The backyard of Tuscany: Artimino, Malmantile, Caruso and other medieval villages

• Departure from your accommodation at the Villa Pandolfini estate, via the villa's private forest full of native fauna and flora.
• We pass a small village, where we see an ancient villa which was once a religious and artistic retreat. On the horizon, you can spy the Florentine cathedral, the Duomo
• Spy typical farm houses, ancient Villas, church steeples peeping out from ancient villages nestled in the valleys below.
• Stop for coffee or refreshments at a typical little village, mingling amongst the locals.
• Follow an antique wall of a medieval castle of a hamlet village, passing by vineyards and ruins, and tabernacles nestled in ancient stone walls.
• Stop for a wine tasting at a top Tuscan vineyard, and also experience the estate's extra virgin olive oil.
• Continue on with an easy downhill passage through a typical Tuscan bush-track, amongst the famed cypress trees.
• Pass through medieval villages.
• Stop for a tour of a hand-made ceramic factory.
• Pass over a tiny ancient bride across the Arno river and see where one of Tuscany's top wine producer bottles their famed wine.
• Put some effort in to climb a steep rocky path towards a medieval arch.
• Visit the site of Etruscan tombs.
• Pass by ancient villas in one of the oldest wine regions, including a famed Medici Villa known for its 100 Chimneys.
• Visit an ancient church and abbey.
• Spot well-known Tuscan towns on the horizon.
• Arrive at our destination, one of the region's top restaurants, where you will stop for a delicious and well-earned lunch!

• Starting out from one of Florence's most monumental piazzas, that of Santa Croce, we head to the Arno river, and head up and up to the Piazzale Michelangelo.
• We follow along the Rampe del Poggi, you walk along to the Porta San Niccol, built in 1324 to serve as one of the entry portals into the Florence city centre, and the only portal that has not been shortened but remains steadfastly tall as it was originally created to be.
• Heading south, we go to an ancient hilly zone where towns have existed thoughout the ages.
• Spy ancient churches, visit typical villages out of the city centre and see the stunning Tuscan landscape in all its glory.
• Follow along anicent roads, along side ancient stone walls, towards the Impruneta area.
• We take the road less travelled, to Impruneta itself, famed for its production of terracotta (which translates to 'cooked earth').

• Fiesole is a charming little town which sits, perched on a Tuscan hilltop, just 6 kilometres from Florence's historical city centre. And yet, it feels a world away from the charming buzz of Tuscany's historical capital city.
• Today we start out here, in the village whose origins date back nearly 800 or more years B.C., to the Etruscan period. This is where Roman ruins lie scattered on the landscape, where Florence sits, dazzling, on the horizon. Within Fiesole itself, Etruscan tombs and walls, Roman baths, a Temple, Medieval churches and other such remnants of the past confront you as the cobble-stoned streets pass by underfoot. Narrow streets hug the hillside, and on one spectacular curve is a Roman amphitheatre still in use to this day.
• Walking along these roads of history, we pass through the typical and historical parts of Fiesole, such as Il Bargellino, and Podere La Cipressa, as we spiral down the hillside. The road flicks left and right, down and around, only to bring you upwards again as you traverse the natural curves of Mother Nature.
• We pass a church which was built almost 1000 years ago as we go by the church of San Lorenzo, and then go by the Castello di Vicigliata.
• We shade ourselves along the cypress-lined roads, the crunch of leaves underfoot as we crunch through the forest as we cut through the countryside.
• When we return to the sealed roads again, we see typical Tuscan houses, little churches and other typical scenes from the charming Italian life.
• Soon we will be heading towards Maiano. Here there are olive groves, wine producers, and charming old-fashioned restaurants whose menus are a veritable history book of the local cuisine.
• Pines, cypress and oak trees stand sentinel at every curve, and here even a few caves to spy into!
• Where we have had a relatively easy walk, we now push you a little harder for a short while, as we continue off the beaten track, on ancient paths worn by passages that date back through the ages.
• But it is not long until we find ourselves back at our starting point, in Fiesole's Piazza Mino.
• This starting point also becomes our finishing point for today's walk.

• In the heart of the Chianti zone, we walk a lovely lasso-formed path through the countryside, passing typical villages and seeing the real Italian life away from the tourist books.
• Cross near-forgotten bridges, and touch the past as we visit ancient monuments.
• We cross valleys and ancient villages, see the incredible forests and ancient monuments.
• See a 7th century church famed for its architectual elegence and fine glass work and walk by a late-Renaissance convent.
• Walk past a stunning Tuscan Villa where Chianti wine is produced in the 30 hectares of vineyards, along with an olive grove.
• Follow remote tracks through the forest, see villas, farmhouses, olive groves, vineyards, spy the lines of cypress trees, remote churches, an ancient cemetary and quaint bridges set in the uncontaminated countryside on our way to the villages of Rignana and Badia a Passignano in the heart of the Chianti area.
• We see a Benedictine Monastery founded in 890, and Abbey built in the year 1049, and the Church of St Michael Archangel which was completed in the 13th century along with its bell tower.
• Pass by the tiny Cappella di San Giovanni Gualberto, a chapel dedicated to the Saint for which it was named, Giovanni Gualberto.
• Visit San Donato in Poggio, an important central point during medieval times, contained within its city walls that date back some 700 years.
• Afternoon free time.

• Today our Tuscany walking tour starts out in the lovely area of Podere San Maria just near the slightly larger town of Gallina.
• An interesting point to note is that term, Podere means farm or estate, whilst the word Gallina translates to the somewhat unusual place name of Hen!
• We step on, following the single roads that cut through the waves of grassland, and arrive at Bagno Vignoni - thermal spas that Lorenzo dei Medici and Siena's Saint Caterina were healed by these naturally warm waters that you have the chance to dip your hands and feet into with us on this day!
• Immersed in the beauty of Tuscany, walking amongst the forest, and following paths and tracks paced out by centuries of locals passing by, forget the stresses of daily life and enjoy the tranquillity of nature and the simple pleasures as walk through the stunning countryside to San Quirico d'Orcia. This village is in the Siena region of Tuscany. 14 small towers, often incorporated into the structure of newer buildings, and some parts of the outer city petitions still stand to this day, reaching out from its historical medieval past. This region is enchanting for its rolling planes that seem to curve like a tumultuous sea spread out over the panorama. The cypress trees spear up out of the ground and you really feel a return to nature and to the past and the pleasure of simplicity. Grape vines stave the fields and olive trees form gangs across the land.
• Our final destination for today's walk is Pienza, the birthplace of the much adored Pope Pio II. With over 20 monuments, churches and other sight-worthy architectural points of note, this charming Tuscan town marks the end of today's walking tour.
• You have some time in Pienza to enjoy a cheese tasting or two in this village famed for its amazing array of delicious cheeses, and also a well-earned lunch!