Itinerary
Saturday – You’ll be picked up at the Florence airport around noon and driven to our villa. Once everyone has checked in, we'll make a trip to the COOP where you can stock your kitchen for the week. In the evening we’ll enjoy a group dinner at an area restaurant.
Sunday – After everyone has had breakfast, we’ll make the short drive to the village of Panzano. On the first Sunday of each month, the weekly town market held in Panzano is expanded to include artisan wares of all sorts. Basket weavers, honey producers, hand embroidered linen makers, boutique wineries and antique dealers set up booths to market their handmade goods. We’ll visit L’Antica Macelleria Cecchini, the butcher shop of the renowned Dario Cecchini. In the evening, we’ll make dinner in our apartments.
Monday - In the morning we’ll visit the showroom of the makers of the best ceramics in Tuscany, followed by a trip to a cashmere farm and lunch. In the evening, we’ll enjoy a group dinner at an area restaurant.
Tuesday - We’ll visit Pornanino early for a morning of picking olives, followed by lunch. In the afternoon, we’ll visit one of the area hill towns or a winery. In the evening, we’ll have dinner in an area restaurant.
Wednesday – We’ll depart after breakfast for Siena, where we’ll wander the streets of the medieval city, see the Duomo, watch the world go by at a cafe in the Piazza del Campo, or explore the shops. Lunch will be on your own. In the evening, we’ll have dinner at an area restaurant.
Thursday – We’ll depart after breakfast for San Gimignano, where we’ll visit the weekly market, wander the streets of the medieval city, have lunch in an Osteria or Trattoria and explore the shops. In the evening, we’ll have dinner at an area restaurant.
Friday - We’ll get an early morning start and head to the kitchen of a Chianti chef for a cooking class and meal. The hands-on course covers traditional, home-style Tuscan and Italian recipes cooked in a friendly atmosphere. Participants prepare a complete meal (5 or more recipes) including appetizers, a pasta dish, a vegetable or meat dish and dessert, using fresh, natural, local ingredients. Each course is accompanied by the wine which best complements it. Then we all eat together! In the evening, we’ll make a light dinner in our villa.
Saturday - After an early breakfast at the villa, we’ll pack up and leave for the Florence airport around 7:00AM.
Join us on an extraordinary Olive Harvest adventure to Franco Lombardi’s farm, Azienda Agricola Pornanino, in the Chianti region of Tuscany. We’ve organized a cultural and culinary event for those who want to participate in the fall harvesting of olives and see the production of this year’s olive oil. So come along and experience the real thing in Italian food and wine.
Olive Harvest
The Olive Harvest Tour