Sydney to Singapore
SQ 232. Depart Sydney 11:00 Arr Singapore 17:20
27 September
Singapore to Munich to Pisa
SQ 328 Dep Singapore 00:30 Arr Munich 06:55
LH 1950 Dep Munich 11:15 Arr Pisa 12:35
| Via Santa Maria 94, Pisa, 56126, Italy |
| Phone: +39050561894 |
28 September
Pisa. Will I make it up the Leaning Tower with its spiral staircase and European style bells at the top?
29th September
Join tour. Villa La Pietra, Fiesole. Villa La Pietra was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sassetti, manager of the Medici Bank, and owned and embellished last century by aesthete and historian Sir Harold Acton. Tour the magnificent garden and visit the villa’s interior. Drive to the hotel in Fiesole for the first of three nights.
30 September
Fiesole, San Domenico. Visit Fiesole’s cathedral and then walk through the town to Monte Ceceri on small roads and woodland paths, passing stone quarries where Leonardo launched his flying machines (4.5 km, steeply uphill at the beginning of the walk). Visit Villa Medici, built in the 15th century and subsequently home to Sibyl Cutting and Iris Origo, and Villa Le Balze, where Cecil Pinsent designed a series of green ‘rooms’ which cling to a steep slope. Walk the old road to the convent of San Domenico where Fra’ Angelico first worked, and see his altarpiece there.
1 October
Settignano, Pian de’ Giullari. Morning walk to Settignano on farm tracks and chalky paths through olive groves and woodland (easy to moderate, undulating, c. 5.5 km). Villa Gamberaia is one of the most perfect examples of garden art, 18th- and late 19th-century with a formal water garden and high hedges. Drive to Pian de’ Giullari for lunch and a visit to Villa Capponi, to which Cecil Pinsent contributed. Overlooking Florence, San Miniato al Monte is a splendid Romanesque basilica with a superb Early Renaissance Chapel.
2 October
Pistoia, Lucca. The exceptionally attractive town of Pistoia has important sculpture including the pulpit in Sant’Andrea by Giovanni Pisano, one of the finest Gothic ensembles south of the Alps, and a silver altarpiece in the cathedral, the product of 150 years’ workmanship. Arriving in Lucca, there is time for a climb up the Guinigi Tower to admire the panoramic view of this exceptionally well-preserved city. First of four nights in Lucca.
Lucca, Matraia, Villa Oliva Buonvisi. San Martino is a Romanesque cathedral with the exquisite Gothic effigy of Ilaria del Carretto. Drive mid-morning to Matraia to begin a walk through the olive groves, a route beside some of the finest of Lucca’s summer retreats. Lunch and olive-oil tasting at a farm overlooking the hillside. Continue walking downhill to Marlia on country paths and lanes (total 5 km; a steep downhill section at the start, walking poles are essential for this part of the walk). Visit the 15th-century Villa Oliva, once owned by the powerful Buonvisi family.
Compitese villages, Pietrasanta. A walk on footpaths and country roads through the villages of Sant’Andrea di Compito and San Giusto di Compito (c. 3.5 km, moderate to easy terrain). Pietrasanta is famous for its skilled marble workers; visit a workshop where classical and contemporary works are produced using methods unchanged since the Middle Ages.
Camigliano, Villa Torrigiani. Drive to Camigliano to begin a 7 km country walk on grassy paths and lanes to Sant’Andrea in Caprile (of which 3.5 km is steadily uphill). Picnic lunch before visiting Villa Torrigiani and its garden. Dating back to the 16th century when it was owned by the Buonvisi family, the garden was transformed in the late 17th century by Niccolao Santini, the Lucchese ambassador to Louis XIV. Return to Lucca for an optional cooking demonstration; a wine tasting is followed by dinner.
Pisa to Rome to Singapore
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