Welcome
Why are we going to Florence and Gargonza?
For more than twenty-five years Matt, Georgia and Tom have been putting together these adventures. This trip is a return to where it all started. Our very first trip together was to the magical little paradise called Gargonza, in Tuscany. It was one of those random and lucky experiences that changed our lives. The Count Roberto Guiciardini inherited the castle in 1968. His ancestor, Count Francesco Guiciardini, was the court historian to the Medici and worked for Lorenzo the Magnificent. Francesco’s writings are the most important primary source for the political history of Florence during the Renaissance. Our friend, Count Roberto, married the Countess Ginori, who still today lives in the Palazzo Ginori, on Via Ginori, two hundred yards from the Duomo, and next door to the first Medici palace
Roberto inherited and moved into the Castello di Gargonza in 1968. There he and his wife (the Countessa Ginori) began their life’s work; to bring back to life his Medieval village and castle. He put a small classified ad in the London Times inviting guests to stay with him in a medieval castle. In what was either a complaint against the rules of the day, or a brilliant marketing move, he included two words, “Lovers Welcome”. Gargonza thus became one of the very first hotels in Italy where a couple did not have to show proof of marriage in order to share a room. The guests came; they paid; and for the next 50 years, Count Roberto Guiciardini put all the money back into the restoration of the castello.
We’ve always been crazy for history, so we were a great audience for Roberto’s stories. We spent time together in the castle’s archives, where some receipt or government document would bring a memory and lead to a story that his grandfather had told him. We received an education in feudalism from a primary source. When Roberto inherited the castle (and 1500 acres of land) in 1968, he literally also inherited the few old people who still lived there. They were “his people” and he was responsible for their welfare. The last feudal laws in Italy were repealed only in 1972. At that time, the titles of Count and Countess lost any legal meaning, although we learned that they still carried great social value. Roberto and Teresa had had one child together. Neri Guiciardini was a teenager when we first came to Gargonza, Neri and his family now manage the castle and are great friends of ours and Castles and Concerts.
We had another stroke of luck as we prepared our visit to Florence. Marshall Turner and Michal Collins are members of a social club in San Francisco that many of you are familiar with. When they learned that we were going to Florence, they kindly offered introductions to a philanthropic organization that, twenty-five years ago, they helped create. It’s called “The Friends of Florence”, This is a worldwide organization that raises funds for the restoration and preservation of the art and monuments of Florence. We had a wonderful meeting with the director, Simonetta Bandolini (Countess d’Adda). She has been instrumental in opening doors for us.
In addition to our musical artists we will have two wonderful visual artists who will join us, Justin Hess and Alicia Ponzio. Although their studio is now in San Francisco, for many years they were on the faculty of the Florence Academy of Art. As our artists in residence, they will complement the greatest line-up of musical talent that we’ve ever had on one of these trips.
More about all this in the coming pages
Event Highlights
More about Florence
In a few weeks we will come together in Italy. We started working on this trip before the pandemic, so it’s exciting to be so close to making it real. We have updates to share with you.
As we usually do, we will have small independent groups for daytime adventures. Each group of about a dozen guests will have its own guide and its own transportation. Each group will take lunch in a different, specially chosen restaurant each day. But this particular trip will have a twist. Although this will be the first time that Castles and Concerts has visited Florence, we recognize that many people in our group will have been there before. The major sites of Florence are among the most iconic in the world. We will offer some group tours that concentrate on the main sights in Central Florence; Michelangelo’s David and his Sculptures in the Medici Chapel, The Great Duomo (Cathedral) with its famous Dome by Brunelleschi, Paintings of Botticelli, the Ponte Vecchio, the Palazzo Vechio and other major marvels of the Renaissance.
For those who are familiar with these masterworks of Western Civilization we will offer groups that will visit important sights that are less well known. Our guides are internationally recognized scholars. They will lead us to suburban palaces and gardens of the great families, some of which have become museums and others still occupied by the descendants. Every group will have the opportunity to spend time with our artist companions, Alicia and Justin.
Our friends in Florence have provided us a wonderful venue for a special show. On Wednesday evening, May 21, we will share our musical treasures as we present a show in the Teatro Niccolini, The first public opera house in the world (1658). The musicians of Castles and Concerts will present a concert, not only for our fellow travelers, but also for the local community members who have given so much to help preserve the treasures of Florence.
Our Days in Tuscany
As we often do, we will divide into small groups for daily adventures. Evenings we’ll all be together for our banquets and concerts. Each group will have the opportunity to experience each of the daily activities. We will also ask you which other guests you would like to be with on the daily excursions. These pages should give you an idea of what we have planned.
Tuscan towns are some of the most picturesque places on earth. They also have the distinction of producing some of the finest wines, cheeses, olives and other culinary delights on the planet. Having been founded by the Etruscans, the people of these towns have been enjoying the pursuit of the good life for almost three thousand years. Montepulciano, Cortona, Montalcino and Pienza are all within 25 miles of Gargonza. Each day we will seek out the best views, the best food and the best wines. And because you will be traveling with your friends from Castles and Concerts, you know that the companionship will also be the best. And we may get to visit some of these towns in our little red sports cars. Does life get any better?
The Culinary Delights of Tuscany
Italians have a recognized genius for cultivating the gifts of life, whether through the love of family, their engagement with their culture or their unabashed pursuit of the joys of the senses. Great food and wines take a central part in the life of a true Italian. We will allow ourselves to partake in this quest for joy at life’s table of pleasures.
Within two generations, the Italian wines that we get in America have gone (if you are old enough to remember) from the cheap jug wine sold in woven straw baskets to the glories of Brunello di Montalcino, Super Tuscans and Nobile di Montepulciano.
The Etruscans from Tuscany
One of the great, mysterious peoples of history are the Etruscans. They flourished in Tuscany and gave the area its name in the centuries before the Romans took over. They were a group of city-states in central Italy sharing a common language, laws, religion and a highly developed artistic style. Their Achilles heel seems to have been their devotion to the independence of each city, leading to their failure to unite and defend themselves against their common enemy.
As individual cities, Rome was able to pick them off one-at-a-time. In the early days (800-300BCE) they could have easily defeated this upstart society. But Rome was able to bide its time, leaving each of the Etruscans cities to wait its turn to be gobbled up by Rome on its way to world domination.
But one genius of the Romans was their admiration for and the adoption of the high culture and art of those that they conquered. Thus, we must give thanks to Rome for preserving and spreading the art and culture of two great peoples that they conquered and absorbed, the Tuscans and the Greeks.
Driving Classic Sports Cars in Tuscany
The headline daytime activity is to drive a group of vintage convertibles through the Tuscan countryside. The last time we had the group in Italy, at Lake Como, one of our most memorable events was driving classic Italian Sports Cars. No nation on earth can match the exuberance of Italy’s embrace of the automobile as an art form. And the roads through Tuscany between Gargonza and Sienna have some of the most breathtaking drives on the planet.
Lodging
Our Home in Florence
Grand Hotel Villa Medici
We will stay in two five-star properties located in close proximity to one another at the edge of the ancient city-center. For us this is an ideal location. Although everything is within walking distance, we will be grateful in high season to have a couple of blocks between us and the crowds in the city-center. The Sina Villa Medici is in a former palace of the Belle Epoch. It still has its original walled garden in the back of the palace. Most rooms have views and some have terraces. The St Regis is a newly renovated super-luxurious property housed within a Renaissance monastery. All our accommodations are view rooms facing the Arno River.
Our Castle Home in the Hills of Tuscany
The Castello di Gargonza rests on foundations put down by the Etruscans around 800 BCE It was probably taken by the Romans around 300 B.C. as they consolidated their hold on the Italian peninsula. The peace of Roman times meant that there was no need for fortified castles, and for several hundred years Gargonza was the center of a grand farm, cultivating grapes, grains and olives. There are still the remains of Roman roads on the property. There has always been, and remains today, abundant game in the surrounding forests.
We can only speculate about the dark ages that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire, but by around 1100 A.D. the great families of Florence and Sienna had commenced their centuries long struggle for the control of Tuscany. By 1200, new walls had been built at Gargonza. And by the 1300’s, when Dante took refuge here to write the Divine Comedy and avoid the lethal politics of Florence, the Castello had taken the appearance it has today. Although it looks the same from the outside the interiors have all the amenities that you’d expect in a fine hotel. Especially the bathrooms; all from the 21st century.
The Castello is now a forty-five-room village and conference center that is used every year by the National Geographic Society and Harvard University. We have taken the entire property for the duration of our stay.
Some of our travelers will remember the Castello. We spent a wonderful week here in 2009, rehearsing scenes and creating the sets for the opera in Monte Carlo. Left is a watercolor of the castle by Don Brandengurger from our 2009 visit.
Entertainment
The Music, the Musicians and the Artists
We are bringing the “A” team for this adventure. Starting below, from left, Gregg Field, holding an armful of his many Grammys, Next is America’s busiest pianist, another Multi-Grammy winner, Shelly Berg. Billy Valentine will sing for us, (proof that God loves us). To the right of Billy is Dean Parks. Did you know that Dean, one of America’s most often recorded guitarists (Steely Dan) is also a wonderful saxophonist? He’s bringing his horn as well as his guitar. Next is everybody’s favorite bass player, the phenomenal Terry Miller. And we are so thrilled that we will again have the lush, soulful and gorgeous Monica Mancini with us. And these are just the headliners. We’ll have several other musicians, including some of our favorite Italian players that we’ve met over the years. We’ll have Richard Savino, one of America’s premier early music players. He and his musical friends from all over Italy will join him to perform for us in Gargonza. And when we were in Gargonza 12 years ago, we were so impressed with the accordion virtuosity of Alessandro Pelucchini that Terry Miller brought him to the Bay Area for a series of performances. This will make for a grand reunion.
Below left: Alicia Ponzio was for several years the Academy’s director of artistic anatomy and sculpture. Below far right: Justin Hess ( shone here with a self portrait) has exhibited in Italy, London, Monaco, Norway and the United States. His work can be found in private collections around the world.
We‘ll also have two “Artists in Residence”, Justin Hess and Alicia Ponzio, two former faculty members of the Florence Academy of Art who now live and practice their art in San Francisco. They are uniquely qualified to open secret doors to special places and to lead us to a deeper understanding of the art, history and culture of Florence.
Details & Costs
Something Different:
We usually offer a ten-day schedule. This is often offered as a week in the main destination with an optional three-day pre-trip. This allows guests to get a little more time in the destination, but it also allows time to adjust one’s body clock for jetlag. With this trip, we have so much to offer in each of our two destinations that we are splitting it into two equal five-day segments. We will be in Florence for five nights (May 18 to 23) and then Gargonza for five nights (May 23 to 28). The two halves are priced identically. You can opt to come for either half or both halves. If you want to arrive a day or two early to get a jump on jetlag, we will be happy to book rooms for you at cost, but there will be no scheduled activities until the official start of the trip. We will be in high season, so it would be advisable to think about this early in your planning.
Arrival and Departure:
You should plan to fly into and out of Florence. There are flights to Florence from all major hubs in Europe. Our hotels are just twenty-minutes from the small Florence airport. Our plan is to pick you up individually when you arrive. Gargonza is 90 minutes south of Florence, so we will provide several group transports to the Florence airport on May 28th Whatever time your flight is, we’ll get you there.
Dress:
We will be casually elegant for our evenings in the Villa Medici. In Florence we will have a couple of nights to dress up nicely, especially when we mingle with Florence society. But remember that our group has a wide comfort zone for attire. Wear what’s appropriate for you. We’ll be more casual in Gargonza. Comfort (especially shoes) is important walking on on cobblestones in Tuscany.
Weather:
May is the most beautiful time of the year. With the exception of the possibility of some spring showers, the weather should be perfect. Bring a light covering to block the sun in daytime and the cool in the evenings.
What’s included:
All accommodations, concerts, tours and ground transportation. All meals, with the possible exception of a night or two on your own in Florence. House wines are included with dinners and we’ll have great parties every night. You will sign for your own cocktails.
Costs:
The cost for each five-day segment is $5,950/person double occupancy. There are some suites available at an extra cost. A single occupancy supplement is $1,500 for each five days.
Insurance / Cancellations:
If there is something that might prevent you from attending, we encourage you to take out trip insurance. Deposits are fully transferable to someone who takes your place. If you cancel for any reason we will refund all your money if the trip is full & we can fill your spot.
All the best from Tom, Georgia, Matt, and all those who help make these trips possible.