Celebrating our wedding anniversary with an extended tour of Italy is an amazing way to take advantage of all the Club offers throughout the country, from picturesque villas to Q Leading Experiences. And detailed planning assistance from our Travel Coordinator makes it all come together seamlessly. We plan for the very beginning of the season to avoid crowds and to intimately appreciate the Italian culture surrounding us.
As we fly into Milan, my husband and I are eager for the combination of archetypal art and architecture provided with our experience at the Town House Galleria mixed with the modern art and architecture we plan to see during our tour with ArCult. My husband, a retired architect, booked a tour for us with ArCult, an organization of working architects that leads tours of modern and contemporary buildings in Rome, Milan and other noted Italian cities. Since urban appreciation is often overlooked in such classical countries, I find the tour fascinating. It is refreshing to step off the traditional path and enter areas of Milan we would never think to go on our own, such as ex-manufacturing and ex-industrial districts undergoing revitalization. We explore the Pirelli Tower (by Gio Ponti and Pier Luigi Nervi) and the Milan Trade Fair Building (by Massimiliano Fuksas). We tell ArCult we are traveling south to Capri and they insist we see Villa Malaparte (by Adalberto Libera), another of their favorite Italian buildings.
While Milan is in the midst of an urban renaissance influenced by some of today’s most noted designers, it is also home to one of the world’s most timeless pieces of art, Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. We are almost overwhelmed to receive our tickets to view the painting on the back wall of the church Santa Maria delle Grazie. Our personally-crafted lunch with Giacomo Gaspari, the Galleria’s Michelin-starred chef, is beyond divine and a perfect start to our amazing evening at the opera. Decked out in black tie, we slip into our seats just moments before the doors close and the performance begins. La Scala Opera House, Italy’s most important opera house, is where many of the most famous performances of the greatest nineteenth-century composers débuted and provides a stunning atmosphere in which to attend Giuseppe Verdi’s I due Foscari. Knowing we have balcony seating, I bring my grandmother’s vintage opera glasses. I look through the tiny glasses of gold and mother of pearl toward the quivering of lips and intense hand gestures of the performers and take a moment to catch my breath.
The train from Milan to Lake Garda is a scenic two-hour ride on the Milan/Venice line. Our train makes its way through the foothills of the Maritime Alps where we see the Dolomites of Brenta to the north and scenic hills rolling toward the south. Coming from Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, it is interesting to compare the Italian Alps. The Mediterranean Sea sends humid, warm winds to the north, creating a more diverse landscape of plants and animals than the mountains at home. And while the peaks of the Alps here rise sharply to the heavens, they are actually several thousand feet lower than the Rockies.
We get off at the Desenzano del Garda station and make our way to Palazzo Arzaga with a 15 minute taxi ride the hotel’s concierge organized for us. The fresh mountain air fills our lungs as we enquire about the details of our two rounds of golf at the resort’s signature courses embedded into the hilly landscape near the Garda Lake. On another day we explore Val di Valasco by going on a hike. A portion of the hike is a looped trail and the cloudy weather brings a serene beauty to the lakes, creeks, waterfalls and peaks we walk by. There are also some historical military roads in these mountains from World War I. After all this activity, we indulge ourselves in the spa treatments provided by the hotel at their signature Clarins spa.
Another Italian train takes us south to Florence. While we could stay at one of the two Club apartments overlooking Florence, we decide to reserve the Q Leading Experience in the city center. Our time in Florence is defined by a universal Italian theme: gelato. Since the landmarks of the city are easily recognizable, we ask the hotel concierge to point out the best places for gelato. Without hesitation he points to Gelateria La Carraia, a tiny shop on the bank of the River Arno. “And here is the second best,” he says as he circles and writes “Back-Up Gelato” on our map.
We walk the meandering roads to Boboli Gardens and once inside the paths leading up to the Giardino del Cavaliere end with a proud view back toward the castle on the Torre del Gallo estate in the distance where the Club’s two apartments are located. We stroll along the Arno, lined with scooters and reflecting the city’s architecture in its waters, until arriving at the “Best Gelato.” With too many flavors to choose from, we decide to conquer and divide, ordering different combinations to sample while sitting on Ponte Alla Carraia, looking down the river toward the Ponte Vecchio.
There are gelatarias every few steps from each other surrounding the Duomo. A small scoop of pistachio from one was a sweet start to the day before getting in line to climb into Brunelleschi’s masterpiece dome. And a small serving of tiramisu from another was the reward.
The narrow, interwoven streets of Florence resemble the hidden passageways and secret hideaways that choreographed medieval life at court. During our personal tour with Samuele, we call upon our Quintess, LRW Member Privileges for VIP access to the Vasari Corridor. This corridor provided safe and private passage for the Medici family and today is lined with hundred of artists self portraits from the Uffizi collection. Only a small fraction of the public has ever been inside and we get to explore on our own.
While wandering through the Piazza Santa Maria Novella (to return to Gelateria La Carraia) we discovered a common gelataria and one of our two most sought-after flavors: cinnamon. With cones in hand we wander in and out of tiny shops until stumbling upon Alice’s Masks Art Studio. This dark and intriguing studio is where Professor Agostino Dessi creates traditional leather and papier-mâché masks. Ranging from delicate disguises of the eyes and cheek bones to ornate pieces with natural feathers and gold leaf, the pageantry of characters swirl around as though dancing at a masquerade. The studio opened in 1973 and Dessi’s masks have appeared on stage, in film and at the Venice Carnival, among numerous international exhibitions. Hanging from the ceiling, stacked upon tables and clinging to the walls, each face flirts as you pass by. Today, his daughter Alice works with him to organize mask-making workshops, which take place the last week of every month. It is places like this we hope to explore during our three-hour guided Artisan’s Traditions tour, and our wish is granted when we visit one of the most prestigious ceramic workshops in the city. In this workshop, expert Italian ceramists make and decorate items by hand, using a particular technique that allows the splendid colors to remain intact throughout the years.
And of course, there are many other more well-known master works throughout Florence. At the Accademia we marvel under the gaze of Michelagelo’s David. We use the two tickets included in our Q Leading Experience to visit the Uffizi and admire the enchanting beauty of Bottechilli’s Birth of Venus. We find our own most priceless work of art just a few blocks from the rooms of the Uffizi at “Back-Up Gelato.” A modern flavor: Chocolate Chili — cool to the taste yet it trickles down hot, invigorating the back of the mouth and making simple vanilla the best compliment.
After five nights at the Grand Hotel Villa Medici we rent a car and drive to the Club’s Terra Toscana villa for a week of exploration. As we wake, readying ourselves to leave Florence, the morning mist tiptoes over the hills, arousing groves of olive trees and mixing with smoke from farmhouse fireplaces. Restaurants prepare traditional salt-less Tuscan bread for the day’s meals. Espresso brews — a magical spell to awaken activity and exploration. Departing Florence, and driving toward Galluzzo, the closest substantial town about ten minutes away, there are fantastic pizzierias and iconic gelatarias lining the streets. The road continues on past the highway marking day-trip possibilities: Siena (45 minutes away), Pisa (55 minutes away), and countless Chianti towns such as San Gimignano (45 minutes away). Winding around one hill after another, the road nears Certosa, a large working monastery producing olive oil, honey and other provisions. And eventually, there are signs for Chiesanuova, the village at the bottom of the hill that veers right toward the Club’s other Tuscan property, Villa Tavernaccia. The drive is incredibly steep and serpentine, but paved, until the left-hand turn onto the rocky driveway toward the villa. Traversing only seven miles of country roads in the 20-minutes since leaving the Florence city limits, Villa Tavernaccia still seems worlds away. As we pass by, we decide to return next fall with our family, but for now, we continue to drive on to Radda.
The Club’s country estate, Terra Toscana, near the town of Radda is amazing. Just outside the car gate is a small path that runs along the outside of the fence around the property. We take that path past the pool, which is still closed coming off of the winter, and it becomes an overgrown two-wheel-track road winding down through the forest. Eventually we cross a small brook and enter a meadow and then come to a couple dirt roads great for exploring. We re-trace our steps to get back to the house as we never really know exactly where we are.
The meal Katya cooks for us the first night is fantastic. She grills filets on the fireplace in the kitchen. We light every candle we find for the dining room table. Radda has a cute tiny food market, right at the little crossroads area across from the park, with anything we could want for treats at the home. We keep going back to Colle Bereto, the small enoteca/bar across the corner from the market and the park, for light lunches and wine or beer outside. We buy some wine to bring to estate as well.
We visit Castellina, a historically important military fort/town maybe twenty minutes past Radda. Just past the town’s center is a place to park and we walk the “soldier’s walk” around the ramparts next to the short, shop- and cafe-lined main street. The walk to the top of the fort in the town center is really interesting and affords a fantastic view. The restaurant in the piazza right at the entrance to the fort/museum, called La Torre, is Matthew Jansen’s (owner of Boulder, Colorado’s Mateo and Radda restaurants) favorite in Chianti. There are also two Michelin one-star restaurants in Castellina: Albergaccio is on the outskirts of town and is our favorite restaurant out of every one we go to in Chianti. The other one, Galuppo, looks amazing and is accessible from the “soldier’s walk.”
That next night we drive to Volpaia, a tiny hilltop hamlet very close to Terra Toscana. It is charming and non-touristy, our absolute favorite. We eat at a place with good typical Tuscan food and a fun patio. We return another day for a nice hike through some vineyards below the town (ask a local how to walk to the cemetery and then wander past the cemetery down the dirt roads and eventually back up to town).
We explore the town of Greve and love Bottega della Moro, a tiny local place with good food and charm. We also love the former monastery, Badia a Coltibuono, and the tour before. We have one of our best evenings in the town of Lamole on the patio at Ristoro a Lamole at sunset. It is a gorgeous drive to get there at that time of day and the restaurant has incredible views from its perch on a high ridge; fine food and service. Volterra is a very different and haunting medieval town. Beppino’s, just off the main piazza, is justifiably famous for its food, and we enjoy lunch there. San Gimignano is fascinating and I can see how tourists flock here in high season. We stay for dinner, which is beautiful as the town becomes very quiet and its towers are all illuminated. We eat at La Stella, which is crowded with locals and offers good, not great, food. We take the autostrada for the drive to the wine towns of Montalcino and Montelpulciano, which made it much faster and the country is much flatter and more agricultural so there wasn’t as much we wanted to stop and take pictures of.
We drive back to Florence and board a first class cabin on the Eurostar train to Naples. Making our way through the train station we are reminded of our choice to travel in the off-season as there aren’t crowds to deal with so we move around easily and quickly. We just needed to pack a bit more for the cooler weather, but it is beautiful here regardless.
After the three-hour journey south we hire a private car to drive us along the Amalfi Coast to the Hotel Santa Caterina. While the Amalfi Coast is noted as being one of the finest and most awe-inspiring driving routes in the world, we would rather enjoy the Mediterranean scenery than navigate the precarious 15 miles ourselves. Plus, the limited parking can be atrocious in these quaint fishing villages with serpentine streets, so having a chauffer means we avoid any headaches.
Amalfi is the largest of the coastal towns and we languish in the many pleasures it offers from fine dining to artisanal stores. Our guided tour of the Cathedral of Amalfi and the nearby Cloister Paradiso is perfect. The Cathedral of Amalfi was originally built in the ninth century, remodelled in the thirteenth century and completely rebuilt in the nineteenth century, which fascinates my husband. After our journey we are ready for some pampering and fully appreciate our Lemon Massages. As we depart, the hotel presents us with a farewell bottle of limoncello, which we eventually decide to open and share with new-found friends on Capri.
We take the same train back along the steep and rocky roads to the Sorrento Port where a hydrofoil delivers us to the isle of Capri and we take a taxi to the Hotel Quisisana. Capri’s exquisite beauty and secluded corners are magical and the boat tour illuminates this even more brilliantly. We board at the Marina Grande, make a complete circle of the island and enter into the exquisite beauty of the Blue Grotto. The natural underground cavern is illuminated by sunlight creating a mystical cobalt ambience.
I am thankful we are here now, before all the tourists arrive and overtake the beautiful solitude we are experiencing together. The off-season here has a unique charm and as we stroll along the streets our best memories are made, getting to know the authentic side of the locals. Our five night Q Leading Experience is perfect and to top off the entire month, we take a helicopter from Capri to the Rome Campiano airport, where a one-hour transfer brings us to the Fiumicino Airport for the flight home.
