Written by Mary Dan Eades on April 29, 2016
Upcoming in the LIVE AUCTION in our When in Rome… Spring Gala! You could be enjoying Tuscany!
This Experience Includes:
- 5-night stay in a classic room at the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort & Spa (Barga, Lucca)
- Daily breakfast for 2
- Private cooking class, lunch, wine cellar and olive oil mill tour and tasting for 2 at Fattoria Colleverde (Lucca)
- Spa treatment at the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort & Spa
- $700 towards the rental of a 5-day compact car rental
- Winspire booking & concierge service
Note: This package does not include air travel.
Gourmets and wine buffs descend on this hidden Tuscan Valley to enjoy local specialties. The Garfagnana Valley is famous for its prosciutto, pork, pecorino cheese and honey. Fortunately, the area also boasts beautiful areas for walking, hiking and biking, so you can work up an appetite in between meals.
Pisa, Florence and Cinque Terra are reachable by car or train – day trips not to be missed. Cinque Terra, a 5-mile stretch of a breathtaking beautiful rocky coast at the border of Tuscany and Liguria, was declared a National Park in 1999 and has been protected by UNESCO as a unique natural environment since 1997. Walk along the winding paths overlooking enchanting beaches and bays, and admire the hundreds of miles of walls and terraces built by man to cultivate vineyards that cling steeply to the cliffs, making this region a true masterpiece where the work of man and natural beauty found an ideal balance.
Renaissance® Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort & Spa (Barga, Lucca)
Enjoy a 5-night stay in a standard room (maximum occupancy of two) including daily breakfast for two and an 80 Euro spa credit ($100 U.S. dollars at the time of publication; the value in dollars is strictly a result of the currency exchange on the date the trip is booked, not time of visit).
This recently renovated luxury Tuscan resort is perched high atop a hill within a 1500 acre estate inside the greenest land of Tuscany, the Serchio Valley, and is surrounded by views of snowcapped mountains, lush parkland and charming villages.
Get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and unwind in this invigorating and tranquil setting. With tennis courts, health club, soccer fields and swimming pools, you may want to spend several days just relaxing at the resort. The charming medieval village of Barga is a small hill town in the valley region known as the Garfagnana. Bordering the Apuane Alps, Barga is considered one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Tuscany.
NOTE: Tuscany is approximately a 4-hour drive from Rome.
Culinary Extravaganza “La Cucina Italiana”, Fattoria Colleverde (Lucca)
Enjoy a private cooking class, lunch, tour of the wine cellar and olive oil mill and tasting for two at Fattoria Colleverde, an organic/biodynamic vineyard producing some of the most distinctive wines and olive oil in Tuscany. Owners Francesca and Piero welcome you to Fattoria, where you will cook with Chef Rodolfo as he shares the secrets of Tuscan cuisine with you — everything from how to make fresh homemade pasta to the use of aromatic herbs and spices, from baking bread to preparing main courses using seasonal meats and vegetables.
Located in the beautiful rolling hills just minutes from the medieval walled city of Lucca, Fattoria Colleverde is a half-hour drive from Pisa and an hour drive from Florence and Cinque Terre. Beautiful vineyards and olive groves lie within a wide, south-facing valley. This natural amphitheater of terraces creates an extremely well-balanced and unique agricultural ecosystem that produces flavors that are full and rich.
Available April through early November (Monday through Friday). (During winter months, an alternate culinary experience or cooking class at the Renaissance can be arranged for you.)
Car Rental
Enjoy a $700 credit towards the rental of a 5-day compact car rental with automatic transmission, inclusive of tax, insurance (not including deductible) and unlimited kilometers. Vehicle license fee (3.5 EUR/day), additional drivers, GPS, and gasoline are the responsibility of the purchaser.
Winspire Booking & Concierge Service
Winspire provides a team of seasoned travel professionals who will help you redeem your experience. All travel related details and reservations are handled for every part of your Winspire experience. Operating as a full-service travel agency, Winspire can assist with extra hotel nights, airfare upgrades, and additional guests. This service also provides you with an established network of onsite contacts who can help you book additional experiences, activities and tours.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Must be booked a minimum of 60 days in advance. Reservations are subject to availability. Certificates cannot be replaced if lost, stolen or destroyed. All purchases are non-refundable. Packages cannot be resold. Ground transportation is not included unless where specified.
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.