Allow Atlas Travel International to arrange your Classic Tuscan Table vacation. This incredible tour has been featured on CBS News/Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood, as well as American Airlines' CBS Eye on America. Fine Living magazine has also chosen this trip as the cooking school for their “Winemaker for a Day” Sweepstakes.

When you travel to the Classic Tuscan Table, you will stay at a fully renovated, beautiful, historic villa hotel just south of Florence, in the famed Chianti area. Five minutes away, your lessons will be at the charming farm of Chef Piantini, one of Italy's noted Tuscan chefs and  teachers, and owner of Torre Guelfa Ristorante. Market visit, wine and olive  oil tasting and excursions to towns such as San Gimignano, Siena and Greve complete this fabulous week!

About the location: Tuscany...a landscape of wooded hills, olive groves, vineyards, and hill towns. Vistas that have barely changed since Renaissance artists first beheld them. On this culinary tour of Tuscany you will see and experience the treasures of this rich region, learning its cuisine and culture at a historic palazzo.

Your week in Tuscany takes place in the medieval town of Figline Valdarno, set in the triangle formed by the great cities of Florence, Arezzo and Siena. Your home will be the Villa Casagrande, a palazzo built in the 13th century by a very influential Florentine. Over the years the villa has been a gathering place for artists and philosophers. It has offered hospitality to great leaders such as Pope Leo X, King Charles VII of Bourbon, King Charles V of Spain, and more recently Prince Umberto of Savoy and his wife, Princess Maria Jose.

Today the Villa Casagrande remains a precious jewel...full of art treasures, paintings, frescoes and sculptures. It has been carefully restored by the Luccioli family, blending history and modern day comforts. Many of the rooms contain original antiques and look out on to the Renaissance garden. All are equipped with telephone, color TV, air conditioning, and private bath/shower. In addition, there is a covered pool, sauna, and fitness room for your enjoyment during this culinary adventure in Tuscany. If you prefer the charm of a farmhouse property, you may chose to stay at Chef Claudio's picturesque B&B, Relais Torre Guelfa. This charming relais is located just 5 minutes outside of town, amidst the Chef's vineyards and olive groves. Each of the five air-conditioned bedrooms is delightfully decorated and equipped with modern conveniences such as hairdryers and telephones. A beautiful pool completes the setting. A notch above your customary B&B!

About the cooking lessons: Cooking lessons will be at Chef Claudio Piantini's restaurant, Torre Guelfa, or in the teaching kitchen recently built at his farmhouse. Your instructor is a chef with quite a following in Italy! You will learn classic dishes of Tuscan cuisine, known throughout the world for its refined simplicity. Students will learn to prepare classic dishes such as ribollita and crostini, along with more unusual dishes such as castagnaccio. Claudio is undoubtedly one of our best chefs, simply because of his dedication to the art of cooking, his enthusiasm for teaching, and of course, his scrumptious dishes. You will learn a vast number of recipes from the hands of a true Tuscan.

 

 

 

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