Day 1: Arrival – Benvenuto!

• You are welcomed to the farmhouse Selva with pro secco sparkling wine and antipasti in the tettoia overlooking the Arno River Valley
• After you have settled in and before dinner, our garden historian, Franca Severini, briefly reviews the history of Tuscan gardens, beginning with their medieval roots, through the glories of the Renaissance, the diversion of the Baroque period, the introduction of English gardens, and revival efforts of the 20th century (with illustrations), as well as the progression of herbs from medicinal plants in a giardini semplici to the kitchen herb garden.
• Franca joins you for discussion over a starlit dinner under the vined pergola Franca will also join the group during the week for visits to villas and gardens, and be available for questions and discussion.

• A slow morning, enjoying the quiet of Selva, perhaps a walk through the olive groves and vineyards, a search for herbs and wild greens to add to your brunch: finnochio, nipotella, ortiche, santoreggio and many others.
• Back at Selva, you prepare lunch, featuring exquisite fresh ricotta and the herbs and wild greens you’ve gleaned.
• An afternoon break allows for jetlag recovery: snooze in the sun/walk/read/visit/contemplate the cypresses/sip a little vino/ explore the Selva herb and vegetable gardens (the orto).
• An early return to the kitchen for a short explanation of olive oils and their production, and an olive oil tasting, followed by instruction and dinner preparation.
• The day is closed with candlelight dinner under the pergola.

• A introduction to Lucca with a guided tour of its cultural highlights, a walk on its fabled walls, and an exploration of a select few specialty food and kitchen shops, as well as shops featuring regional seeds and bulbs.
• You’re invited to Franca’s house for a visit to a typical Lucchese villa garden, with a lovely lunch al fresco with regional wines.
• After lunch, you explore one of the Lucchese Baroque villas, former home of Elisa, the Duchess of Lucca and sister of Napoleon.
• Return to Selva for dinner prepared by Emanuela.

• An excursion to Florence to visit Renaissance gardens, including one of the masterworks of Cecil Pinsent, the turn of the century garden restorer and designer, and to I Tati, Berend Berenson’s villa and garden, now the home of Harvard’s Italian outreach.
• Lunch in the charming town of Fiesole in the hills above Florence
• A visit to Fiesole’s Roman amphitheatre and Etruscan ruins
• A late afternoon return to Selva, a quick refreshing aperitif, and then you join the pizzaiola (pizzamaker) at the bread oven to make your own pizzas.

• You may have time for a morning walk, write some postcards or read in the Selva library, before we start our ‘bread day’.
• In the late morning you begin to prepare your dough for baking in Selva’s wood-fired bread oven. Your ‘production’ will feature olive bread using Selva olives, rosemary focaccia, and other Tuscan specialties.
• In the “‘old days” of community ovens, bread day was the only day the family could have a baked or roasted dinner. To complete the bread day tradition, you prepare ‘arrosti’, Italian baked dishes, which are slipped into the oven after the bread is baked. As the oven slowly cools down, your dinner reaches a height of savory tenderness.
• For an afternoon break, you visit the estate villa, its winery and antique olive press for an opportunity to taste and also to buy, wines, olive oil, olives, vinegars, honeys and candles.
• You enjoy your ‘bread day’ dinner under the pergola.

• Today to Chianti to taste the results of another type of garden, the vineyard.
• A stop at Greve, the prettiest town in Chianti, an artistic and viniculture center, that presents great opportunities for quality souvenirs.
• A visit to Vicchiomaggio, with its restored formal gardens, excellent Tuscan wines, and the site of the movie “Much Ado About Nothing”.
• Lunch at a beautiful restaurant, featuring regional dishes, and one of the most stunning vistas in Chianti.
• An afternoon visit to an award-winning winery, whose sense of aesthetics is unsurpassed: roses and grapevines mixed together; rows of lavender and rosemary along the drive; masses of hydrangeas on the courtyard.
• A return via Impruneta, the ‘capital’ of terra cotta manufacturing in Tuscany.
• Back to Selva, where dinner is waiting for you, and you can relax under the pergola.

• A return to Lucca for time on your own: pick up some seeds to try in your garden at home; perhaps another chance to buy that Italian kitchen item you always wanted or a certain regional food specialty; duck into that little church you missed last time; taste-test a few gelati. A walk along the Lucca walls leads to the Palazzo Pfanner Renaissance gardens and the Botanical Garden.
• Lunch at a local trattoria.
• An early afternoon visit to Villa Massei, the home of Paul Gervais, author of “A Garden in Lucca”, where you are also invited to taste their wines. Villa Massei is an excellent example of a contemporary garden that incorporates the best of tuscan gardens’ historic eras and adds innovations from its owners.
• Last, you visit a local vivaio, visit with its charming owner, compare and contrast plants and trees typical of the Lucca area with those in your own neighborhood.
• Your last night dinner at Selva’s neighborhood restaurant, Lombardo.

• After breakfast, we wish you buon viaggio ed arrivederci. Speriamo che ci vediamo presto. We hope to see you again soon.