PISTOIA AND SVIZZERA PESCIATINA

1° Day Mosumanno Terme

Late morning arrival and lunch in hotel. Destination Monsummano Terme in the afternoon, where your first stop will be at the Madonna di Fontenuova Sanctuary, then on to the Slitti chocolate factory where you will have the pleasure of tasting their excellent coffee and famous chocolate. Next destination is Villa Rospigliosi in Spicchio (Lamporecchio). Although the plans of the villa were drawn by the best architect of the time, Gianlorenzo Bernini, its actual construction was handed over to his best student Mattia de Rossi. In the evening return to hotel and evening meal.

2° Day Pistoia - Montecatini

After breakfast in the hotel the first destination is Pistoia, where you will remain for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. 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. Back to the hotel for lunch. In the afternoon, destination Montecatini Terme, where you can visit some of the thermal baths, among which the “Tettuccio”, built by Pietro Leopoldo and decorated with frescos done by Basilio Cascella and Galileo Chini. A visit to the Palazzo Comunale, once stables belonging to the grand duke, where there are frescos done by the liberty artist Chini. Next destination Montecatini Alto, where you get on the ancient funicular (fee to be paid by group)and go up to the fortified part of the town dating back to the early Middle Ages; due to its important strategic position on the Via Francigena, for many years Florence and Lucca fought over its ownership. Back to Montecatini Terme by funicular in the late afternoon, then back to the hotel in Pistoia.

3° Day Collodi - Pescia

After breakfast in the hotel ,departure for Collodi with a stop at Villa Garzoni, a baroque garden built by the architect Ottaviano Diodati, embellished in 1700 with statues and creative waterworks (entrance fee to be paid by group). You will also visit Collodi with Pinocchio’s park, where you will get the chance to relive the puppet’s adventures (entrance fee to be paid by group). Next stop Pescia, where you will have lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon a visit to where the flower market used to be, then on to the Church of San Francesco, of Gothic origin, where you can admire the “San Francesco” by Bonaventura Berlinghieri (1215), and then on to the Dome, rebuilt in baroque style. If there is time to spare there will be a short visit to Pietrabuona, where you can get any type of information on how paper is made.