Tuscan Agrotourismo adventures
Ever fancy visiting a working farm or vineyard in the midst of the Tuscan harvest? Perhaps you’re a fan of Frances Mayes, the author of Under the Tuscan Sun and long for a taste of her adventures? There are many who are called…
The trend of staying at working farms has circled the globe. Nowhere is the sun-warmed earth more fragrant than in the ‘Green Heart of Italy,’ the Tuscan region where wine, olives, cheese, chocolate, pasta and breads have satisfied appetites for centuries.
Roman native, Laura Bianconncini lives in California but returns to Italy several times a year to stay in touch with friends, to research new developments and to plan her adventures. Laura is dedicated to revealing the authentic Italian spirit and culture in the U.S. as part of the Italian Film Festival, the Slow Food Movement and in Italy, on tours that she guides. There’s so much more than pasta, pizza or crumbling ruins.
She’s taken scientists to rarely visited historical, anatomy education sites. Her eclectic anatomy adventures include century’s old dissection-theater tours combined with more traditional classical sites like the Vatican museums, the Piazza San Marco in Venice and the Chianti countryside.
She’s fine-tuned an educational and fun culinary adventure for families, Piccolo Chef, where the secrets of the best homemade Italian recipes are explored hands-on in the midst of an authentic Italian lifestyle. As an accomplished photographer, she's led journeys to capture the best Italian visions.
A partnership with her friend, Stefania, whose family runs a farm/vineyard near the border of Tuscany and Umbria, has led to an 'Agrotourismo' farmhouse visit during the harvest season this fall. The trip will include day trips to nearby villages, lakes, cooking classes plus all kinds of delicious tastings. Rumor has it that weather permitting, there may even be some barefoot grape stomping.
Laura guides each tour herself, taking care to tailor what each group is interested in and as an Italian who straddles American and Mediterranean sensibilities, she truly knows in her bones what is most resonant about the Italy she so loves.
Photo courtesy of Laura Biancocinni