Boxwood brochure 2022

Programme
Day 1
Check-in at London Heathrow for your early afternoon flight to Pisa
Galileo Galilei Airport. You’ll drive to Florence to receive a warm
welcome at Hotel Regency with time to settle in before dining together
with local wine included.
Day 2
Villa La Pietra is the magnificent Acton family villa now owned by New
York University. Here, Nick Dakin-Elliot will explain how Kim Wilkie’s
ingenious plan restored this important site. A picnic lunch is provided
in the gardens of La Pietra before visiting Cecil Pinsent’s dramatic
treatment of the steep hillside at Villa Le Balze in Fiesole. You’ll return
to Hotel Regency before dining out in a local restaurant together, with
local wines included.
Day 3
You head south of Florence today to visit two beautiful estates, one
in the Val d’Orcia, a miraculously intact valley in southern Tuscany
and the other in the rolling hills of Chianti. When Antonio and Iris
Origo bought the estate of La Foce, they engaged the English architect
Cecil Pinsent to restructure the main buildings and create a garden
to enhance the Renaissance house and expand the spectacular view
over the valley. Perfect harmony between buildings, garden and nature
helps La Foce stand out as one of Pinsent’s best works. Count Bianchi
Bandinelli of Villa di Geggiano then invites you to lunch at the villa
with its 18th-Century frescoes representing the 12 months of the year
created by Austrian artist, Ignazio Moder. Take time to stroll around
the garden to see the famous green theatre and walls decorated with
vases and monkey grotteschi. Your evening is free to explore Florence
and find the restaurant of your choice.
Day 4
Start the day with a short walking tour in the company of Jeremy
Boudreau of the British Institute. Jeremy will talk you through the
wonderful sculptures found in the heart of Florence. You are then
invited by Marchese Vieri Torrigiani Malaspina for a light lunch and
a tour of Giardino Torrigiani, a remarkable garden owned by the
Torrigiani families since the 16th-Century and the largest privately
owned garden within city walls in Europe. There follows free time
before rejoining at the hotel for early evening drinks and a Q&A
session with Helen Yemm and Nick Dakin-Elliot. You will dine together
at a local restaurant.
Day 5
On the last day of the tour you visit the gardens of Villa Gamberaia,
one of the most perfect examples of garden architecture. Though the
original garden dates back to the 17th-Century, the famous water
terrace was designed by Princess Ghyka of Serbia in the late 19th-
Century. Both were severely damaged in the Second World War and
immaculately restored by Signor Marcello Marchi. Explore the unique
water parterre, bowling alley, secret garden, nymphaeum, lemon
garden and bosco with magnificent views over the Arno Valley. Lunch
is at Enoteca Rossellino. You then return to Pisa Galileo Galilei Airport
for your flight home to London Heathrow.
An exclusive Telegraph tour hosted
by garden expert Helen Yemm
and led by Kirsty Fergusson
Tour Dates
9 - 13 May 2022
5 days
Tour Prices
£3,480 per person
‘No flights’ price £3,280 per person
Double room for sole use supplement £550
Deposit £450 per person
What’s Included
• Return flights with British Airways from London Heathrow
to Pisa Galileo Galilei
• Private coach transfers and excursions
• Four nights’ bed and breakfast in the five-star Regency Hotel,
Florence
• Three evening meals and four lunches with wine
• Guided visits to sites listed in the programme
• Services of the Tour Leader and Hosts
• Detailed programme and garden notes
• All entrance fees, taxes and gratuities for coach drivers
and waiters
Your Accommodation
Hotel Regency, Florence
Situated in a quiet, residential area, Hotel Regency-Small
Luxury Hotels of the World is hidden away from the busy
city centre, yet only 10 minutes from Florence’s main
tourist sites, including the Accademia Gallery. Facing
lush, green parkland on one side and a historic square
on the other, this hotel, one of the leading small hotels
of the world, offers unparalleled service, with attentive,
professional staff and beautiful accommodation.
Villa Gamberaia
To book call 01341 241717 or visit boxwoodtours.co.uk
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