Country Life, in association with the garden-travel specialist Boxwood Tours, is delighted to announce an exclusive tour to some of the finest gardens of Tuscany, from September 22 to 26.
From our luxurious five-star base in Florence at the incomparable Villa La Massa, set in its own beautiful and peaceful grounds bordering the Arno, we will venture forth to explore the great gardens of the area, with the emphasis on private paradises and Renaissance splendour.
Hosted by Nick Dakin-Elliot, resident in Florence for more than 15 years (where he has been at the helm of restoration work at Villa La Pietra), highlights of the tour include Villa Cetinale, the 17th-century Baroque garden reinvigorated by Lord Lambton in the 20th century; Villa di Geggiano with its fine 18th-century pastoral frescoes and green theatre; Villa la Pietra, the lifetime home of writer and aesthete Sir Harold Acton; Villa Medicea di Castello and its remarkable limonaia; Villa Capponi, laid out in multiple rooms, with splendid topiary; and the universally admired Villa Gamberaia, with its influential water parterre. Prices from £3,190 per person include four nights at Villa la Massa, as well as dinner with wine at la Massa’s acclaimed Il Verrocchio restaurant and four lunches.
For more information, please contact Boxwood Tours, Rhiw, Llanbedr, Gwynedd LL45 2NT (01341 241717; www.boxwoodtours.co.uk)
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