ITALY Where


Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco


TUSCANY TO STAY


Our four-wheeled Italian adventure has forced us to slow down and look up – and there’s no greater luxury than that, surely


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If I’m reborn in the next life, I want to come back here.” Borgo Pignano’s proximity to the medieval hilltop towns


A bevy of beautiful hotels are dotted among the Tuscan hills. Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco is one of the region’s most famous addresses for good reason – featuring a collection of restored 17th and 18th-century villas, each with a private pool, this is a luxury hotel worth splashing out HQT $WV 6WUECP[ VTWN[ QXGTƃQYU YKVJ GZENWUKXG options, from renowned, big-brand properties such as Castello di Casole, A Belmond Hotel, and Como Castello del Nero to immaculately restored medieval villages such as Relais & Châteaux property Il Borro and %CUVGNHCNƂ, a 1,100-hectare working estate boasting a hotel, golf course, spa, vineyards and olive groves. Tuscany’s capital, Florence, also dazzles, with


well-established favourites such as Four Seasons Firenze, Portrait Firenze, Villa Cora and Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, providing cool


refuges to the city’s heat. New hotels here include a sister property to Borgo Pignano, set to open next spring. The boutique hotel is located in a 12-acre estate studded by vineyards and olive groves, a 10-minute walk from the city centre.


of Volterra and San Gimignano makes it an ideal base for exploring. Head to former Etruscan settlement Volterra for an insight into alabaster, the chalky rock used in ancient times and still celebrated by craftsmen here today, and visit the Unesco World Heritage Site of San Gimignano to discover its £{ Àim>inin} voÀÌiwi` ÌoÜiÀ hoÕÃià >n` n>ÀÀoÜ ÃÌÀiiÌà lini` with shops selling local cheeses, meats and ceramics.


č wÌÌin} wn>li Our Italian adventure concludes in the Tuscan capital, Florence, where historic architecture and masterpieces by the likes of Michelangelo, Botticelli and da Vinci make you feel like you’re walking in an open-air museum. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) is an unmissable feature of the Florence skyline, but visitors will fall over themselves trying to tick off all the treasures in this small but mighty city: the Palazzo Vecchio, adorned with frescoes >n` >nViinÌ >ÀÌÜoÀkÆ Ìhi ÜoÀl`-v>moÕÃ 1vwâi >lliÀÞÆ >n` Ìhi Galleria dell’Accademia, home to Michelangelo’s David. After a week exploring Tuscany, we’re content simply


Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel


strolling the sunny banks of the Arno river and admiring the views with an aperitivo at Hotel Continentale’s rooftop bar. On the last day of our road trip, we hike up to Piazzale Michelangelo where, from the summit, pastel-coloured houses with terracotta-tiled roofs sprawl out before us, the Duomo soaring above them, dominating the ÃkÞlini° ̽à > wÌÌin} wn>li° "ÕÀ voÕÀ-Ühiili` Ì>li>n adventure has forced us to slow down and look up – and there’s no greater luxury than that, surely.


BOOK IT: Audley Travel offers a 12-day self-drive tour of Tuscany and


Umbria from £6,695, including flights, car hire and accommodation. AUDLEYTRAVEL.COM


70 ASPIRE NOVEMBER 2024


aspiretravelclub.co.uk


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