador of Lucca at the court of Versailles. Tour of the gardens and interior still fully furnished. In the late afternoon return to hotel for evening meal and accommodation.

3° Day Florence

After breakfast in the hotel, departure for Florence, the capital city of Tuscan art, where you will visit: Piazza Duomo,Piazza della Signoria, galleria degli Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio, Campanile di Giotto, Ponte Vecchio. Lunch in a restaurant.