MYSTERY TOUR TUSCANY AND UMBRIA

8days / 7nights

Guided tour, City-break, Off the beaten track tour, Leisure travel, Honeymoon, Voyages départs garantis, Group travelprovided by Taste and Slow Italy

From 2493 euros / person

 

This tour is the innovative and involving way to visit Tuscany and Umbria. These two regions have incredible and mysterious stories to tell you. You cannot absolutely feel bore. Then excellent food and routes off tourism beaten paths.

Narni immortalized by the novel “Chronicles of Narnia”

Narni Underground mysteries

Mystery tour of Perugia

The most mysterious canvas in the world: Trionfo dell´Ordine dei Benedettini, paint by Antonio Vassilacchi

Siena and San Galgano, the mysterious abbey

Sounds, unresolved symbols and legends in Lucca

Genesis and giants in Pistoia

J.F. Kennedy murder, something mysterious happened in Tuscany

A day tour completely dedicated to the singular life and unique art of Leonardo Da Vinci, in the village where he was born.

8 DAYS / 7 NIGHTS


AVAILABLE DATES FOR 2018

| March 10 to 17 | April 14 to 21 |  May 12 to 19 | June 09 to 16, and 16 to 23 | July 07 to 14  |  September 01 to 08, and 08 to 15

PRICE PER PERSON

€ 2493.00

Single room supplement: € 310

PLACES & SITES OF INTEREST


– Narni

– Perugia

– Siena, Lucca e Pistoia

– San Miniato e Vinci

WHAT IS INCLUDED


• 8 days / 7 nights in a 3 and 4 stars Hotel; half board treatment as specified below (beverages included)
• Local guide for 5 half days (Narni, Perugia, Lucca, Vinci)
• Local guide for 2 full days (San Galgano and Siena, Pistoia)
• Bus with private driver
• 2 tastings with light lunch
• 1 light lunch in Lucca
• 2 dinner in Hotel/Restaurant
• 2 lunch in Hotel/Restaurant

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED


• Everything not mentioned in “the tour includes”
• Entrance fee to Rocca di Albornoz in Narni and Leonardo Da Vinci Museums
• Flight tickets
• Tourist accommodation taxes
• Medical-luggage and cancelation insurance
• Optional tours/experiences

PLEASE NOTICE!


– The price indicated per person is valid only and exclusively with a minimum of 2 participants


Architecture en Italie

Day 1 - NARNI AND PERUGIA

Arrival at Rome Fiumicino Airport and meeting with your Tour Escort and private bus.
Transfer towards Umbria – Stop in Narni.
Narni immortalized by the novel "Chronicles of Narnia” written by C.S. Lewis. A small hilltop village in
the almost exact geographical center of Italy. It sits in a rugged landscape, Jerusalem pines, oaks,
hornbeams and maples, with outstanding views over the Nera river valley.
Found in the narrow gorge of the Nera river and dominated by the brooding Albornoz Fortress, Narni
grew up in importance with the construction of the Via Flaminia (during the ancient Roman
domination) from Rome to Rimini. The town was favored by the Papal State in the Middle Ages, and
much of its most picturesque architecture – small stone houses, arched roads, towers – remains from
this time. It also heralded an era of busy artistic development as a school of painting and goldsmithery
grew up and reached its peak in the Renaissance when artists such as Rossellino,
Ghiriandaio, Gozzoli, Vecchietta, Antoniazzo Romano and Spagna were commissioned to produce
amazing masterpieces. You can see some of their work in the 12th-century Cattedrale di San
Giovenale, on Piazza Cavour, and the 13th-century Palazzo dei Priori (Town Hall), which is formed
from three medieval tower houses and flanked by a beautiful loggia.
Guided visit “Narni Underground” mysteries
One of the most interesting tours in town takes you into the subterranean rooms of the antique
Convento di San Domenico. From this convent cellar, an underground trail leads into a PreRomanesque
church with frescoes added in the 13th and 15th centuries, the remains of a Roman
cistern, a cell decorated with graffiti by prisoners kept here in the Middle Ages, during the holy
inquisition history.
Lunch at leisure
Afternoon, Narni walking tour, Rocca Albornoz and its Medieval museum.
Crossing 14 rooms you will be suddenly wind up in a medieval world, an era that filled also our
imagination. The true face of the Italian Middle Ages through the reconstruction of environments
such as the bedroom or the great hall of ceremonies, and much more. You will have the chance to
discover the weapons that were used in battles and tournaments, the way they dressed, fashions
and standards of beauty of that time; the best way to discover myths, legends, truths and secrets of
the Middle Ages in Italy.
Check in, nice 3 stars Hotel in the historical centre of Perugia.
Dinner in a typical restaurant in Perugia centre

Day 2 - PERUGIA ANCIENT MYSTERIES

Breakfast and departure with your tour escort to explore the magnificent and fascinating mysteries
of Perugia.
The mystery tour of Perugia will start in the center of the city at Piazza Grande (now also known as
Piazza IV Novembre). Perugia historical centre walking tour.
The city of Perugia is the capital city of the entire region of Umbria. The town is placed between Lago
Trasimeno and the Alta Valle del Tevere (Upper Tiber Valley), an untouched land of abbeys and
monasteries and flowers filled hills. Piazza IV Novembre has been the center of civil and religious
power in the city since it was established by the Etruscans, before the Romans. In the center of the
square stands the impressive Fontana Maggiore, the city symbol and one of the finest medieval
fountains in Italy. It was completed in the late 13th century to welcome the water of the Monte
Pacciano aqueduct and was considered so important that Nicola and Giovanni Pisano were
commissioned to design and decorate it. A walk around the lower basin takes you past paneled
scenes from the Old Testament, the story of the founding of Rome, an astrological calendar that
appears to relate to local farming practices, and a representation of the seven arts.
The 14th-century Palazzo dei Priori, leads off from the left of the fountain along the main street Corso
Vannucci. It is a remarkable palace built of local white and red travertine and fronted on the fountain
side by a large semi-circular staircase.
Light lunch and wine tasting.
You will visit to an art laboratory of glass, one of the oldest workshop in Umbria. An authentic
experience.
The laboratory is run by two women that belong to the seventh generation of artisans/artists of their
family. The glass masterpieces of the family are exposed into important churches: Santa Maria degli
Angeli (Assisi) and in Orvieto Cathedral.
Dinner at leisure, the Tour Escort will address you in the various and attractive restaurant in the city
centre depending on your tastes.

Day 3 - THE MYSTERIOUS CANVAS

Breakfast and ready for the third day discovering the mysteries of Perugia. Meeting with the guide to
discover Rocca Paolina and Sain Peter’s church.
In San Pietro we will study one of the most mysterious canvas: Trionfo dell'Ordine dei Benedettini, paint
by Antonio Vassilacchi called “l’Aliense”.
Despite its fascinating characteristic this canvas is almost unknown, but this painting is documented
as the biggest canvas ever painted in the Middle Age. It represents the triumph of the Benedictine
Order, it depicts saints, popes, cardinals, bishops and abbots founders of Religious Orders that
surround St. Benedict of Norcia. It occupies the entire top of the entrance wall of the church. Why
this canvas is so special to deserve to be mentioned in a mystery tour? The countless characters
larger than natural dimensions make us imagine the magnificence of the painting, but the strange
detail is that the subject was severely imposed to the painter, so he took a revenge worthy of a great
artist and a precursor of contemporary digital techniques. The best place to observe it is towards the
main altar, but, if you do not know what's hidden on it you only see the numerous characters.
In reality all these outline a single demonic image. If we focus on St. Benedict and the two patches
of sky where appears a haunting figure, demonic: St. Benedict is the nose, the glimpses of heaven
are the eyes , St. Peter and St. Paul at the top at the far ends are the ears and the two central tufts
are the horns. The figures of Benedictine seen from behind are formidable tusks, fortunately Antonio
Vassilacchi did not painted the mouth otherwise it would have been even more impressive. The
colors and postures of the various characters stand out even more lines of the hidden entity.
We must also consider that this canvas was not for the priest nor the people, the rule of reciting the
Mass watching the people was approved recently, but not in 1592 indeed.
The picture is quite descriptive and hearing its story is really impressive.
Light lunch tasting of idromele (mead - alcoholic honey wine) and cheese
Time for shopping in Perugia
Dinner at leisure and overnight stay.

Day 4 - ENIGMATIC SAN GALGANO ABBEY in the heart of Tuscany

Breakfast and departure with your private bus and your tour escort towards Siena.
Guided walking tour in the historical centre of Siena.
With curved old palaces, brick arches, lively caffè-terraces and a vast redbrick sloping square that
leads the eye and the feet down to the Palazzo Pubblico (the town hall), prepare to be enamored
by Siena’s Piazza del Campo. For those lucky enough to arrive in season, 2nd July and 16th August
(plus four days of pre-race trials) see the outer perimeter of the square fenced off and covered with
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sand for the famous Palio bareback horserace. A dazzling spectacle of local culture, in which 10 of
Siena’s 17 contrade (neighborhoods) compete in a merciless horserace held since Medieval Age.
Visitors arriving fall fascinated under the charm of Siena’s gracefully winding medieval streets.
Lunch at leisure
Departure towards Abbazia di San Galgano in the heart of Tuscany.
Surrounded by trees and fields, the 13th-century Abbazia di San Galgano the “abbey without a roof.”
The skeleton that remains (with grass floor and sky roof) is a fascinating example of Cistercian Gothic
architecture, the shapely windows create an atmospheric shadow. Arthurian legends are reversed
with the “sword in the stone” taken from the abbey and displayed at the nearby Romanesque
Chiesa di Montesiepi. Rather than St. Galgano pulling the sword from the stone, he plunged it in,
creating with the hilt the shape of the Cross. While you’re here, there are also some lovely Andrea
Lorenzetti frescoes to enjoy.
St. Galgano was born in 1148 in Chiusdino from a family of small local nobility, and died December
1181. Galgano lived as libertine knight and addicted to wildest entertainment, until something
changed his life and turning it into a true Knight of God. It happened that one day dedicated to lust
and debauchery, suddenly Galgano had a vision of the Archangel Michael. Galgano followed the
Archangel, crossed a bridge and a flowery meadow, reaching Monte Siepi, finding a round building
and the Twelve Apostles. This event converted him permanently.
The tradition tell a second episode. In a quiet day his horse led him back again to Monte Siepi, in the
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same place where he had previously met the Twelve Apostles. Galgano had no doubt, it was a
sacred place and, as such, deserved a Cross. He decided to take his sword and drive it into the rock.
Then he heard a voice that invited him to stay in that place, Galgano accepted the invitation, and
began his real life as hermit. Four years after his death was sanctified by Pope Lucius III.
The atmosphere of the places where this legend is magical, fascinating, full of energy. The story of
Saint Galgano is very similar to that of St. Francis, both abandon a world of entertainment empty and
corruption, to devote himself to the next and to prayer.
There are several points in common with the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table, in which the protagonist is just the sword in the stone, as well as the knight named Gawain,
very similar to Galgano. Probably the author of the narrative of King Arthur had been in Tuscany and
absorbed the legend.
Arrival in San Miniato, nice 3 stars hotel, check in.
Dinner in an amazing typical “locanda” and overnight stay.

Day 5 - LUCCA

Breakfast and departure with your private bus and your tour escort towards Lucca, an enchanting
old town full of Italian mysterious places.
Situated in a fertile plain between the Apennines and Monte Pisano, Lucca is a delightful city to
explore. Inside its 4 kilometer (2,5 miles) stretch of city walls, narrow streets lead onto irregularly
shaped squares revealing pleasant gardens, 16th-century palazzi, jutting medieval tower-houses and
half-hidden churches.
Visit Duomo - Cattedrale di San Martino
A place that preserves unresolved symbols and legends. The labyrinth, the Last Supper painted by
Tintoretto with the presence of a woman among the characters, the sculpture of Ilaria del Carretto
(called the sleeping beauty), the Volto Santo, the two legends of the poor Jolly and Giovanni di
Lorenzo di Arras.
Visit Torre Guinigi and Torre delle Ore
Light unch in a nice local restaurant
Walking tour in Lucca: Piazza Anfiteatro a place known for its perfect acoustics, it is nice to play with
sounds and noises in the middle of the square.
Dinner at leisure and overnight stay.

Day 6 - GENESIS AND GIANTS FRESCOS IN PISTOIA

Breakfast and departure with your private bus and your tour escort towards Pistoia. One of the richest
art cities in Tuscany with a fascinating cathedral square often missed on Tuscany’s well trampled
tourist circuit.
Visit of Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate.
Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate: The first church you meet as you take a right on Corso Gramsci is the
14th century Sant’Antonio Abate (also known as “del Tau” from the saint’s T-shaped staff). It
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conserves the city’s longest fresco cycle, a work showing stories from the Old and New Testaments
and the life of the saint by the Florentine Niccolò di Tommaso and the Pistoian Antonio Vite (1372).
Thanks to the restorations were recovered and saved wonderful frescoes depicting stories of the Old
and New Testament and the life of Saint Anthony, the most beautiful frescoes in the Gothic style of
Pistoia. Made in 1372 by Niccolò di Tommaso. Twelve frescos representing Genesis, including the
mysterious and enigmatic appearance of “Giants”. In the church of Tau is a rare representation of
the Giants, it is not an episode of Genesis presented frequently.
The mystery of the Giants is preserved in the chapter 6 of Genesis.
But who are the mysterious "Giants"? Who was this people who joined the “daughters of man”? In
the Bible they are called by the word "Nephilim" translated as "giants" Aramaic "naphil". Referred to
as aliens, supernatural beings that populated our planet or fallen angels, they remain one of the most
enigmatic figures of the Bible.
Italy and all the world seems full of evidence, temples built with boulders of hundreds of tons, united
and polished with great precision, without any remaining evidence of how man has managed to
build thousands of years ago. Many places in Italy still bear the name of "giants" founded by them as
tradition.
Guided walking tour in the historical centre of Pistoia.
Lunch in a Km Zero Italian Osteria in Pistoia
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Transfer to Campo Tizzoro.
“And now let’s accelerate the tour rhythm !” up until now we lived experiences on ancient mysteries,
but today we will discover some detail more related to J.F. Kennedy murder. Right in Pistoia.
Incredible, isn’t it?
In brief: the SMI is an old weapon factory in Campo Tizzoro (among Tuscany mountains) was one of
the major munitions factories of Europe and has been NATO supplier for many years. Now it is an
interesting museum focused on II World War weapons. Recently has been found a sniper rifle,
excellently preserved, similar to the one used to kill JFK. It seems that has been left there by the Warren
Commission during the inquiry. The commission members visited the factory because two of the JFK's
bullets were produced right here. The theory is that this sniper rifle could be the "second" one used in
Dallas and it seems more similar to the one held by Osvald in photos than the one that was actually
recognized as the murder weapon.
Our guides will involve you in one of the greatest mysteries of contemporary times!
Dinner at leisure and overnight stay.

Day 7 - VINCI, LEONARDO’S BIRTHPLACE

Breakfast and departure with your private bus and your tour escort towards Vinci. A day tour
completely dedicated to the singular life and unique art masterpieces of Leonardo Da Vinci, in the
village where he was born.
The birth house of the greatest genius of all time is reached along an ancient path through the hills
and groves of Montalbano olive trees in the heart of Tuscany. An immersion in the landscape that is
in itself an experience and gives the visitor a clear perception of the unbreakable bond between
Nature and Genius. The figure of Leonardo gives suggestion to the birthplace, but it is also true: the
scenarios surrounding Anchiano, almost unchanged over time, evoke creativity and the genius of
Leonardo da Vinci. The striking simplicity of the place, combined with an art museum exhibition that
invites you to know more about the history of this character, thanks to the innovative technology
called "Leonardo Touch", a sophisticated interactive system that allows you to interact with the
famous fresco The Last Supper. And to know a little more about his private life, Leonardo himself will
welcome visitors in the Birthplace of Anchiano in the form of life-size hologram.
Lunch in a local agricultural farm with “zero Km local food and wine”
Return to San Miniato. Dinner at leisure and overnight stay.

Day 8 - SEE YOU SOON ITALIAN MYSTERIES !

Breakfast.
End of the services and transfer to Rome Fiumicino Airport.9302

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