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When we leave Venice we travel to Tuscany with out first stop in Florence.
In Florence we hope to be staying at the Hotel Albergotto. The hotel has a great location, a short walk to the Ponte Vecchio or the Piazza della Signoria. Better yet, a six minute walk to the Visconti Showroom on via della Vigna Nuova.
The Albergotto is a 22 room hotel situated in a historic building on the fashionable Via Tornabuoni. They have a car service so we will be able to arrive and they will look after the garage details. Great. I like that.
We hope we will be able to make arrangements with the hotel to stay there. Based on the good reviews of the hotel, we feel confident we will be able to include the hotel on our Greatplaces to Stay website on our return.
Hotel Albergotto
Via Tornabuoni, 13 - 50123 Firenze
Website: www.albergotto.com
We will leave Florence and head in to the Chianti area of Tuscany, staying at the stunning Borgo di Pietrafitta. We stayed here last year and have designated Borgo di Pietrafitta as one of our Great Places to Stay.
We have enjoyed the outdoor patios, the dishes and cooking utensils and having separate bedrooms and living area. The Borgo di Pietrafittta is located about 4 km from the small town of Castellina in Chianti.
The borgo is an old farm/village built around a church on a small hill.
We will be staying in the Il Granaio 2 and the Casa Pera 2 Apartments (pictured above).
The buildings have been made into 14 beautiful apartment suites, each with a kitchen, bedroom, living room and eating area. On the grounds is a large infinity-style pool where you lay in the the water and look out over the Tuscan valley. The sun umbrella and lounge chairs make this a great place to slow down, relax and enjoy time between visiting the many towns of Tuscany.
It is only 20 km to Siena so that makes a day trip to that beautiful town an easy plan. On our visit last year it was an easy drive to go into Florence for the day. Florence for lunch! There is a nice sound to that!
It is a short drive, or a 4 kilometer walk to the town of Castellina in Chianti. I would go into town to get our supplies or for an early morning coffee.
We found the Restaurant Tre Porte to be an excellent restaurant. But, we plan to be cooking a good number of our meals at the borgo and enjoying evening dinners on the patio.
Castellina in Chianti dates back to Etruscan times and it was one the many villages on the route between the cities of what was at the time, Maritime Eturia.
The Church of San Salvatore, dates back to the 16th Century. After being heavily destroyed during World War II the church was rebuilt and extended. Inside are 14th century fresco of Madonna by Bicci di Lorenzo as well as a wooden state of Sant' Barnaba, the former patron saint of the city.
We will be staying a Castello della Castelluccia outside of Rome for a few days and use that as our base for some touring of the Lazio Region. More information on the "... on to Rome" page.
Next, on to Rome.
