Tuscan Legends Private Tour: The Sword in the rock & the Black Rooster of Chianti

Tour Highlights

• First stop: The Abbey of Saint Galgano was founded in the valley of the river Merse between the towns of Chiusdino & Monticiano. Nearby are the Eremo of Montesiepi, the tomb of Saint Galgano and a sword said to have been driven into a stone by Galgano. The legend of San Galgano is a legend not so legend…: The story about this place is connected to the history of a warrior turned into a Saint: Galgano Guidotti, who lived in this place during the 12th century, was a proud knight and got involved in many battles. At a certain point of his life, he realized that was tired of the violence that was covering the world and decided for a religious life in search of redemption. He became a hermit and retreated on the top of the Montesiepi hill, choosing to serve God, took his sword and sticked it in a rock to become a cross in front of which he could pray. An analysis of the metal done in 2001 confirmed that the "composition of the metal and the style are compatible with the era of the legend".
• For lunch we will move to a typical tuscan farm. This farm promotes the Italian wine & food culture all over the world. A beautiful Italian experience to learn the best combinations beetween wine & food, the glass etiquette, the secrets of Italian cuisine, Tuscan wine-making techniques and more. We will have lunch with homemade pasta, ham and pecorino cheese, extra virgin olive oil and .... the best Tuscan wines.
• After the visit to the farm, we will drive through the famous "Chianti wine road" and the sweet Siena hills. The symbol of the Chianti is a black rooster.The legend said that one day, during a long war, the 2 cities decided to enter into a peace agreement, they would redefine their borders using 2 knights: one departing from Florence and the other from Siena. Both knights would leave the city centre at sunrise, when the first rooster crowed, and the official border would be set at the point where the knights met. The Sienese chose a white rooster, Florentines chose a black rooster, they took a black rooster and locked it in a darkened room, without food for many days. On the big day, as soon as the hungry black rooster was set free, in the middle of the night it crowed! So, the Florentine knight was able to ride much further than the knight from Siena. He got as far as 12 km from the Siena. So this explains why the border between Siena & Florence isn't in the middle of the two cities.
• Last stop to San Gimignano, visiting its magnificent towers. San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town not far from Siena. Known as the “Town of Fine Towers”, during the Middle Ages there were more than 70 towers in the city. Now it is a real open-air museum, where it seems to walk in the medieval period. The town also is known for saffron, the Golden Ham, and its white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from the ancient variety of Vernaccia grape which is grown on the sandstone hillsides of the area. In the main square don't forget to taste the best 'ice cream in the world (Gelateria Dondoli), and in the streets of the village you can admire the extraordinary work of expert craftsmen. Legend has it that when a rich owner returned from a long journey, he realized that the tower had grown several metres in height, yet nobody could give him a plausible explanation. Not finding anyone responsible, he gave the blame, or rather the merit, to the Devil.

History Sneak Peek