Description
This Villa Torrigiani tour with wine tasting leaves from Lucca and takes about five hours, with a minibus doing the driving. Pickup is at Lucca train station or in Capannori at Piazza Aldo Moro, and the same minibus brings you back at the end.
The road climbs through the hills to Camigliano, where the Baroque villa stands at the end of a monumental avenue of cypresses. A guide, speaking English and Italian, takes you along the facade with its allegorical statues, then inside to the halls known for their frescoes and tapestries in Lucchese silk, and finally out to the Garden of Flora, a secret garden with fountains, rare exotic plants and old-fashioned water games.
The second half is at Fattoria Maionchi in Tofori, a family-run farm. You tour the old estate and learn how the family works to preserve the landscape, then sit down to taste.
- Three estate wines: a white, a rosé and a red
- The farm's extra virgin olive oil
- A large platter of local cold cuts and artisan cheeses
Wear comfortable shoes, as there is walking in the gardens. The tasting includes alcohol, and guests need to be old enough to drink legally. Tips for the guide and driver are optional.