A FLING BUT NO STING

Buzz your way through Tuscany’s picture perfect landscape on a fun, chauffeured Vespa ride. You’ll feel the excitement of rolling across Chianti’s verdant hills, past olive groves and vineyards, on the back of Piaggio’s iconic, ultra-practical, revolutionary creation.

First produced in 1946, the Vespa has become a symbol of Italy’s struggle to emerge from the wreckage of World War II. Piaggio – back then operating in the aeronautical field in Pontedera, near Pisa – was completely demolished by bombs during the conflict. Enrico Piaggio, son of Piaggio’s founder Rinaldo, decided to renew the factory in a way that would answer the country’s need for a modern and affordable means of transport. He engaged aeronautical engineer Corradino D’Ascanio to design a simple, robust, 2-passenger vehicle, easy to drive for both men and women with the aim of getting post war Italy on its feet again. Did you know that the word vespa means wasp in Italian? When Enrico Piaggio first saw Corradino’s invention he exclaimed “Sembra una vespa!” (“It looks like a wasp!”) – referring to the shape of the scooter and the noise of its engine.

Your private chauffeur will pick you up at your accommodation in Florence and drive you to the starting point of your tour. Here your Vespa drivers will be waiting ready to lead you on an exhilarating ride through the Tuscan countryside. Take in the scent of cypress trees, admire the views of medieval villages and, if you try hard enough, you might just catch the sounds of a trumpet blast, thundering hooves and clashing swords resonating through the hills. Lying between Florence and Siena, Chianti – deriving its name from the Latin term clangor, meaning “noise” – often found itself at the centre of tumultuous events and was far from being the peaceful Eden you can admire today! As you whizz across this splendid landscape, imagine the medieval scene of knights on horseback charging out into battle to defend their frontiers. The symbol of Chianti wine, the black rooster, stands as an enduring reminder of the age-old clash between the two rival cities. According to legend, Florence and Siena agreed to put an end to their long quarrel over the borders of their territories by each sending out a knight on horseback when the rooster crowed, at daybreak on a given date. The place they met would become the new line that divided them. The two cities both did their best to outwit the other. In Siena, the white rooster was treated to a lavish meal in the hope that a full stomach would produce a vigorous morning crow, while in Florence, the black rooster was left hungry so that it would rise earlier, allowing their knight a head start. The latter strategy proved to be the right one for the Florentine knight set off long before his opposite number in Siena and successfully claimed most of Chianti for Florence. Since then the black rooster has been the emblem of the region.

Your ride will end at a renowned Chianti estate. Here, on a tour of the property, you will get to know about wine-making and ageing methods, become familiar with the particular features and regulations that define Chianti Classico and discover the unique characteristics of the terroir and climate that make wines produced here so special. Top off your day with a delicious light lunch made with prime quality ingredients and accompanied with the estate’s wines.

After lunch your private chauffeur will be waiting outside the estate ready to drive you back to your accommodation in Florence.