Base yourselves in the beautiful hilltop town of Orvieto, famous for its Gothic cathedral with low relief sculptures by Maitani and Last Judgement frescoes by Signorelli (1505) for this 5 day tour.  Admire the suspended village of Civita di Bagnoregio; the crystalline geometry of Villa Lante (pictured) — Italy’s finest water garden; and Villa Farnese at Caprarola, Vignola’s pentagonal masterpiece, once a hunting lodge then private retreat decorated with splendid frescoes and grotesques from the C16th and gardens with sculptures, fountains, water features, and boxwood mazes. We will also visit Bomarzo’s Sacro Bosco, a Mannerist dreamscape of mossy colossi and riddling inscriptions.
We will have a guided olive-oil tasting at a family frantoio, followed by curated cellar visits among the hills of Orvieto Classico.
And we'll visit the Renaissance ideal city, Pienza whose Piccolomini Palace was Pope Pius II’s summer residence and the Val d’Orcia (UNESCO) where we can see loggias over hanging gardens, and La Foce, whose villa was built in the late C15th as a hostel for pilgrims and merchants and now boasts gardens designed by the English architect Cecil Pinsent, as well as some smaller villages in the so-called “Città del Tufo” loop.
Limited to 7 people. All transport between sites by minivan.