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The ridges of Siena (6 days, 5 of which are on horseback)
Sunday: arrival at the Castel Sereno (we are at 530 m above sea level) where we will dine and spend the night. (this resting place is found at San Valentino, a small village 3 km from us). The owner is Domenico with his wife Agnese The 10-hectare farm and the main house is a completely restored old house made from tufo (volcanic stone of the region). Monday: We will pick up the clients by car and bring them to the horses found at our structure (at a height of 390 m) and then we will leave by horse (after everyone has a horse) towards the Castle of Porceno. To get to Proceno, we need to cross an old path with beautiful scenery. We will stop for a pic-nic at Castell’Ottieri (472m above sea level) a medieval old citadel with a beautiful roman church (The Church of San Rocco). When we arrive in Porceno, we will change regions (for one night) and from Tuscany we will pass over to Lazio. We will spend the night in the Castle (with all amenities, pool, etc.) and our horses in a field at 200 meters above sea level. Tuesday: Our journey on the ridges of Siena (spectacular) start in the direction of Radicofani (896 m above sea level), and after a 3-4 hour ride towards the North, we will return to Tuscany, in the province of Siena (yellow hills and green Cypress). We will go up and down the hills, we will cross rivers and follow a very beautiful ridge with a 360° view. We will have a pic-nic on the cliff with a view of Radicofani. This citadel that was unassailable during the battles between the Duchy of Tuscany and the pontifical state is still far from us. The evening we finally arrive at Radicofani, passing Celle sul Rigo (a small medieval village). We will often see Radicofani (that from a far looks like a tower) along our trip. Antonello (the lovable owner of a very nice resting place with beautiful pools) awaits us in Radicofani. He will make us eat well (boar that he has hunted, pasta made by his wife, etc.). Wednesday: We will leave around 10:00 for a short day. We will cross the village of Radicofani and go down the typical Sienese hills and the forest, to then attack the mount that goes up to the citadel of Radicofani(a 360° view of the Val D’Orcia), where we will have a pic-nic. Afternoon 1 h horseback ride and we are back at the Sterposi lodgings, we can take the horses to visit the town of Radicofani or we can swim in the pool. Thursday: Return to the Porceno castle on another road, descending one of the most beautiful ridges from where we can see Celle sul Rigo on our left, Castell’Azzara and Proceno, then we will continue on the old Cassia road that passes along the new Cassia (one of the most important roads in Italy that from Florence goes to Rome) and then we will cross the new Cassia in Centeno, where Galileo (the physicist) spent some time in prison during the malaria (plague) and here we will have a large evening meal. Friday: Departure direction S.Quirico (a village in the South West located at 486 m above sea level) passing for Prato Lungo a tiny farm town. We will have a pic-nic in Vitozza (an Etruscan necropolis beside S. Quirico where there are 200 caves to visit, the remains of a roman church and the remains of a fortress), we are in the Archaeological park Città del Tufo. We will bring the horses down the Etruscan trail dug in the tufo (volcanic stone typical of the area and used to build all the houses of the region) by hand. We continue along the river passing through the almost virgin forest 2 or 3 times until we arrive to Sorano (a magnificent village at 379 m above sea level and entirely built on a cliff of Tufo), we will let the horses drink from the Lente river. We ride along an Etruscan road (a gorge with 10 m high walls), we will have a fantastic view of Sorano, we will continue for 1 hour and return to our property after having done the last 2 km with a gallop, still 15 minutes and we have arrived, the horses and everyone is happy then we will return by car to Castel Sereno (2.5 km) for a wonderful dinner. Saturday: breakfast, and at a set time, the Taxi or minibus will take the clients to the station or airport… good-bye.
The Etruscans (7 days with 6 days of horse)
Sunday: Arrival at the Castel Sereno farmhouse in the afternoon: Aperitif, Briefing, Dinner and then we will leave the clients rest. Monday: SORANO – CASTEL OF PORCENO 4.5 hours of horseback riding in the Northeast direction. At 10:00, we will take the horses and follow the Lente river that will lead us to the citadel of Castel’Ottieri (Ottieri is the family name of one of the most influential families of the middle ages): we will have a pic-nic here. The landscape changes in the afternoon, great hills and beautiful white roads where we will be able to gallop. At night we will sleep in the beautiful Porceno Castle owned by an ancient family from Ferance. Tuesday: PROCENO – SELVA DEL LAMONE 5.5 / 6 hours of horseback riding in the Southwest direction. On our horses at about 10:00, we will cross the Strdolone river and pass through the Montorio property (2500 hectares with many houses belonging to Mussolini’s nephew), towards S. Quirico. We will stop for lunch in Vitozza (S. Quirico), an old Etruscan necropolis where we can visit the remains of a roman church and a fortress from the same period. One of the main characteristics of Vitozza is that it has 200 caves, inhabited by the people of S. Quirico until the early 1900s. In the afternoon we will continue towards the Mezzano property (which takes its name from the small volcanic lake of Mezzano) and we will finish the day in the dark and mysterious forest of Lamone. Here, in the coalman’s cabin, we will leave our horses for the night. Our guests will spend the night at the Frà Viaco farmhouse owned by the Zapponi family on the Mazzano lake or in one of the very cute hotels in the medieval village of Farnese. Wednesday: SELVA DEL LAMONE – VULCI 4.5 / 5 hours of horseback riding in the Southwest direction We will leave towards the ruins of the Etruscan-roman town of Castro, where we will have lunch and then in the afternoon we will take the Etruscan route of Castro. We will take it up to Vulci, the famous path of the Robbers (in the past, this path was used by the region’s robbers, like the famous Tiburzi). We will cross the property of Torlonia, which was owned by the Prince of Torlonia and his sons. Then we will see a very small but cute castle with roman bridges (ponte del diavolo): We will then arrive to the Vulci park (Etruscan archaeological site with only 5% of the entire necropolis discovered). The horses will sleep in the park and the guests at “Le Cascine” hotel. Thursday: VISIT OF THE VULCI PARK ON HORSEBAK 3 hours of horseback riding We will visit the park with another guide who will let us visit the park and the Etruscan tombs by horse. Lunch in the park’s restaurant where we will eat divinely. The afternoon is free, for those who want to visit the Etruscan Museum in the castles, visit the park by foot or take an extended rest in the shade of an oak tree along the Fiora River to read a good book or be cradled by the sound of the waterfall within the park. Friday: VULCI – SELVA DEL LAMONE 6 hours of horseback riding, North-East direction We will go along the Fiora river up to Romitori (an ancient place where monks would withdraw to pray: (a fresh cave with an amphitheatre where classical musicians come to play or experiment new songs), we will stop here for lunch. In the afternoon we will pass the fields, the hill and the trail and once again arrive to the Etruscan trail of Castro where we will go in the opposite direction and take a trail that passes along the old town of Farnese, where the Duke Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother, lived. We will then reach the woods of Lamone and pass the night in the Frà Viaco farmhouse. Saturday: SELVA DEL LAMONE – SORANO 5 hours of horseback riding, North direction We will start in the direction of Vitozza (S.Quirico), pass the property of Mezzano and pass the famous farmhouse “Il Voltone”. After lunch (Vitozza) we will continue along the Lente River, which is a very adventurous and interesting path in the “Città del Tufo” within the archaeological park, where we will pass above Sorano and then ascend the long Etruscan road of S. Valentino. We will end up at the Caggio farm, where the Duska Horseback Riding Association has its offices. We will unsaddle and leave the horses with the rest of the troop and we will go to the Castel Sereno lodgings. After dinner, everyone is happy, we will say good-bye and until the next time… Sunday: After the breakfast, the taxi will bring our guests to their destination (train station, airport, etc.)