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Tuscany
Farmhouse, Cooking/Art Class and Visit to
Siena
Full Day Excursion
The
Tuscany region is covered with cyprus trees, fields of flowers, vineyards and farmhouses – and
on this excursion you have the opportunity to visit one that is hundreds
of years old - Spannocchia!
Spannocchia is a working organic farm and wildlife preserve with historic
architecture. The primary goal of the estate is the conservation and
preservation of its historic character and the centuries old rural organic
farming methods.
While on
site we will also take part in a cooking class or an art class which are run by local professionals
to give you a true sense of being in Tuscany!
Our cooking class begins at 9 am with a tour
through the vegetable garden at Spannocchia with garden manager
Carmen, who will describe the cycle of the various crops through the
year and her methods for providing the kitchen with fresh, flavorful
products. Then to the kitchen, where with Loredana, we will prepare
a three course Tuscan meal utilizing food products from the estate.
The first course might be handmade pasta such as tagliatelle,
ravioli, or gnocchi, or perhaps the typical “ribollita” Tuscan soup.
For our second course we may choose between our own farm-raised
pork, beef, lamb, or chicken, or perhaps even wild game, and this
will be accompanied by fresh vegetables direct from the garden. We
finish with a traditional dessert such as cantucci cookies with
Spannocchia vin santo, pinenut cake, tiramisu, or our renowned
chocolate salame.
This
concludes
with lunch, tasting all the dishes created during the morning class!
We then move onto Siena one of the most typical Tuscan
towns, completely made of a reddish brown stone with narrow streets and steep alleys
that lead to the Piazzo
del Campo - central square.
 Throughout
the town you will find shops, cafes, museums and of course some
great places to enjoy unique pizzas and gelato. Siena is as beautiful
as Florence, and the historical center is as old and large as
Florence’s, and while Florence’s immediate surroundings
consist mainly of suburbs, Siena is surrounded by the beautiful
Chianti countryside. Legend has it that Siena owes its name to
Senio, the son of Romulus. It is certain that the Etruscans had
a settlement on the site which then passed under the control of
Rome. Siena became an important city in the medieval period, and
by the 1100s had trading links with much of Europe. In the Middle
Ages (12th– 14th C) Siena became a
republic and flourished on trade and banking. But dissention reigned.
Siena fought with the Florentines, who in 1230 catapulted dead
donkeys and excrement over its walls to start a plague. Rivalry
between Siena and Florence was bitter and the two cities were
almost always at war until Siena was incorporated into the Grand
Duchy of Tuscany in 1559.
The historical
centre is an extremely important area for the people of Siena as
this is where the Palio – a competitive horse race and festival -
takes place in August. Jockeys wear the colours of their region and
ride their horses right around the Piazza del Campo with thousands
of people watching from the centre cheering them on.
You can get a great view of
the entire city by climbing the tower in the central
part of town - 463 steps up to the top along a narrow
winding staircase.
Village of San Gimignano & Abbey of San Galgano
Picnic
Half
Day Excursion
Recognized universally as one of
Tuscany’s wonders, San Gimignano is a a place of pure architecture
and exciting art. The arch entrance to San Gimignano is
the 13th century Porta di San Giovanni, a monumental
stone gate topped with a lookout tower. As you walk through you will
see splendidly preserved medieval buildings that line the narrow
streets.
 The
fifteen towers that still rise above San Gimignano’s skyline are
only part of the 72 towers that existed in the 1300s and bear
witness to the fierce internal fights between Guelph and Ghibelline
city elders. The city developed according to a characteristic
star-shaped plan along the ancient Via Francigena, and is surmounted
by the Rocco, or fortress erected in the fifteenth century. The
fortress’ original pentagon layout was partially dismantled in
1558 by Cosimo I of the Medici family.
The village is
also known for its rows of Gothic and Romanesque-arched public
fountains built into the city walls around 1100 AD and buildings and
chapels which are covered with 15th century frescoes.
For those
interested in the history and implements of Torture used in the
medieval period in the region, there are two incredible museums
housed in San Gimignano which you can visit.
Later in the
afternoon we will visit the Abbey of San Galgano and enjoy a picnic
there. The winding roads that take us to San Galgano are lined with
fields covered by huge sunflowers and is so picturesque!
The
San Galgano Monastery Ruins and the chapel date back to the 12th
Century and were dedicated to Galgano who became a hermit and took
up residence in a cave in this region. Legend has it that a voice
told him to climb the hill (where the chapel is located today) and
renounce his worldly pleasures. Galgano stated that doing so would
be as easy as using his sword to split rocks. To prove his point, he
thrust his sword at a stone, fully expecting the blade to snap. It
penetrated to the hilt and stuck fast - and is still in the chapel
today. Galgano never left the hill again.
After his death it is said that his
scalp continued to grow blond curls, and so the miraculous head was
placed inside chapel. As a result the crowds of pilgrims that
visited the area were so numerous that the Cistercian monks were
authorized to build another monastery named after the Saint - in
doing so, they built one of the most beautiful Gothic buildings of
Italy which is the abbey you will visit.
Visit
to The Exotic manufacturers of Lamborghini & Pagani sports cars
Half Day Excursion
 North of Florence are some of the most
unique manufacturers of Italian car design - so we
take the opportunity to visit two locations and learn about the
history of their design and how these cars are made.
While in the South of France:
St. Paul de Vence and Grasse
Full Day Excursion
On this excursion we will visit two
villages in Provence both unique and charming which will give you a
true sense of the South of France!
 First, the medieval town of Grasse, with
colourful rooftops and one of France’s perfume production centres
since the 16th century, will enchant your senses not only
with the smells but with the colourful flowers grown throughout the
region that were once used to make up perfumes! The town with steep
and winding roads, narrow streets and cobbled stone stairways
throughout has hidden passageways that lead into large courtyards
and remnants of buildings of days gone by.
Grasse was famous for its leathers and
oils and used to export perfumed gloves. As perfumes became popular
and the leather industry declined the two industries went their
separate ways and the perfumeries flourished. The expert nez
(noses) or perfumers take their craft seriously. With their
incredible ability to distinguish between hundreds and hundreds of
scents they are key players in the production of the combination of
scents later sold on the markets. We will visit the town as well as
one of the perfumeries to follow the work of the “noses”!
 Then we move on to a fortified village
with narrow streets, quaint windows, arched passageways, stone
facades, beautiful gardens, fountains, and incredible lighting - St.
Paul de Vence- which attracted many famous artists to the area to
paint. This location is full of art galleries, namely, the
Foundation Maeght which houses numerous original collections from
artists including Giocometti, Miro, Chagall, Picasso, and Braque.
The village is gothic in style with architecture from the Middle
Ages to the Renaissance and offers an amazing cultural experience.
Our programs are enhanced by
additional excursions which go beyond the focus of the course
and give students the option to explore areas outside of the
region in which our programs are located, in a supervised
environment with private coaches and guides. Schedules and costs of these excursions are
provided to students in March.
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