Lucca, Villa Lucchese and Wine Tasting

                 Departure from the pier by A/C Deluxe coach, and driving along the Tuscany countryside  after about  45 minutes  guests will arrive at  Lucca . Lucca was colonised by Romans in the 2c BC and it has retained the plan of a Roman military camp, with the two principal streets perpendicular to one another. During the Middle ages a complicated system of narrow alleys and oddly-shaped squares was added to the original network.

                          Meet the local guide and start the visit to  the beautiful Cathedral of San Martino, which houses the Volto Santo ( Holy visage ) which is a miraculous Crucifix . Then  Piazza Anfiteatro ( the Roman Amphitheatre ) which today is a circle of touristy shops and the street’s  level  is nine feet above the original arena floor .the only bits of surviving Roman stonework are a few arches on the northwest exterior. And you are in via Filungo , the main pedestrian street. Along the way you will get a taste of Lucca’s rich past, including several elegant , century –old storefronts.      

                           From here you walk towards Torre Guinigi crowned with trees which rises above the great façade with gothic windows ; some of the bays are blind. Then you see   the outside of the Church of San Michele and San Frediano.  After some free time people will meet in Piazzale Verdi, to leave Lucca by coach   to go to a typical Tuscany farmhouse where they will visit the wine cellars or the gardens with olive trees  and then will enjoy a typical lunch.

                  Then, they will return to the coach  and after a short ride, about 15-min. drive, they will reach Villa Torrigiani, one of the most important and beautiful villas in the "lucchese" territory, with beautiful fountains and trees.    Here they will visit the Villa with a local guide , and then will have time to stroll around the garden on their own. 

                     The villa and the park , built at the beginning of 1500, became summer residence of the powerful Buonvisi family. In 1636 the villa was bought by the Marquis N. Santini, who started the transformation of the park with the big ornamental pools reflecting the new baroque façade and the creation of a new garden with its water games which became the decorative theme of the internal affresco’s of Pietro Scorzini.   Meet with the escort and departure back to Leghorn.