TOSCANA CUCINA RIDE

Indulge in the delightful combination of horse-guided exploring and Tuscan culinary adventures with this itinerary specially designed to showcase landscapes, history and great food. Stay in one of two beautifully restored medieval hamlets, Castello di Tocchi or Villa Ferraia, each a comfortable home base for this week-long experience.

Details of the Ride

Skill Level: Good for intermediate-strong intermediate riders, who are capable of being in the saddle for multiple hours a day. The pace of each trip is set according to the level of the riders.

Horses: Lipizzaners, Anglo-Arabs, Sicilians , Murgese and Maremmano. All horses are friendly, willing to please, fit and forward-moving. No bad habits allowed.

Training: Most of our horses are trained in both English and Western riding. Please request your preference when scheduling.

Tack & Equipment: We provide quality equipment and saddles, including: English saddles (comfortable endurance, all-purpose saddles created with fine leather), Western saddles (high quality and comfortable), Australian saddles and some interesting working saddles used by local cowboys.

Dates: On request

Rates:

VILLA FERRAIA
$3690 per person, double occupancy, minimum of 4 riders and 12-28 people per group
$3950 per person, double occupancy, minimum of 4 riders and 4-11 people per group (November to April only)
$850 single occupancy supplement

CASTELLO DI TOCCHI
$2990 per person, double occupancy, 7-12 riders per group
$3250 per person, double occupancy, 4-6 riders per group
$800 single occupancy supplement

The price includes 7 days plus 6 nights with 3 full days of riding, 4 cooking classes, and all excursions. See complete itinerary below. All meals and taxes included, as well as transfers from and to the Siena railway station. We can also arrange for direct taxi transfer to the airport, for an additional fee. Price does not include airfare or gratuities.

Itinerary: Toscana Cucina Ride
(The daily itinerary may be subject to change in case of bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances.)

DAY ONE:
Settle into your suite at the Castello di Tocchi or Villa Ferraia. Relax with drink and dinner before retiring for the evening.

DAY TWO:
After proper introductions to the horses, we begin the day by exploring the valley that encircles the Castello di Belagio.

We ride on ancient stone roads to visit a horse farm where they breed the semi-wild Maremmano horses. This is a great opportunity to view a very old Tuscan horse breed, still used by local cowboys.

We refuel after the morning ride with a Tuscan-style picnic lunch, resting ourselves and the horses before we ride back to the stables. We venture back along a different path, allowing more enjoyment of the Tuscan landscape.

The day ends with the opportunity to learn Tuscan cuisine while assisting the Chef as he prepares dinner in the beautiful Castello cucina or that of Villa Ferraia.

DAY THREE:
We give the horses a rest today, and instead explore traditional Tuscan recipes under the guidance of a Chef in the kitchen at the Castello or Villa Ferraia. After enjoying our culinary creation, we indulge in the famous Brunello di Montalcino wine at the fortress of a medieval town. We also visit the well-preserved medieval town of Buonconvento. For dinner, we dine at a restaurant well-loved by locals.

DAY FOUR:
We start the day at the stables where the horses are ready for our ride. Passing castles and farms, we reach the village of Orgia using the well-preserved Roman stone-paved roads. Once we arrive in Orgia, we feast on a delightful picnic lunch.

In the afternoon, we ride along Tuscan hilltops and enjoy the views of the Merse Valley and the Sienese skyline. After returning to the Castello or Villa Ferraia, we are ready for another cooking lesson with the Chef.

We enjoy the evening with our hand-created dinner and conversation about the day.

DAY FIVE:
Another day-of-rest for the horses, we spend the morning at Castello di Tocchi or Villa Ferraia enjoying a culinary education with the guidance of a Tuscan Chef. For lunch, we feast on the meal we’ve created before visiting San Gimignano, the best-preserved medieval town in Tuscany. Once the seat of a small Etruscan village (200-300 BC), it began its life as a town in the 10th century. Prosperity in the Middle Ages led to flourishing works of art still found in the churches and monasteries here.

We will taste Vernaccia de San Gimignano, a well-known white wine mentioned in Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia. We dine at a traditional local restaurant before retiring for the night at the Castello or Villa Ferraia.

DAY SIX:
We start the day cantering through a fragrant pine forest and along a river. We follow an ancient road on the way to San Galgano, a magically silent place that echoes with historic battles. San Galgano, from a historical and architectural perspective, is one of the most important buildings of the Sienese area. An awe-inspiring structure that is open to the sky, it sits along the pilgrims’ road Via Francigena that connects Rome with France. We see where the knight Galgano Guidotti, dedicated his life to God and set his sword in a rock. (Yes, this story is very similar to the English legend of King Arthur and Merlin!) While here, we indulge in an Italian-style lunch and tales of Tuscan legends.

We wind down the event-filled day with a memorable last dinner at Castello di Tocchi or Villa Ferraia.

DAY SEVEN:
This itinerary ends with a Tuscan breakfast and trip to the Siena train station.

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