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As the name
implies this trail skirts the borders of the province of Siena, the most
beautiful province of Tuscany and also the one most steeped in history
at the heart of one of the areas of settlement of the Etruscans, who
settled only in the most favourable parts of Italy. The starting point
of the tour is a small, picturesque town at the southernmost end of
Tuscany, on the border between the provinces of Grosseto and Siena. We
explore the countryside on country trails, crossing
rivers and visiting ancient places. You can feel the
history of this region filled with remnants of its
rich Etruscan past. Explore the borders of the three
provinces of Lazio, Umbria and Tuscany.
 IT-ITORV
Rates include accommodations in
comfortable aziendas and country inns, gourmet meals
with table wine, 6 riding days
8 days/ 7 nights $ 2,565 Single: + $270
-- based on
€ 1,800 / €
190
2008 Dates:
05/04-05/11 05/11-05/18
05/18-05/25
check availability
Meeting: Proceno
Airport: Rome
Train Station:
Orvieto
Transfer: from Orvieto train station included at ~4 PM, from
Rome $125 per person
(€110)
with min. of 2 people.
Level:
Intermediate+
Tack:
English
Horses:
Locally-bred
Anglo-Arabs
and Maremma mix.
Pace : Moderate with trots and canters
Riding: 30-40 km in about 5-6 hrs. per day
Min/Max Riders: 5-8
Note: good train connections from Rome to Orvieto approx
1.5 hours
Accommodations and meals:
Very nice aziendas and country inns, always with a
typical regional atmosphere in private rooms with
bath, some have an outdoor pool. Meals start with an
Italian breakfast, a sumptuous picnic lunch and then
the evening meal with a minimum of three courses,
table wine, coffee and occasionally some grappa.
Itinerary
Day 1:
Transfer from Orvieto to Proceno. The first night will be spent
at the Castle of Proceno, a 12th century fortress
built to protect the ancient hamlet. The surrounding
region is full of Etruscan, Medieval and Renaissance
monuments that testify to the presence of ancient
civilizations. For dinner
your guide will introduce you to the
itinerary and plan for the next days.
Day 2: Starting from the stables, which
are a five-minute car ride from our quarters, our first outing will be a
round trip in the Conteé di Montorio and Castell Ottieri area, giving
riders the opportunity to get to know their horses. This countryside,
unique in Italy, offers the observer an ever-changing series of
staggered terraces. The fields lined with trees drop steeply at their
borders and continue below on another plane. There are continually
changing views into deep valleys and high plains. Overnight as on Day 1.
Day 3: After breakfast the horses, already
saddled, await their riders. The trek begins with a view of the typical
hill formations of this region, the Crete senese, gentle
clay undulations on which the odd cypress tree grows here and there,
with expansive wheat fields and inaccessible meadows with grazing sheep,
interspersed with isolated, mostly deserted farm houses. After
crossing the river Paglia and the via francigena, a road built in
the middle ages connecting Rome and Paris, we take a country road
with a gentle upward gradient in the direction of Celle sul Rigo. The
view which now emerges reveals two separate wide valleys, which can be
seen stretching out on both the left and right sides from the riders’
vantage point - an ever-changing image of higgledy-piggledy wheat fields
and fields of sunflowers decorated with olive trees and framed with
stretches of forests. During the afternoon the trail takes us along
gravelled roads continually leading uphill. As we cross the bed of the
river Rigo our eyes are now permanently focussed on our night quarters,
proudly perched high above us on the Rocca di Radicofani. Having reached
our destination, somewhat tired but with a sense of achievement, we can
look back on the route we have just taken
Day 4: In the morning we take a northerly
route downhill through forests, soon reaching open country with a full
view towards the southern end of the famous Val d´Orcia. In what
is probably the most beautiful and most often photographed part of
Tuscany we witness “in the flesh” the classic cliché calendar photos
which are so often sniggered at: stone houses framed with cypresses on
the top of small hills, gravelled roads winding their way through the
wheat fields like snakes, an ancient Roman church nestling on the open
plains in an olive grove and more cypress-lined roads. From the highest
point of the valley, Castilioncello we can again enjoy the entire beauty
of the valley but this time from the opposite side, before turning to
descend into a belt of forest until we reach our quarters for the night
near Sarteano.
Day 5: In the morning we will set off
towards the Umbrian border. As we ride along the foothills of Monte
Cetona, the landscape changes as we approach the vineyards of the famous
Chianti wine-growing region. Next to large fields of sunflowers we can
see impressive fattorias (wine growers and wine cellars) with
their respective vineyards. Passing various country villas on the way we
arrive at Piazze, the small, medieval town on the eastern flank of the
mountain. A picnic lunch will be served in an olive grove, where we will
have a well-earned rest in the shade of its trees and perhaps indulge in
a little wishful thinking about renovating the adjacent empty farmhouse
as a holiday home. In the afternoon we arrive at a magnificently
renovated borgo (hamlet) with its own castle in the middle of
tree-cladded hills, from where we then set off for the equally
impressive residential area above the old Roman thermal spa, San
Casciano dei Bagni, gaining a good impression from some of the houses of
the splendour of this bathing resort. Our accommodation is also a nice
small hotel close to the SPA where wife of the household does the
cooking herself.
Day 6: During the morning we will follow
the Umbrian border towards the highest mountain of the region, Monte
Cetona - around which we will by now have almost ridden full circle - at
the heart of the Etruria region, an ancient area of settlement of
the Etruscans. We will climb through extensive areas of forest with our
horses on stony narrow pathways to the cross at the summit and will
experience a fantastic panorama encompassing the three Italian provinces
of Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany. The descent will be made partly on foot,
giving the horses a chance to spare their tired legs. After the lunch we
take our leave and follow a wonderful mountain road to return in the
evening to our comfortable accommodation in San Casciano dei Bagni along
winding mountain paths. Today we will have time to explore the small
town centre before dinner.
Day 7: We ride along country paths through
the Crete senese gently up and down the hills past the expansive
wheat fields, through shady patches of forest and past a reservoir,
indispensable in summer, across a chain of hills. From here our journey
takes us further downhill past deserted romantic farmhouses and fallow
fields. We reach the border between Lazio and Tuscany in Cetona near the
via francigena, which we crossed once before at the beginning of
our trail. We enjoy our picnic lunch on the banks of the river Paglia.
The last part of the trail leads us uphill once again to our last
quarters, the Castle of Proceno where we had an enjoyable stay for the first
two days of our trail.
Day 8: Departure
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Castle of Proceno
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