The Ultimate Self-Drive Italian Food Tour from Turin and Barolo to Bologna, Chianti and Florence
Thirteen days are enough to cross three of Italy’s greatest food regions. They are not enough to taste everything in them.
That is exactly why this itinerary works.
It begins in Piedmont, where Nebbiolo, butter, egg pasta, Fassona beef, hazelnuts and white truffles establish a cuisine built on perfume, depth and restraint. It crosses into Emilia, where Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, mortadella, fresh pasta, Lambrusco and traditional balsamic vinegar shift the register towards salt, fat, fermentation and time. Then the road climbs over the Apennines into Tuscany, where olive oil replaces butter, bread loses its salt and Sangiovese changes personality as the landscape moves from Chianti Classico to Montalcino and Montepulciano.
This is designed as a self-bookable road trip.
The wineries have already been selected. So have the dairy, prosciutto producer, balsamic vinegar cellar, truffle hunters and Bologna pasta schools. Addresses, telephone numbers, booking contacts, published prices and realistic timings are included below.
Where several approaches are possible, the alternatives are not random. You will usually find a historic or traditional choice, followed by something organic, biodynamic, low-intervention or architecturally spectacular.
There is one rule throughout the journey:
never book more than two serious wine tastings in one day.
By the third cellar, you are usually collecting labels rather than understanding wine.
The Route
Day 1 — Turin: chocolate, vermouth and Piedmontese cooking
Day 2 — Barbaresco and Alba: Martinenga and Produttori del Barbaresco
Day 3 — Barolo: Cavallotto and Marcarini
Day 4 — Langhe: truffle hunt, lunch and transfer to Parma
Day 5 — Parma: Parmigiano Reggiano production and the historic city
Day 6 — Langhirano, Modena and Bologna: Prosciutto di Parma and traditional balsamic vinegar
Day 7 — Bologna: a real sfoglia course
Day 8 — Chianti Classico: Panzano, Sangiovese and one carefully chosen winery
Day 9 — Badia a Coltibuono, Monteriggioni and Siena
Day 10 — Siena and Montalcino: Brunello at Col d’Orcia
Day 11 — Pienza and Montepulciano: Pecorino and Vino Nobile
Day 12 — San Gimignano: Vernaccia at Panizzi
Day 13 — Florence: art, bistecca and no more winery appointments
The practical sequence matters. Do not keep the car in Turin. Collect it on the morning of Day 2 and return it when you reach Florence on Day 13.
Day 1 – Turin: Chocolate, Vermouth and the Piedmontese Table
Turin is the right introduction because Piedmontese cuisine did not develop solely in farm kitchens.
This was a royal capital. The House of Savoy brought court culture, French influence and a taste for ceremony to a city that later became the first capital of unified Italy. Turin’s cafés, confectioners, vermouth houses and restaurants belong to that history.
Begin in the centre around Piazza Castello, Via Po and Piazza San Carlo.
Then have a bicerin: coffee, chocolate and cream layered in a small glass. Chocolate is not an incidental Turin speciality. The city became one of the European centres of chocolate production, and the combination of cocoa with Piedmontese hazelnuts eventually produced gianduja.
Vermouth developed in the same urban world.
Lunch should introduce the region gently: vitello tonnato, carne cruda all’Albese, agnolotti del plin, perhaps peppers with anchovy sauce.
Spend the afternoon at the Museo Egizio rather than trying to manufacture another food experience.
Then return to the table.
At dinner, start going deeper: finanziera if you enjoy offal, tajarin, braised beef, rabbit or more elaborate Piedmontese dishes.
Tomorrow the vineyards start.
Where to Stay in Turin
Budget – Hotel Torino Porta Susa
A practical independent hotel close to Porta Susa station. It is particularly convenient because you can collect the rental car nearby the following morning without driving through central Turin.
Address: Corso San Martino 5, 10122 Turin
Telephone: +39 011 4454648
Email: [email protected]
Category: small city hotel
Price level: €
Best for: value, rail access and an easy departure towards the Langhe.
Mid-range – NH Collection Torino Piazza Carlina
A historic building on one of central Turin’s elegant squares, within easy walking distance of Via Po, Piazza Castello and the Egyptian Museum.
Address: Piazza Carlo Emanuele II 15, 10123 Turin
Telephone: +39 011 8601611
Email: [email protected]
Category: 4-star hotel
Price level: €€€
Best for: a central first stay without moving into full luxury.
Splurge – Principi di Piemonte | UNA Esperienze
One of Turin’s classic high-end addresses, just behind Via Roma and Piazza San Carlo.
Address: Via Piero Gobetti 15, 10123 Turin
Telephone: +39 011 55151
Category: luxury hotel
Price level: €€€€
Best for: a grand opening night in Turin.
Where to Eat in Turin
Tre Galline
One of the useful addresses for establishing what traditional Piedmontese cooking actually tastes like before the journey moves into wine country.
Address: Via Gian Francesco Bellezia 37, 10122 Turin
Telephone: +39 011 4366553
Cuisine: traditional Piedmontese
Price: approximately €40–70
Order: vitello tonnato, agnolotti, finanziera and seasonal braises.
Scannabue
More relaxed and contemporary in atmosphere but firmly rooted in Piedmont.
Address: Largo Saluzzo 25/H, 10125 Turin
Telephone: +39 011 6696693
Cuisine: Piedmontese
Price: approximately €40–60
Order: raw Fassona, vitello tonnato and tajarin.
Ristorante Consorzio
The choice when you want traditional Piedmontese ingredients without having every rough edge polished away.
Address: Via Monte di Pietà 23, 10122 Turin
Telephone: +39 011 2767661
Cuisine: contemporary Piedmontese
Price: approximately €45–75
Best for: offal, unusual cuts, cheese and an intelligent regional cellar.
Day 2 – Barbaresco: Begin Nebbiolo at Martinenga
Collect the car early and leave Turin for the Langhe.
Aim to reach Barbaresco by mid-morning.
The first winery has already been chosen.
10:30 – Book This: Marchesi di Grésy, Martinenga
This is the historic/classic opening I would choose for the entire wine section.
Martinenga is an extraordinary natural amphitheatre immediately below Barbaresco, cultivated by the di Grésy family since the eighteenth century and vinified as a family monopoly since 1797.
It gives you three things at once: history, a comprehensible vineyard landscape and a serious introduction to Barbaresco without beginning the trip with a commercial tasting-room experience.
Style: historic, classical, estate-focused
Estate: Marchesi di Grésy – Martinenga
Address: Strada della Stazione 21, 12050 Barbaresco CN
Telephone: +39 0173 635221
Email: [email protected]
Booking: reservation required; tastings can be booked directly with the estate
Suggested slot: request approximately 10:30
Price: depends on the tasting selected; confirm at booking
Allow: around 90 minutes unless the estate confirms another format
Best for: understanding a single historic Barbaresco vineyard before comparing producers.
Do not rush away immediately afterward.
Walk through Barbaresco, see the vineyard slopes from the village and have lunch before the second tasting.
15:30 – Book This: Produttori del Barbaresco
The second stop should deliberately be completely different.
Produttori del Barbaresco was founded in 1958 and remains one of the benchmark cooperative institutions in the wine world. More than fifty growers contribute Nebbiolo from approximately 100 hectares, with the famous series of single-vineyard Riserva wines providing an unusually clear way to study Barbaresco terroir.
Do not choose this because it is a cooperative curiosity.
Choose it because the wines provide an exceptional counterpoint to a privately owned estate such as Martinenga.
Style: historic cooperative, traditional benchmark
Address: Via Torino 54, 12050 Barbaresco CN
Telephone: +39 0173 635139
Email: [email protected]
Booking: contact in advance for current cellar-visit or tasting availability
Suggested slot: request approximately 15:30
Price: confirm directly when booking
Best for: comparing villages, vineyards and the collective history of Barbaresco.
If a full winery visit is not available on your date, still use the stop as a comparative tasting or buying opportunity rather than replacing it with a random estate.
Alternative Barbaresco – Sottimano
Choose Sottimano instead of Produttori if you want a smaller family estate with organic viticulture and a deliberately low-intervention approach.
The estate works with several important Barbaresco sites including Cottà, Currà, Fausoni, Pajoré and Basarin.
Style: organic, terroir-driven, low-intervention
Address: Località Cottà, 12052 Neive CN
Telephone: +39 0173 635186
Email: [email protected]
Booking: contact the estate in advance
Price: on request
Best for: visitors more interested in contemporary artisanal viticulture than a historic cooperative model.
Return to Alba for the night.
Day 3 – Barolo: Cavallotto in the Morning, Marcarini in the Afternoon
Today is deliberately built around two traditional estates.
Not prestigious visitor centres.
Not a generic tasting of six Barolos from six municipalities.
Two places with histories, vineyards and cellar personalities sufficiently different to make the comparison useful.
10:00 – Book This: Cavallotto, Bricco Boschis
This is the visit I would not remove.
The Cavallotto family acquired Bricco Boschis in 1928 and began vinifying its entire estate production itself in 1946. The first Barolo carrying the Cavallotto name followed in 1948.
The estate remains particularly instructive because vineyard and cellar are physically connected. Bricco Boschis and Vignolo are not names explained on a map before you enter a tasting room: they are the place around you.
Winemaking remains fundamentally traditional, with long ageing and large Slavonian oak casks playing central roles.
Style: deeply traditional Barolo, family estate
Address: Via Alba–Monforte, Bricco Boschis, 12060 Castiglione Falletto CN
Telephone: +39 0173 62814
Email: [email protected]
Booking: contact the winery directly; advance reservation essential
Suggested slot: request approximately 10:00
Price: confirm with the estate
Allow: around 90 minutes
Taste for: the relationship between Bricco Boschis, structure and traditional Barolo ageing.
Afterward, drive through Castiglione Falletto and continue towards La Morra.
Have lunch.
Walk to the panoramic viewpoint.
Then go underground.
15:30 – Book This: Poderi Marcarini
Marcarini could hardly provide a better contrast.
The cellars sit in the centre of La Morra, inside an eighteenth-century building adjoining a medieval tower.
The estate has been associated with wine for six generations and is particularly useful for understanding two major La Morra vineyards: Brunate and La Serra.
Unlike a modern visitor complex, this feels like entering the historical infrastructure of a wine village.
Style: traditional, historic village cellar
Cellar: Piazza Martiri 2, La Morra CN
Visitor entrance and wine shop: Via Umberto I 34, La Morra CN
Telephone: +39 0173 50222
Visits email: [email protected]
General email: [email protected]
Booking: private winery tours available by reservation
Suggested slot: request approximately 15:30
Price: confirm at booking
Allow: approximately 60–90 minutes
Taste for: the difference between La Serra and Brunate and the softer, aromatic side of La Morra Nebbiolo.
Cavallotto plus Marcarini is the traditional Barolo pair I would book first.
Architecture and Art Alternative – Ceretto, Tenuta Monsordo Bernardina
Replace one of the two traditional visits with Ceretto only if art, architecture and contemporary winery design are a major part of the trip.
At Monsordo, an older estate has been transformed into Ceretto’s headquarters and surrounded by contemporary interventions. The most famous is L’Acino, the transparent grape-shaped viewing structure overlooking the vineyards.
This is the visual counterpoint to Marcarini’s underground eighteenth-century cellar.
Style: contemporary, organic, architecture and art
Address: Strada Provinciale Alba/Barolo, Località San Cassiano 34, 12051 Alba CN
Visits telephone: +39 0173 268033
General telephone: +39 0173 282582
Email: [email protected]
Booking: advance reservation
Price: depends on the chosen experience
Best for: architecture, contemporary art and a polished modern interpretation of Langhe hospitality.
If you have never visited Barolo before, I would still choose Cavallotto + Marcarini.
Save Ceretto for a second trip or use it only if someone in the group is more interested in design than another traditional cellar.
Day 4 – A Real Truffle Morning, Then Drive to Parma
Do not sleep in Alba tonight.
That would force an absurd pre-dawn drive tomorrow to reach Parmigiano Reggiano production at 09:00.
Instead, use the morning for truffles, have lunch and drive to Parma during the afternoon.
09:30 – Primary Choice: Truffle Tour with Marco Varaldo
For the cleanest traditional option, book Marco Varaldo in La Morra.
The standard experience lasts approximately two hours and takes groups of 2–15 people into the woods and natural truffle grounds around La Morra with the dog taking over once the hunt begins.
The activity depends on season, weather and availability rather than promising that nature will produce a perfect white truffle on cue.
That uncertainty is precisely the point.
Operator: Truffle Tour di Marco Varaldo
Base: La Morra CN
Telephone: +39 329 8597908
Email: [email protected]
Standard hunt: approximately 2 hours
Group size: minimum 2, maximum 15
Suggested time: request a morning departure around 09:30
Price: on request
Confirmation: subject to availability and weather conditions
Best for: a traditional, small-scale truffle hunt without turning it into a staged gastronomic show.
There are longer variations combining truffles with food, wine or hazelnuts, but do not book those for this itinerary.
You already have enough wine.
Do the simple two-hour hunt.
Alternative – Bianco Tartufi, Verduno
Bianco Tartufi is the alternative I would choose if you want the experience connected more explicitly with natural truffle-ground conservation and farming.
The project works not only with hunts and sales but also with maintenance and recovery of natural truffle grounds.
Address: Borgata Molino 13, 12060 Verduno CN
Truffle-hunt reservations: Marta, +39 334 8068596
Truffle information and purchases: Daniele, +39 333 8948639
Email: [email protected]
Booking: appointment only
Price: on request
Best for: natural truffle ecology and a conservation-oriented approach.
After the hunt, have a final Langhe lunch.
Drink Dolcetto, Barbera, Nascetta or Alta Langa.
Then leave.
Allow roughly three hours for the drive towards Parma, depending on traffic and the exact departure point.
Check into the Parma hotel before dinner.
Where to Stay in Alba for Days 2 and 3
Budget – B&B HOTEL Alba
Address: Corso Asti 5, 12051 Alba
Telephone: +39 0173 328247
Category: modern hotel
Price level: €–€€
Best for: parking and keeping accommodation costs under control.
Mid-range – Hotel Calissano
Address: Via Pola 8, 12051 Alba
Telephone: +39 0173 364855
Category: 4-star hotel
Price level: €€–€€€
Best for: leaving the car and walking into Alba for dinner.
Splurge – Casa di Langa
Address: Località Talloria 1, 12050 Cerretto Langhe
Telephone: +39 0173 520520
Category: luxury countryside retreat
Price level: €€€€
Best for: vineyards, spa and a more immersive Langhe stay.
Three Restaurants for the Langhe
Osteria dell’Arco
Address: Piazza Michele Ferrero 5/A, 12051 Alba
Telephone: +39 0173 363974
Cuisine: traditional Piedmontese
Price: approximately €35–55
Best for: tajarin, plin and regional cooking without ceremony.
Enoclub
Address: Piazza Michele Ferrero 4, 12051 Alba
Telephone: +39 0173 33994
Cuisine: contemporary Piedmontese
Price: approximately €45–80
Best for: dinner with a serious regional wine list.
Piazza Duomo
Address: Piazza Risorgimento 4, 12051 Alba
Telephone: +39 0173 366167
Cuisine: contemporary fine dining
Price level: €€€€
Best for: the major gastronomic splurge of the Piedmont section.
Day 5 – Parma: Watch Parmigiano Reggiano Being Made
This appointment dictates the morning.
Book the 09:00 Full Experience, not the later shortened visit.
09:00 – Book This: Caseificio San Pier Damiani
The crucial difference is timing.
At 09:00 you see the production process from the beginning, including the phases that later visitors miss.
The visit follows milk through the copper vats, curd cutting, cooking and extraction before moving into ageing and tasting.
Different maturations of Parmigiano Reggiano are tasted at the end.
Producer: Caseificio San Pier Damiani
Address: Strada Gazzano 35/A, 43122 San Prospero, Parma
Telephone: +39 0521 645181
Mobile: +39 375 5726640
Email: [email protected]
Experience: Full Experience
Start: 09:00
Days: Wednesday–Sunday
Duration: allow approximately 1.5–2 hours
Price: €25 per person, tasting included
Languages: Italian and English
Booking: online; normally bookable up to 48 hours beforehand
Best for: actually seeing Parmigiano Reggiano being made rather than touring an empty dairy later in the day.
There is an 11:00 experience on certain days.
Do not choose it unless 09:00 is impossible.
It omits the earliest production phases and the extraction of the wheel.
Parma in the Afternoon
Return to Parma after the dairy.
The afternoon belongs to the Cathedral and Baptistery.
Benedetto Antelami’s sculpture, the pink Verona marble and the extraordinary Romanesque ensemble are substantial enough that architecture does not feel like an activity inserted to burn calories between meals.
Dinner is the moment for anolini, tortelli d’erbetta, Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano Reggiano in their actual regional context.
Stay in Parma again tonight.
Tomorrow starts in Langhirano.
Where to Stay in Parma – Two Nights
Budget – Novotel Parma Centro
Address: Via Trento 9, 43122 Parma
Telephone: +39 0521 272717
Category: modern hotel
Price level: €€
Best for: straightforward logistics and short drives out of the city.
Mid-range – Palazzo Dalla Rosa Prati
Address: Strada al Duomo 7, 43121 Parma
Telephone: +39 0521 386429
Email: [email protected]
Category: historic residence
Price level: €€€
Best for: sleeping beside Parma’s Cathedral and Baptistery.
Splurge – Grand Hotel di Parma
Address: Strada del Quartiere 4, 43125 Parma
Telephone: +39 0521 077077
Email: [email protected]
Category: luxury hotel
Price level: €€€€
Best for: full-service comfort and more space.
Where to Eat in Parma
Ristorante Cocchi
Address: Viale Antonio Gramsci 16/A, 43126 Parma
Telephone: +39 0521 995147
Cuisine: traditional Parmigiano
Price: approximately €35–60
Order: anolini in brodo, bolliti and traditional Emilian dishes.
Angiol d’Or
Address: Vicolo Scutellari 1, 43121 Parma
Telephone: +39 0521 282632
Cuisine: Parmigiano / Emilian
Price: approximately €40–70
Best for: a polished dinner beside Piazza Duomo.
Osteria dei Servi
Address: Piazza Ghiaia 1/M, 43121 Parma
Telephone: +39 0521 1856156
Cuisine: Emilian
Price: approximately €30–45
Best for: salumi and generous local cooking.
Day 6 – Prosciutto in Langhirano, Balsamic Vinegar in Modena, Sleep in Bologna
This is the most active driving day, but the sequence is logical.
Start with prosciutto while the palate is fresh.
09:30 – Book This: Salumificio Conti
Conti is still a family-run producer, founded as a prosciutto business in 1968 after the family had worked in agriculture in the surrounding hills.
The visit begins where fresh legs are salted and continues through the production rooms into the ageing cellars.
The tasting is unusually useful because it goes beyond one anonymous slice of Parma ham.
Producer: Salumificio Conti
Address: Strada Fontana 2/A, Langhirano, Parma
Telephone: +39 0521 357020
Private/group enquiries: +39 0521 863675
Email: [email protected]
Private visits: [email protected]
Duration: maximum approximately 1 hour 15 minutes including tasting
Languages: Italian and English; English is not available at every session
Booking: mandatory; tours operate every day, including weekends
Tasting includes: 24-month Prosciutto di Parma, Dolce Culatta, Fiocco di Prosciutto, grissini, wine and water
Price: confirm when booking
Suggested request: earliest available English tour around 09:30
Best for: following the entire Parma-ham process from salting to natural ageing.
After the tour, drive towards Modena.
Have lunch in the city before continuing to Magreta.
15:30 – Book This: Acetaia Leonardi 1871, Typical Tour
For traditional balsamic vinegar, I would book Leonardi’s Typical Tour, not the basic visit.
It is short enough to fit the route but adds Parmigiano Reggiano and Lambrusco to the vinegar tasting, making it much easier to understand how balsamic behaves with food.
The visit moves among the old barrels and explains cooked grape must, ageing and the system of transfers between casks.
Producer: Acetaia Leonardi 1871
Address: Via Mazzacavallo 62, 41043 Magreta di Formigine MO
Telephone: +39 059 554375
Email: [email protected]
Experience: Typical Tour
Duration: approximately 45 minutes
Includes: full guided visit, aged balsamic tastings, Parmigiano Reggiano and Lambrusco
Booking: reservation required, available seven days a week subject to schedule
Languages: foreign-language tours must be requested in advance
Price: confirm directly with the acetaia
Best for: learning the difference between Traditional Balsamic Vinegar and ordinary commercial balsamic products without spending half a day there.
If you want a longer food-oriented visit, ask for the Farmer’s Snack Tour, which lasts roughly 60–100 minutes and adds local cured meats.
For this itinerary, the Typical Tour is enough.
Then drive to Bologna.
Three Restaurants in Modena
Trattoria Aldina
Address: Via Luigi Albinelli 40, 41121 Modena
Telephone: +39 059 236106
Cuisine: traditional Modenese
Price: approximately €20–35
Best for: tortellini, tagliatelle and a practical lunch before the acetaia.
Franceschetta58
Address: Via Vignolese 58, 41124 Modena
Telephone: +39 059 309100
Cuisine: contemporary Emilian
Price: approximately €45–80
Best for: a more modern lunch if timing permits.
Osteria Francescana
Address: Via Stella 22, 41121 Modena
Telephone: +39 059 223912
Cuisine: contemporary Italian
Price level: €€€€
Best for: a destination meal, but only book it if you are prepared to rebuild the day around lunch.
For this itinerary, Aldina is the practical choice.
Day 7 – Bologna: Learn Sfoglia Properly
Today there is no winery.
There is flour.
10:00 – Book This: VSB Bologna / Associazione delle Sfogline
For a serious course, choose the school associated with Alessandra Spisni.
This is not a quick tourist workshop where everyone decorates one pre-made raviolo.
The one-day Sfoglia course teaches dough preparation, rolling the sheet with a mattarello, tortellini, tortelloni and tagliatelle.
Then you eat the work.
School: VSB Bologna – Associazione delle Sfogline
Address: Via del Partigiano 7, 40134 Bologna
Telephone: +39 051 6491576
WhatsApp: +39 370 3155953
Course: Sfoglia Day
Start: 10:00
Teaching: approximately 3 hours, followed by lunch; allow until around 14:00
Languages: Italian and English
Price: €230 per person, taxes excluded according to the current course listing
Booking: compulsory with prepayment
You make: dough, tortellini, tortelloni and tagliatelle
Lunch includes: tortellini in broth, tortelloni, tagliatelle al ragù, water and a glass of local wine
Best for: people who genuinely want to understand Bologna’s pasta technique.
This is expensive compared with casual tourist classes.
It is also the one I would select for someone who has travelled to Bologna specifically to learn sfoglia.
Private Alternative – Rita Mattioli
For a couple or small party wanting a more private format, Rita Mattioli is much easier to customise.
She can combine a short visit to the centre and market with a pasta lesson and final tasting.
Address: Via San Vitale 53, 40125 Bologna
Telephone: +39 333 3099749
Email: [email protected]
Languages: Italian and English
Schedule: on request
Price: on request
Best for: private or personalised classes rather than a formal school.
More Informal Alternative – Paola Kitchen
Paola teaches in her home kitchen rather than a school.
The class is shorter and significantly cheaper than VSB, making it useful for someone who wants a hands-on experience without devoting most of the day to it.
Location: private home kitchen a few minutes from central Bologna; exact address supplied after booking
Email: [email protected]
Course: handmade fresh pasta
Typical time: 17:00–19:00
Duration: approximately 2 hours
Price: €129 per person
Maximum group: 10
Includes: aperitivo, tagliatelle, tortelloni, tiramisù, 1–2 glasses of wine and recipes
Languages: Italian and English; French also available according to the current course listing
Cancellation: free up to 24 hours before
Best for: a smaller, homelier and more affordable experience.
What to Do with the Rest of Bologna
After VSB, walk.
Piazza Maggiore, San Petronio, Santo Stefano, the Quadrilatero and Bologna’s porticoes are enough.
Do not book another food tour.
You have just spent the morning making tortellini.
At dinner, compare your pasta with someone who has been doing it for thirty years.
Where to Stay in Bologna – Two Nights
Budget – Centrale Bologna
Address: Via Giovanni Amendola 6, Bologna
Telephone: +39 329 8442399
Price level: €–€€
Best for: station access and keeping costs down.
Mid-range – Art Hotel Commercianti
Address: Via de’ Pignattari 11, 40124 Bologna
Telephone: +39 051 7457511
Email: [email protected]
Price level: €€€
Best for: sleeping directly beside Piazza Maggiore and San Petronio.
Splurge – Grand Hotel Majestic già Baglioni
Address: Via dell’Indipendenza 8, 40121 Bologna
Telephone: +39 051 225445
Price level: €€€€
Best for: traditional grand-hotel Bologna.
Where to Eat in Bologna
Osteria Bottega
Address: Via Santa Caterina 51, 40123 Bologna
Telephone: +39 051 585111
Cuisine: Bolognese
Price: approximately €45–70
Best for: the traditional dinner I would prioritise.
Trattoria da Me
Address: Via San Felice 50/A, 40122 Bologna
Telephone: +39 051 555486
Cuisine: contemporary Bolognese
Price: approximately €35–60
Best for: traditional foundations with more freedom.
Ahimè
Address: Via San Gervasio 6/E, 40121 Bologna
Telephone: +39 051 4983400
Cuisine: contemporary seasonal
Price: approximately €40–80
Best for: vegetables, sourcing and a break from relentless pork and butter.
Day 8 – Chianti Classico: One Winery, Three Ways to Choose It
Leave Bologna after breakfast and cross the Apennines.
Do not try to squeeze two wineries into the day simply because there are hundreds available.
The journey itself takes time.
Have lunch in Greve or Panzano, then make one substantial afternoon visit.
I would book Monte Bernardi.
But there are three clearly different choices.
Primary Choice – Monte Bernardi: Organic, Terroir-Driven Panzano
Monte Bernardi sits directly along the SR222 near Panzano and provides the smallest-scale, vineyard-first experience of the three.
The farm works organically and applies biodynamic principles. The visit goes through vines and cellar before finishing with wine and extra-virgin olive oil.
Style: organic, artisanal, terroir-focused
Address: Via Chiantigiana SR222, km 33, 50022 Panzano in Chianti FI
Telephone: +39 055 852400
Email: [email protected]
Tour: vineyard and winery visit with wine and olive-oil tasting
Price: €25 per person
Languages: Italian and English
Booking: private tours must be booked in advance
Suggested slot: request 14:30–15:00
Best for: understanding Panzano through Sangiovese rather than through a prestige-brand presentation.
This is my pick for Day 8.
Architecture Alternative – Antinori nel Chianti Classico
If architecture matters as much as vineyards, go to Bargino instead.
The Antinori winery is one of the most ambitious contemporary wine buildings in Tuscany, sunk into the hillside beneath a vineyard-covered roof and organised around its enormous spiral staircase.
Choose the Tinaia Tour.
Style: contemporary architecture, historic wine family
Address: Via Cassia per Siena 133, Località Bargino, 50026 San Casciano Val di Pesa FI
Tour booking telephone: +39 055 2359700
Visits email: [email protected]
Experience: Tinaia Tour
Duration: approximately 1.5 hours
Price: €50 per adult
Age 7–17: €10
Children 0–6: free
Languages: Italian and English
Includes: architecture, production spaces, rooftop vineyard, museum and three wines
Best for: the architectural “wow” visit of the entire trip.
This is not the visit I would choose to study one Chianti Classico UGA in depth.
It is the visit I would choose to see what modern wine architecture can do.
Historic Alternative – Save Badia a Coltibuono for Tomorrow
Do not put Badia a Coltibuono into Day 8.
It fits tomorrow’s route towards Siena far better.
Where to Stay in Chianti Classico
Budget – Albergo Casa al Sole
Address: Via Vittorio Veneto 82, 50022 Greve in Chianti
Telephone: +39 055 8547630
Price level: €€
Best for: practical access to Greve and the SR222.
Mid-range – Villa Bordoni
Address: Via San Cresci 31/32, 50022 Greve in Chianti
Telephone: +39 055 854749
Price level: €€€
Best for: a small countryside hotel with more atmosphere.
Splurge – COMO Castello Del Nero
Address: Strada Spicciano 7, 50028 Barberino Tavarnelle
Telephone: +39 055 8064701
Price level: €€€€
Best for: spa, estate atmosphere and a serious luxury night.
Where to Eat in Chianti Classico
Ristoro di Lamole
Address: Via Lamole 6, 50022 Lamole
Telephone: +39 055 8547050
Cuisine: Tuscan
Price: approximately €35–60
Best for: altitude, views and a very good lunch before a winery.
Fuoripiazza
Address: Piazza Trento 1, 50022 Greve in Chianti
Telephone: +39 055 8546313
Cuisine: Tuscan
Price: approximately €30–50
Best for: a practical central meal.
Officina della Bistecca
Address: Via XX Luglio 11, 50022 Panzano in Chianti
Telephone: +39 055 852020
Cuisine: beef-focused Tuscan
Price: approximately €50+
Best for: the full Dario Cecchini carnivorous experience.
Day 9 – Badia a Coltibuono, Monteriggioni and Siena
Leave the hotel early and head east.
Today’s winery is unlike any other on the route.
09:30 – Book This: Badia a Coltibuono
Badia a Coltibuono occupies a former abbey whose history reaches back roughly a millennium.
That is why it belongs in this itinerary.
The visit is not only vineyard and tank room. It moves through the former abbey, historic cellars, cloister and Renaissance garden before tasting the wines.
This is the historic-architecture winery stop of the Tuscan section.
Style: historic estate in former monastery
Location: Badia a Coltibuono, Gaiole in Chianti SI
Telephone: +39 0577 74481, extension 250
Email: [email protected]
Wine-tour email: [email protected]
Standard tour: former abbey, historic ageing cellar, cloister, garden and three wines
Duration: 1 hour
Price: from €30 per person
Four-wine tour: approximately 1.5 hours, from €35
Sapori tour: approximately 2 hours, from €45
Suggested booking: standard 1-hour morning tour
Best for: historic atmosphere without sacrificing serious Chianti Classico context.
Do not book the two-hour tasting today.
You have Monteriggioni and Siena ahead.
Lunch and Monteriggioni
Drive towards Monteriggioni.
The Republic of Siena began building the fortress in 1213, and its surviving circuit with 14 towers remains one of Tuscany’s clearest medieval military landscapes.
Two hours is sufficient.
Walk through Porta Franca, Piazza Dante Alighieri and the accessible wall section.
Do not try to convert a compact fortress into a full-day destination.
Lunch – Osteria Antico Travaglio
Address: Piazza Dante Alighieri 6/A, 53035 Monteriggioni
Telephone: +39 0577 892308
Cuisine: Tuscan
Best for: a straightforward lunch inside the fortress.
Continue to Siena in the afternoon.
Stay there.
Where to Stay in Siena
Budget – Hotel Alma Domus
Address: Via Camporegio 37, 53100 Siena
Telephone: +39 0577 44177
Price level: €–€€
Best for: central location and cathedral views at a relatively restrained price.
Mid-range – Palazzo Ravizza
Address: Pian dei Mantellini 34, 53100 Siena
Telephone: +39 0577 280462
Price level: €€€
Best for: garden, historic character and quieter evenings.
Splurge – Grand Hotel Continental Siena
Address: Via Banchi di Sopra 85, 53100 Siena
Telephone: +39 0577 56011
Price level: €€€€
Best for: five-star accommodation directly inside the historic centre.
Where to Eat in Siena
Compagnia dei Vinattieri
Address: Via delle Terme 79, 53100 Siena
Telephone: +39 0577 236568
Cuisine: Tuscan
Price: approximately €30–50
Best for: pici and wine without excessive formality.
Osteria Le Logge
Address: Via del Porrione 33, 53100 Siena
Telephone: +39 0577 48013
Cuisine: refined Tuscan
Price: approximately €40–90
Best for: the strongest food-and-wine combination.
La Taverna di San Giuseppe
Address: Via Giovanni Dupré 132, 53100 Siena
Telephone: +39 0577 42286
Cuisine: Tuscan
Price: approximately €35–60
Best for: historic atmosphere and traditional food.
Day 10 – Siena in the Morning, Brunello at Col d’Orcia in the Afternoon
Spend the morning in Siena.
Give the Cathedral, Piccolomini Library and surrounding monumental complex the time they deserve.
Have an early lunch.
Then drive south towards Montalcino.
The primary winery is already decided.
15:00 – Book This: Col d’Orcia
For a first Brunello visit, Col d’Orcia offers a particularly complete combination of history, vineyards, large traditional ageing casks and a highly organised visitor programme.
The estate operates as an organic farm and gives enough structure to the tasting to make comparisons useful without becoming theatrical.
Book the Col d’Orcia Experience unless the group is already very serious about Brunello.
Style: classic Brunello, historic estate, organic farm
Address: Via Giuncheti, 53024 Montalcino SI
Telephone: +39 0577 80891
Email: [email protected]
Standard experience: estate and historic barrel cellar plus Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello, Olmaia and Moscadello
Duration: 1 hour
Price: €35 per person
Optional local cheese board: €10
Visiting hours: Monday–Saturday, generally 09:00–12:30 and 14:30–17:00
Suggested slot: around 15:00
Best for: a first complete Brunello visit.
For Wine Nerds – Our Single Vineyards
If Brunello is the principal reason for the trip, upgrade to the single-vineyard experience.
Duration: 1.5 hours
Price: €50 per person
Wines: five cru expressions including Vigna Banditella, Vigna Nastagio and Poggio al Vento.
That is more useful than simply adding another winery the same afternoon.
Traditional Alternative – Tenuta Il Poggione
Choose Il Poggione if you want a historic traditional producer with a less packaged visitor format.
Founded at the end of the nineteenth century, it was among the early estates to commercialise Brunello in the twentieth century.
Style: historic, traditional Brunello
Address: Località Sant’Angelo in Colle, 53024 Montalcino SI
Telephone: +39 0577 844029
Email: [email protected]
Visits: by reservation
Languages: Italian and English
Price: confirmed when booking
Best for: classic producer history rather than architecture.
Biodynamic + Architecture Alternative – Podere Le Ripi
If the group has already visited traditional Brunello producers elsewhere, choose this instead.
Podere Le Ripi works biodynamically and constructed the extraordinary Golden Cellar, a curving brick-and-mortar structure based around the golden ratio.
The architecture alone makes it one of the most distinctive contemporary wineries in Tuscany.
Style: biodynamic, experimental, contemporary cellar architecture
Area: Castelnuovo dell’Abate, 53024 Montalcino
Telephone: +39 0577 835641
Visits: private and by reservation
Recommended experience: Wine Tour Terroir
Includes: vineyard visit, Golden Cellar and five wines including three single-vineyard Brunellos
Price: confirmed during booking
Best for: biodynamics, soil comparison and spectacular winery architecture.
There is also a Bonsai Vertical Tasting built around the estate’s extraordinarily high-density vineyard and its tiny-production Bonsai wine.
For a first Montalcino trip, however, Col d’Orcia remains the most logical choice.
Where to Stay in Montalcino
Budget – Si Montalcino Hotel
Address: Via Osticcio 21, 53024 Montalcino
Telephone: +39 0577 848668
Price level: €€
Best for: parking, pool and countryside views.
Mid-range – Albergo Il Giglio
Address: Soccorso Saloni 5, 53024 Montalcino
Telephone: +39 0577 848167
Price level: €€€
Best for: staying in town and walking back from dinner.
Splurge – Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco
Address: Località Castiglion del Bosco, 53024 Montalcino
Telephone: +39 0577 1913750
Price level: €€€€
Best for: a full Brunello-estate resort experience.
Where to Eat in Montalcino
Osteria di Porta al Cassero
Address: Via Ricasoli 32, 53024 Montalcino
Telephone: +39 0577 847196
Price: approximately €25–40
Best for: a simple dinner after a serious tasting.
Il Giglio
Address: Soccorso Saloni 5, 53024 Montalcino
Telephone: +39 0577 848167
Price: approximately €40–70
Best for: traditional food and mature Brunello.
Boccon Divino
Address: Via Traversa dei Monti 201, 53024 Montalcino
Telephone: +39 0577 848233
Price: approximately €45–80
Best for: a more ambitious dinner with countryside views.
Day 11 – Pienza, Pecorino and One Vino Nobile Winery
Leave Montalcino after breakfast.
No winery this morning.
Drive through the Val d’Orcia to Pienza.
The town deserves at least two hours for its Renaissance centre and another hour for lunch.
Taste different maturations of Pecorino di Pienza rather than treating the cheese as a generic starter covered in honey.
Then drive to Montepulciano.
Today there is room for one winery only.
Primary Choice – Poderi Boscarelli
Boscarelli is the choice for someone who wants the wine to remain more important than the hospitality architecture.
The family winery dates to 1962 and sits among its vineyards outside Montepulciano.
Visits move through vines and cellar before tasting the wines.
Style: traditional family estate, wine-focused
Address: Via di Montenero 24, 53045 Montepulciano SI
Telephone: +39 0578 767608
WhatsApp: +39 391 7274070
Email: [email protected]
Booking: compulsory; weekends are also available
Suggested slot: request around 15:30
Price: on request
Best for: understanding Vino Nobile through a serious family producer.
For this itinerary, Boscarelli is my first choice.
Modern and Sustainable Alternative – Salcheto
Choose Salcheto instead if contemporary sustainability and winery design matter as much as the individual wines.
The estate has become a reference for environmentally focused winery operation and belongs to the Toscana Wine Architecture network.
Style: organic, contemporary, sustainability-driven
Address: Via di Villa Bianca 15, 53045 Montepulciano SI
Telephone: +39 0578 799031, extension 1 for visits
Email: [email protected]
Wine shop and visits: open daily 10:00–17:00, including Sundays and holidays
Experiences: cellar visits, older-vintage verticals, private winemaker visits and blind tastings
Price: depends on selected experience; confirm when booking
Best for: modern cellar culture and sustainability.
Do not visit both Boscarelli and Salcheto in the same afternoon.
Choose the argument you want the day to make.
Three Lunch Options in Pienza
Sette di Vino
Address: Piazza di Spagna 3, 53026 Pienza
Telephone: +39 0578 749092
Price: approximately €20–35
Best for: pecorino, crostini and a relatively quick lunch.
La Buca delle Fate
Address: Corso Il Rossellino 38/A, 53026 Pienza
Telephone: +39 0578 748272
Price: approximately €25–45
Best for: pici and a fuller traditional meal.
La Bandita Townhouse Caffè
Address: Corso Il Rossellino 111, 53026 Pienza
Telephone: +39 0578 749005
Price: approximately €35–60
Best for: a lighter contemporary approach.
Where to Stay in Montepulciano
Budget – Albergo Il Marzocco
Address: Piazza Savonarola 18, 53045 Montepulciano
Telephone: +39 0578 757262
Price level: €€
Best for: a traditional central base.
Mid-range – Palazzo Carletti
Address: Via dell’Opio nel Corso 3, 53045 Montepulciano
Telephone: +39 0578 756080
Price level: €€€
Best for: historic rooms and a more intimate stay.
Splurge – Precise Tale Poggio Alla Sala
Address: Via Poggio alla Sala 10, 53045 Montepulciano
Telephone: +39 0578 820050
Price level: €€€€
Best for: spa and countryside after an intensive week.
Where to Eat in Montepulciano
Osteria del Borgo
Address: Via Ricci 7, 53045 Montepulciano
Telephone: +39 0578 717497
Price: approximately €25–45
Best for: an uncomplicated historic-centre dinner.
Le Logge del Vignola
Address: Via dell’Erbe 6, 53045 Montepulciano
Telephone: +39 0578 717290
Price: approximately €45–80
Best for: a more thoughtful dinner with Vino Nobile.
La Grotta
Address: Via San Biagio 15, 53045 Montepulciano
Telephone: +39 0578 757607
Price: approximately €60–100+
Best for: the destination dinner opposite San Biagio.
Day 12 – San Gimignano: Finish Tuscany’s Wine Section with Vernaccia
After days of Sangiovese, the change to white wine is deliberate.
Spend the morning inside San Gimignano.
See Piazza della Cisterna, Palazzo Comunale and Torre Grossa, but most importantly enter the Collegiata for the fourteenth-century fresco cycles and the Cappella di Santa Fina with Ghirlandaio’s paintings.
Have lunch.
Then leave the centre for Vernaccia.
16:00 – Book This: Panizzi, The Essence of Vernaccia
Panizzi offers precisely the tasting this itinerary needs.
Instead of mixing white, rosé and red simply to show the estate range, book The Essence of Vernaccia di San Gimignano.
It compares four interpretations of the same grape.
That is much more educational.
The tasting takes place at Fattoria di Larniano, a medieval hamlet surrounded by vineyards and olive groves.
Style: focused Vernaccia specialist, comparative tasting
Address: Località Larniano 1, San Gimignano SI
Telephone: +39 0577 946032
Booking: directly through Panizzi’s tasting system
Tasting-room hours: daily 10:00–18:00
Experience: The Essence of Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Duration: 45 minutes
Price: €35 per person
Wines: four Vernaccia interpretations, including Vigna Santa Margherita, Riserva and the long-macerated Evoè
Food: four local cheeses and bruschetta with estate extra-virgin olive oil
Suggested time: around 16:00
Best for: finishing the wine itinerary by studying one indigenous white grape rather than drinking another mixed flight.
This is one of the most intelligently structured tastings in the itinerary.
Book it.
Traditional Organic Alternative – Montenidoli
For a more personal, less standardised producer visit, choose Montenidoli.
The estate has long worked organically and produces several strikingly different expressions of Vernaccia using contrasting winemaking methods.
A visit includes vineyards, cellar, wines, estate olive oil and small food accompaniments.
Style: organic, traditional, strongly individual producer
Address: Località Racciano 28, Montenidoli, 53037 San Gimignano SI
Telephone: +39 0577 941565 / +39 0577 942037
Email: [email protected]
Visits: Monday–Friday, morning or afternoon, by advance reservation
Languages: Italian, English, French and German
Price: on request
Best for: serious Vernaccia drinkers who prefer producer personality to a formal tasting format.
If this is a first trip and you want the easiest comparative lesson, choose Panizzi.
If you already know Vernaccia, choose Montenidoli.
Where to Stay in San Gimignano
Budget – Hotel Leon Bianco
Address: Piazza della Cisterna 13, 53037 San Gimignano
Telephone: +39 0577 941294
Email: [email protected]
Price level: €€
Best for: sleeping directly on Piazza della Cisterna.
Mid-range – Hotel L’Antico Pozzo
Address: Via San Matteo 87, 53037 San Gimignano
Telephone: +39 0577 942014
Price level: €€€
Best for: historic atmosphere with less piazza noise.
Splurge – Castello di Casole, A Belmond Hotel
Address: Località Querceto, 53031 Casole d’Elsa
Telephone: +39 0577 961501
Price level: €€€€
Best for: turning the final Tuscan countryside night into a destination stay.
Where to Eat in San Gimignano
Perucà
Address: Via Capassi 16, 53037 San Gimignano
Telephone: +39 0577 943136
Price: approximately €30–50
Best for: relaxed traditional Tuscan cooking.
Le Vecchie Mura
Address: Via Piandornella 15, 53037 San Gimignano
Telephone: +39 0577 940270
Price: approximately €35–60
Best for: terrace, countryside views and Vernaccia.
Cum Quibus
Address: Via San Martino 17, 53037 San Gimignano
Telephone: +39 0577 943199
Price level: €€€€
Best for: a more ambitious final Tuscan-country dinner.
Day 13 – Florence: Give the Palate the Day Off
Drive to Florence.
Return the rental car.
Do not visit another winery.
After twelve days of producers, vineyards, cheese rooms, prosciutto cellars and pasta dough, the final luxury is not having an appointment.
Choose one serious cultural target.
The Uffizi if painting is the priority.
The Bargello if sculpture is.
Santa Maria Novella if you want one of Florence’s richest church interiors without committing half the day to a major museum.
Walk the Oltrarno.
Eat lampredotto if you love offal.
Eat ribollita if the season is right.
If there is still appetite for one final monumental plate, order bistecca alla Fiorentina and drink Chianti Classico.
After this route, the wine should no longer taste like a generic Tuscan red.
You have seen where the differences begin.
Where to Stay in Florence
Budget – Hotel Dali
Address: Via dell’Oriuolo 17, 50122 Florence
Telephone: +39 339 5769086
Price level: €–€€
Best for: an unusually central location on a restrained budget.
Mid-range – Hotel Spadai
Address: Via de’ Martelli 10, 50129 Florence
Telephone: +39 055 6270800
Email: [email protected]
Price level: €€€
Best for: a polished final night almost beside the Duomo.
Splurge – Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
Address: Borgo Pinti 99, 50121 Florence
Telephone: +39 055 26261
Price level: €€€€
Best for: gardens, historic interiors and a genuine destination hotel.
Where to Eat in Florence
Trattoria Cammillo
Address: Borgo San Jacopo 57/R, 50125 Florence
Telephone: +39 055 212427
Cuisine: Florentine / Tuscan
Price: approximately €40–70
Best for: classic Florence without unnecessary reinvention.
Il Santo Bevitore
Address: Via Santo Spirito 64/R, 50125 Florence
Telephone: +39 055 211264
Cuisine: contemporary Tuscan
Price: approximately €45–75
Best for: wine and a more contemporary final dinner.
Santa Elisabetta
Address: Piazza Santa Elisabetta 3, 50122 Florence
Telephone: +39 055 2737673
Cuisine: fine dining
Price level: €€€€
Best for: one final formal tasting menu if twelve days have somehow failed to exhaust you.
The Exact Booking Order
Do not attempt to reserve this trip chronologically.
Book the hardest experiences first.
First: Cavallotto and Marcarini. Small traditional Langhe estates can be much harder to fit around your preferred dates than large visitor centres.
Second: the truffle hunt if travelling during the autumn white-truffle season.
Third: VSB Bologna if you want the serious Sfoglia Day rather than one of the private alternatives.
Fourth: Col d’Orcia, Boscarelli and Panizzi.
Fifth: restaurants that function as destination meals — Piazza Duomo, Osteria Francescana if included, and any major fine-dining finale.
Then: hotels, rental car and the easier producer visits.
For autumn in Alba, reverse the last two steps and secure the hotel extremely early.
The Two-Winery Rule
Keep it.
Two serious visits produce enough material to compare.
At five wines per estate, that is already ten wines before dinner.
Barolo and Brunello are not improved by palate exhaustion.
Spitting is normal.
Use it.
For days containing two tastings, a designated driver or hired driver is preferable. The distances between Barolo villages are short; Italian drink-driving laws remain exactly as real as they are on longer roads.
What to Book Rather Than Improvise
Definitely reserve: all wineries in this itinerary, truffle hunts, San Pier Damiani, Salumificio Conti, Leonardi, the Bologna pasta class and destination restaurants.
Can remain flexible: lunches in smaller towns, Piazza visits, market stops and most informal trattorias.
Do not remove every possibility of spontaneity by booking lunch at 12:30, wine at 14:00, another wine at 16:00 and dinner at 19:30 every day.
That is not a holiday.
It is a logistics conference with alcohol.
Best Time for the Trip
For the complete food experience, late September through October is difficult to beat.
The Langhe move into truffle season. Harvest activity transforms the wine regions. Emilia is comfortable. Tuscany cools enough for long walks, game begins returning to menus and the olive harvest approaches.
The disadvantage is demand.
Alba becomes expensive.
Good truffle weekends sell out.
Famous wineries receive large numbers of requests.
For an easier and greener version of the route, choose May or early June.
The vineyards are vivid, days are long and you avoid much of the autumn competition for accommodation.
Useful Information
Total duration: 13 days
Starting city: Turin
Finishing city: Florence
Regions: Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany
Rental car: collect Turin morning Day 2; return Florence Day 13
Nights: Turin 1; Alba 2; Parma 2; Bologna 2; Chianti Classico 1; Siena 1; Montalcino 1; Montepulciano 1; San Gimignano 1; Florence optional final night
Maximum serious winery visits per day: 2
Driver recommended: Langhe and major Tuscan tasting days
Best overall period: late September–October
Alternative period: May–early June
Day 2 wineries: Marchesi di Grésy + Produttori del Barbaresco
Day 3 wineries: Cavallotto + Marcarini
Barolo architecture alternative: Ceretto – Tenuta Monsordo
Truffle hunt: Marco Varaldo; alternative Bianco Tartufi
Parmigiano visit: San Pier Damiani Full Experience, 09:00, €25
Prosciutto visit: Salumificio Conti, about 1h15
Balsamic visit: Acetaia Leonardi Typical Tour, about 45 minutes
Bologna pasta course: VSB Sfoglia Day, €230 plus taxes
Private Bologna alternative: Rita Mattioli
Home-kitchen Bologna alternative: Paola Kitchen, €129
Chianti primary winery: Monte Bernardi, €25
Chianti architecture alternative: Antinori Tinaia Tour, €50
Historic Chianti visit: Badia a Coltibuono, from €30
Montalcino primary winery: Col d’Orcia, €35
Traditional Montalcino alternative: Il Poggione
Biodynamic/architecture Montalcino alternative: Podere Le Ripi
Montepulciano primary winery: Boscarelli
Modern Montepulciano alternative: Salcheto
San Gimignano primary tasting: Panizzi Essence of Vernaccia, €35
Organic San Gimignano alternative: Montenidoli
