Tripudium

The green heart of Italy - South Tuscany and Umbria - Central Italy

"Unable to resist my eager desire... I came to the entrance of a great cavern and two contrary emotions arose in me, fear of the threatening dark cavern and desire to see whether there were any marvellous thing within it". Leonardo Da Vinci

Saturnia, Pitigliano, Sorano, Sovana, the pedestrian village of Civita di Bagnoregio, Orvieto, Montefiascone, Bolsena and Viterbo... this unique itinerary will take us to discover the incredibly beautiful “cities of tufa”, Etruscan and medieval centres built between deep volcanic gorges and craggy hillocks. Each of them is a jewel box of history, art, culture and gastronomy, that we'll discover through their picturesque alleys and mysterious underworld. A region of intriguing atmospheres, that in the Grand Tour represented one of the last stops on the way to Rome.

Our daily pleasures

In Orvieto we'll visit St Patrick’s well (a superb example of Renaissance engineering), the fascinating labyrinth of underground tunnels and caves and the majestic Duomo, that almost seems to rival with clouds.
If you like good wine and food, then, we can't miss a trip to Montefiascone, to taste the legendary EST EST EST wine.
The nearby Viterbo will astonish us with some of the most enchanting stately homes of Roman noble families of the 1500' with their unique gardens. We'll then relax in the natural thermal water pool of Saturnia or in Sorano's Terme In una notte stellata faremo una suggestiva passeggiata attorno alle mura di un antico borgo while a starlight promenade around the city walls will end our intense day.

If we feel like walking, we'll also venture through the so called "vie cave" or "hollow paths", 25 metre-deep passages escavated by nature in the rocks or choose quiter sightseeing activities, such as visiting the "botteghe" (shops) of local artisans or simply have the best "cappuccino" in a typical café.
For a worth remembering night we'll dine at Elvezio's, a phantasmagoric philosopher and cook, who's waiting for us in his far-away farm house in the green Tuscan forest, to tell us some of his life experiences.
The Tuscan cuisine of this region is characterised by exquisite recipes made from poor food, to offer you old and genuine flavours: in this region there are so many restaurants or osterie to choose from.
The "Grotte del Funaro" in Orvieto, which you see on the bottom-right, is a typical one, where hospitality is combined to a unique setting, great food, excellent wine, live classical music and Mrs Sandra's ability to make yourself feel at home.

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