Voltrona Landgut - Bio-Lebensmittel - Urlaub auf dem Bauernhof - San Gimignano, Siena, Italien

From March 21^st to June 13^th and from September 5^th to October 31^st 2013

After a short break we are happy to once again be able to offer our riding week packages, which have become highly appreciated over the years. We hope that you, like many others before you, may come and experience the unique combination of Icelandic horses, accommodation on a living Wine farm in Tuscany and “la bella vita italiana”!

Our horses are safe and easy-going tölters with the right spirit and willingness, as perfect tour horses should be. As it's important for us to dedicate sufficient time to each rider and to provide a personal contact, we prefer to have small groups. If you are a group of 6-8 persons, we can offer exclusivity on that week.
To make your riding week an unforgettable experience, it's important that you travel well prepared as the beautiful Tuscan countryside with it's hilly landscape, is also physically demanding on the riders.
To participate in the weekly programme you must be able to trot and gallop. It’s also an advantage if you have tried the Icelandic horses with it's tölt in the past.

We are pleased to propose weekly stays, from Thursday to Thursday, during which our guests will discover the hidden beauty of Tuscany on horseback. We are flexible, though, and the arrival and departure days can be changed for who wish so. It's also possible to add or remove tours to make your week fit your desires in the best way.

If your group includes people who are not interested in riding, there are many walking trails around and near the farm. The closest golf course is only 20 kilometres away. Tuscany and the area around Voltrona, of course, have much more to offer than what is proposed in the programme and we are glad to give you suggestions on activities.

The time indicated in the programme is from when we leave Voltrona until when we get back.

Thursday, day 1.
Arrival to the farm and check-in. We meet over a glass of wine for presentation of the group and the programme up on the breakfast terrace. At 8.00 p.m. you will be served a four course dinner in the old barn which now houses our restaurant.

Friday, day 2.
Breakfast served from 7.30 a.m. Morning ride.
“San Gimignano”, 2 hours.
We will start the week with a short ride in the typically hilly Tuscan countryside with the towers of San Gimignano in the background. This variably difficulty itinerary runs along gravelled roads and through woods and meadows. We ride on the ridge of a hill offering an amazing view of the countryside before heading back to the farm. Once back at Voltrona, you will be served a typical Tuscan lunch accompanied with wine from the farm.
In the afternoon, we suggest you visit Volterra (25 km) an ancient Etruscan capital, famous for its “alabaster” and Etruscan museum. Here, you can admire Etruscan remains and a Roman amphitheatre. Alternatively, you just stay on the farm and enjoy the peace and quiet, or maybe of a cooling bath in the pool. Free choice for dinner.

Saturday, day 3.
Breakfast served from 7.30 a.m. Free day without riding.
Why not spend the whole day visiting Florence (55 km), the greatest Renaissance city of all? Visit the Cathedral, the Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, Piazzale Michelangelo, as well as the large San Lorenzo market, open every day, where you can find leather clothing and footwear. Free choice for dinner.

Sunday, day 4.
Breakfast served from 7.30 a.m. Whole day ride.
"Borgatello", 7 hours including lunch on restaurant.
We ride in an always changing landscape, we go through woods and up and down ravines, passing through small villages and then riding up to the Campiglia plateau. At Borgatello, a village near Colle Val D’Elsa, we tie up our horses and have a lunch at Il Calandrino, a characteristic restaurant serving typical Tuscan country food.
After lunch, we get up in the saddle again and ride back to the farm, that we finally reach thru a long cypress avenue. Farm dinner at 8.00 p.m.

Monday, day 5.
Breakfast served from 7.30 a.m. Morning ride.
"Santa Lucia", 3 hours.
This morning, we ride towards San Gimignano, going past small farms with vineyards and olive groves on beautiful gravelled roads. We ride short parts on the Via Francigena, a pilgrimage route between England and Rome. We stop for coffee and to enjoy the view and then we ride through the small village of Santa Lucia, passing an old mill and crossing a stream, where the horses get a well-earned break to drink. Optional lunch at the farm.
Why not a walk to San Gimignano (5 km) during the afternoon? This is a perfectly preserved medieval town which is famous throughout the world for its many towers (once there were 72 of them but now only 14 are left) which earned it its nickname of the “13th century Manhattan”. On the square Piazza della Cisterna you can enjoy the world famous ice cream and from the fortress you can get stunned by the amazing view of the Tuscan landscape. Farm dinner at 8.00 p.m.

Tuesday, day 6.
Breakfast served from 7.30 a.m. Free day without riding.
We recommend a visit to Siena (45 km) a finely preserved medieval city. Going through one of the city gates and walking along the walls of the Medicean Fortress is just like taking a trip back in time. There are no cars within the walls and as you walk around you can easily imagine what life was like in a fortified city. The citizens are great horse lovers, mainly because of the Palio, a race that is run twice a year in the suggestive Piazza del Campo. For who’s not interested of going far from the farm, we can recommend a visit at the market in Poggibonsi (15 km) where you can find anything from clothes to food and really experience the Italian atmosphere. Free choice for dinner.

Wednesday, day 7.
Breakfast served from 7.30 a.m. Whole day ride.
"Libbiano", 9 hours including lunch on restaurant.
This tour brings us closer to San Gimignano than previous tours. We ride through vineyards, on gravelled roads and over fields to finally reach the former monastery village Libbiano, which is situated on Monte Castagno, 445 metres over the sea. We enjoy a lunch in an agriturismo run by Berta and Andrea since the 80’s.
The return goes through the natural reserve of Castelvecchio, if we are lucky we might get a glimpse of wild boar or porky pine. We pass old abandoned farms far away from new settlements or traffic noise. For long distances we will do tölt mixed with parts of climbing. We will see the towers of Castelvecchio, a medieval village abandoned during the ravages of the plague, now well known archaeological site. Farm dinner at 8.00 p.m.

Thursday, day 8.
Breakfast served from 7.30 to 10.00 a.m. Check-out before 10.00 a.m.

The offer includes:
7 nights with breakfast
4 four course dinners with wine from Voltrona
1 typical Tuscan lunch at Voltrona accompanied by our wines
4 excursions on horseback as described in the programme
2 lunches with wine on restaurants during the excursions

Price per person in double room: € 685,00
Price per person in triple room (queen bed + extra bed): € 645,00
Price per person in quadruple room (queen bed + extra beds): € 615,00