Award winning Italian-Canadian artist Christopher Webb and Victoria Foulger lead the group through the eternal city of Roma and then set off to some of Italy’s most picturesque areas of Umbria and Tuscany. This unique tour will allow you to experience some of central Italy’s less travelled but monumentally gorgeous cities, towns and villages. Experience these magical lands from a passionate perspective. Amazing landscapes and locales. Unique dining.  Even with our busy schedule there will be opportunities to wander off and enjoy a bit of time on your own. This exclusive tours, as always, will be limited to a maximum of 16 participants. 

Whether you are arriving from Europe or an overnight flight from North America (or any other part of the world) let us be the first to say Benvenuto! After touching down in Rome (or arriving at Termini Train Station), you will make your way to our beautiful hotel located in downtown Rome near the Botanical Gardens.

Get yourself settled, explore the area, or just sit in the quiet of the hotel’s large rooftop patio. In the evening we all get together to meet, share a glass of wine, and talk about our adventures to come.

How do you take in a city like Rome in just one day? Well, just follow Christopher & Victoria and you will cover more than 2000 years of history with a few coffee and gelato stops along the way. Trastevere will be our starting point, then across the oldest remaining foot-bridge in Rome, across the Tiber, through the Campo di Fiori, up the main street to the monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle II. To the left is Trajan’s Column and the Triano district. Straight ahead and to the right is the Roman Forum (where, in fact all roads officially lead!) Then we breeze by the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum. Take a breath, because this is all before lunch!

After continuing into the centre of Rome and seeing sights like the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain our late afternoon turns into evening. We meet for dinner and replenish calories. This is our busiest touring day of the trip. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we cover as much as we can within that time frame!

After a leisurely breakfast, our driver picks us up at our hotel and we take the scenic road to one of our favourite gardens in the province of Viterbo, Sacro Bosco. The Sacro Bosco, also known as the Park of the Monsters for the presence of grotesque sculptures scattered in a surreal landscape, is the oldest sculpture park in the modern world.

In the early afternoon, we drive directly to our Villa, tucked away in the Tuscan landscape just south of Florence. Once you are settled in, we will have a welcome glass of something local and then we sit down to a beautiful, locally-inspired meal.

* Dinner included

Today we make our way to Lucca, a must-see town just West of Firenze. This city is famous for its Renaissance-era city walls that have remained intact while so many other Tuscan towns saw theirs destroyed in past centuries. Extraordinarily, as the city grew and modernized, the walls that surrounded the old town were maintained and today are used as a pedestrian promenade – perfect for a stroll or cycling. There is a lot to see within a relatively small area, so it is easy to take in all of the sites. Puccini anyone? There are many places for lunch which we leave to your discretion.

We make our way back to the villa for a quick freshen-up before we visit an organic winery just 15 minutes drive away. During the tour, they explain how they produce their wine and organic olive oils. A superb location with food that comes from their organic gardens.

* Light meal and wine tasting included

We get to Florence early to enjoy the morning light to meet up with our local and highly regarded tour guide. He will walk us around Florence, introducing you to his city by walking you through its main squares and streets and by bringing its unique Medieval and Renaissance heritage to life. Relive moments in history, learn about social and societal influences (history will come alive, and you’ll get to know and learn about the factors behind the events) as you observe impressive towers and palaces, the Cathedral and churches, bridges, monuments and astonishing artworks.

We end the guided tour and break for lunch. After lunch, and for those who are interested, we will make our way to visit the Boboli Gardens. Located directly behind Pitti Palace, the Medici family established the garden layout, essentially an outdoor museum populated by ancient and Renaissance statues.

Or, you can choose to spend this part of the afternoon shopping, exploring, or just find a quiet corner of the city and watch the world go by. We will meet at a designated point and drive back to the villa to enjoy our evening meal.

* Dinner included

This morning we take our time to leave the Villa but when we do we venture to the famed small town of San Gimignano. This walled, medieval hill-top town is known for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses. We will have time for a little lunch and wander around. In the mid-afternoon we re-group at our Villa before heading out to dinner.

Although it is not one of our included meals, this evening we have a reservation in one of the most wonderful restaurants in all of Italy. This generationally, tiny, family run spot is tucked away in the hills of the Chianti region.

Although we are reluctantly saying arrivederci to our first Villa, there is so much more ahead. 

Today we are stopping at the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore. Located between the gullies and the hills of the Crete Senesi (which refers to an area of the Italian region of Tuscany immediately to the south of Siena), we find an original and uninterrupted reference from over the centuries of the Benedictine Congregation of Santa Maria di Monte Oliveto. Easily recognizable from the road, it appears as a complex of red brick buildings that peeks out between the yellow of the Crete and a luxuriant garden.  The monumental complex is a set of buildings built between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, preceded by a medieval building with a drawbridge that was the entrance to the monastic enclosure. 

Today the monks make it possible to visit the abbey in specific ways, with a splendid inlaid wooden choir inside, the monumental refectory, still used today, the large cloister frescoed with the stories of San Benedetto, the ancient library, the furnishings and the tools of the pharmacy, the chapter house, now an exhibition space, the garden with chapels, the cellar and the herbalist's shop where it is possible to know the products of the lands cultivated by the monks.  We will enjoy a guided tour and a picnic lunch in these beautiful grounds.

Leaving the abbey, we make our way to the second Villa, which is an experience all of its own. The views, the grounds, the hosts: we are in the sweet spot of La Dolce Vita.  

* Tour and lunch included
* 4 course meal included, plus an alcoholic apperativo

It has been a destination for pilgrims around the world. Assisi is best known as the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi — patron saint of Italy and founder of the Franciscan order. Assisi's main attraction is the 13th-century Basilica di San Francesco, which contains the sacred relics of Francis and beautiful frescoes of his life which are attributed to the Renaissance master Giotto. We then take a small detour to one of the less visited sites of Assisi: The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which includes the Porziuncola, the most sacred place of the Franciscan Order. St. Francis of Assisi died here and the small, original church looks tiny in the middle of this gigantic place of worship!

As we approach our villa, our hosts will be putting on the final touches of a light 4 course meal for us to enjoy.

* 4 course meal included, plus an alcoholic apperativo

Every tour we take we try to make it better. One of the things we hear every time is, “Can we please have a whole day at the Villa in Umbria.” Yes. Yes we can.

Just to ensure that we still have a few incredible things to do to add to your Italian experience, we have arranged a group lunch and a wine tasting with a wonderful sommelier!

In the meantime, take a walk to a nearby village. Visit the church just down the road. Have a glass of wine. Find a quiet place to read. Lounge by the infinity pool and enjoy the views. Have a glass of wine. Go for a run with Christopher. Play a few games of bocce, or, if you want, just sit back and enjoy a glass of wine. Dinner is at the Villa tonight.

* Wine tasting & lunch included
* 4 course meal included, plus an alcoholic apperativo

We begin our day by taking the road less travelled to an organic olive oil farm, and visiting their 'Museo Dell'Olio'. This place is renowned for its organic olive oil and Orvieto Classico organic wines. We will be given a tour of the museum and shown how they make olive oil, and all this is followed by an olive oil tasting and light lunch.

From here, we head to a beautiful place very close to our villa, the small but beautiful town of Monte Castello Di Vibeo in the Province of Perugia. It is a medieval, 15th-century walled village and sits in the Umbrian Hillside above the Tiber Valley, home to the Montecastelesi people. The surrounding landscape is quilted with vineyards, olive groves and sunflower fields and stitched in with rows of cypresses and umbrella pines. We will pay a visit to Teatro Della Concordia (tour included). Built in 1809, Teatro della Concordia is the smallest theatre all'italiana in the world and was designed in the shape of a bell.

* Lunch included
* 4 course meal included, plus an alcoholic apperativo

As we say goodbye to one villa we say buongiorno to another. Located just outside of Rome, Villa Lante is one of Italy’s most important Giardini All'italiana. iWe will meet our guide who will lead us around this stunning Renaissance garden located in Bagnaia. 

Villa Lante is considered a masterpiece of Italian garden design and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It attracts visitors from around the world who come to admire its beauty, historical significance, and the artistry of its Renaissance architecture and landscaping. After our garden tour, we will walk to our lunch spot where we can enjoy our final meal together, or if you prefer, you can take a walk around the very small town.

Our tour concludes with our driver letting us off at Fiumicino Airport by around 6pm (give or take, depending on traffic around the airport). From there, the next destination is up to you: Are you heading home? Or are you going to head into Rome for a few more days and then take yourself off to the Cinque Terre? Venezia? Or maybe you decide to head south to Napoli, Pompeii or even explore Sicilia? Buon viaggio e grazie mille!

• Airfare to and from Italy (or any transportation to Italy)

• Any meals not specified in the information provided above

• You are responsible for all Insurance coverage.