Itinerary

Saturday

Pickup at 11:00 in Florence at the Porta Romana, the ancient door in the old city wall facing toward Rome.

12:30 Lunch in the five hundred year old Granaio d’Anqua, a light filled room that once stored grains in the magical hidden village of Anqua, owned for a thousand years by a line of counts.

3:00 Check into your room, unpack, explore the grounds, make reservations for massages or take a swim in the villa pool.

7:30: Welcoming dinner at nearby Ristorante Nazionale in the heart of Radicondoli.
Sunday

8:00 – 10:00 Breakfast at home–enjoy tarts and breads fresh baked in a wood fired oven; local jams, honeys, cheeses and cured meats, delivered to your villa kitchen along with your juice and coffee.

10:00 – 1:00 Cooking lesson #1 with chef Francesco Costagli in the Granaio d’Anqua.

1:00-3:00 Lunch with local wines

3:00 – 5:00 Free time for relaxing or hiking.

5:00 – 7:00 Visit Monteriggioni, a charming medieval walled village where you can shop, enjoy a gelato and or hike along the top of the old city wall.

7:30 Dinner at La Pergola Pizzeria in Radicondoli.  Take in the breathtaking views from the terrace as you sample Tommaso’s scrumptious pizzas.
Monday

8:00 – 10:00 Breakfast at home–enjoy tarts and breads fresh baked in a wood fired oven; local jams, honeys, cheeses and cured meats, delivered to your villa kitchen along with your juice and coffee.

10:00 – 11:00 Optional hike with Italian lesson. Learn useful words and phrases while working off last night’s pasta.

11:00 – 3:00  Take a tour of the solar panel fields and greenhouses built by Anqua’s mega watt generating Count Andrea Pannochieschi d’Elci,  then enjoy lunch with the count in his five hundred year old formal dining room.

3:00 – 7:00 Free time to explore the village, nap, swim, have a massage or go for a hike.

7:00: Aperitivo in the garden followed by a classic Tuscan dinner in the Granaio d’ Anqua prepared by our true Tuscan mama, Clizia Costagli.
Tuesday

8:00 – 9:00 Breakfast at home–enjoy tarts and breads fresh baked in a wood fired oven; local jams, honeys, cheeses and cured meats, delivered to your villa kitchen along with your juice and coffee.

Option 1:

11:00 AM – 9:00 PM  Enjoy a full day in the company of one of Italy’s top chefs: Gaetano Trovato, whose renowned Arnolfo Restaurant in nearby Colle Val d’Elsa holds two Michelins stars. We will begin the day with brunch and a backstage tour of the kitchen, wine cellar and hotel rooms of this Relais & Chateaux establishment, then visit the crystal factory that makes the wine glasses designed by Gaetano’s sommelier brother, Giovanni. In the afternoon, our cooking lesson will begin and culminate in an exclusive meal in Gaetano and Giovanni’s elegant townhouse dining room overlooking the Tuscan hills.

Option 2:

10:00 – 1:00 Cooking lesson with world famous chef Gaetano Trovato in the kitchen of Radicondoli’s beloved Ristorante Nazionale. Learn from the maestro in Maria Rosa and Manuela’s kitchen in an intimate and fun setting.

1:00-3:00 Enjoy lunch with Gaetano.

3:00 – 6:00 Free time for hiking or relaxing at the villa.

6:30 – 10:00 Wine tasting with Luigi Pizzolato followed by a light dinner in Granaio d’Anqua.
Wednesday

8:00 – 10:00 Breakfast at home–enjoy tarts and breads fresh baked in a wood fired oven; local jams, honeys, cheeses and cured meats, delivered to your villa kitchen along with your juice and coffee.

10:00 – 1:00 Cooking lesson with Emanuela Giua and Marco Garossi in their beautiful farmhouse kitchen. Gather wild herbs and vegetables from the grounds and gardens and make fresh herbal teas to enjoy during the lesson. Learn to make handmade pici, a Tuscan fat spaghetti; savory tart filled with fresh picked greens and local sheep’s millk ricotta; cantuccini and many more seasonal dishes.

1:00 – 3:00 Enjoy a leisurely lunch of the dishes we have prepared Emanuela and Marco’s rustic dining room, accompanied with their own olive oil and wine.

4:00 – 10:00 Visit the famous Tuscan city of Siena for shopping and self-touring, then gather for dinner in a local trattoria.
Thursday

8:00 – 10:00 Breakfast at home–enjoy tarts and breads fresh baked in a wood fired oven; local jams, honeys, cheeses and cured meats, delivered to your villa kitchen along with your juice and coffee.

9:30 Depart for a local organic sheep farm where you will learn to make several types of pecorino cheese with proprietor Giovanni Porcu. We will have a cheese tasting  in the farmhouse and take a tour of the farm with the shepherd.

12:30 – 2:30 Enjoy a delicious lunch with the Porcu family prepared by Giovanni’s wife, Giovanna Porcu.

3:00 – 5:00 Free time for hiking, napping, massages by Cristina Martini or shopping and exploring in the village.

5:00 – 10:00 Learn to make authentic tortellini Bolognese with chef Fulvio Tomasetta in a fun and spirited evening that will culminate in our farewell dinner and presentation of certificates of completion.
Friday

8:00 – 10:00 Breakfast at home–enjoy tarts and breads fresh baked in a wood fired oven; local jams, honeys, cheeses and cured meats, delivered to your villa kitchen along with your juice and coffee.

11:00 Depart for Florence. We will drop you off at the Santa Maria Novella train station in the center of Florence, where you can book a train for anytime after 1:30 PM or take a taxi to your hotel. We can also take you to the airport with prior arrangements.

More information from Il Campo Cucina:

• Company profile, experience, and history
• View all of their trips