Stay in a villa in southern Tuscany.  Enjoy the countryside by foot or bicycle.

Your cooking teacher will show you how to prepare an authentic Italian meal.  Eat your creations for dinner.                   

Spend the morning exploring the lovely hill town of Pitigliano.  Pitigliano's easily defended location atop a hill at the junction of three river valleys made it an ideal location for a settlement since the Bronze Age.  The towns main sights include the Duomo, Palazzo Orsini, a 16th-century aqueduct and the caves in the tufa cliffs used to store wine and olive oil.  The imposing Palazzo Orsini also houses the Civic Archaeological Museum.  Pitigliano was a refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in the Papal States in the 16th century.  Although isolated in the ghetto, Jews made social, cultural and economic contributions to the city until they left during World War II.  The late 16th-century synagogue was restored and reopened in 1995.  Eat lunch in Pitigliano before driving to Saturnia.

Swim in the thermal pools of Saturnia, make an appointment at the hotel spa and/or explore the town.  Stop at a pizzeria for dinner on the way back from Saturnia.

Lounge by the pool, hike or bike in the countryside.  Horseback riding or photography or painting classes can be arranged.

Visit the Etruscan and Roman ruins at Vulci with a local guide.  After viewing the ruins, walk to a canyon and lake created by the river Fiora.

Visit the 13th-century Abbadia Castle, which now houses the Vulci Archaeological National Museum.  It is also the site of the impressive Abbadia Bridge that has Etruscan foundations and spans the river Fiora in a single arch.

Take a cruise on Lake Bolsena in the morning.  Have a picnic lunch then visit a few vineyards in the afternoon.  Enjoy a wine tasting dinner with local dishes and wines.

Leave the villa Saturday morning headed north through the beautiful Tuscan countryside.  Make stops in the towns of Bagno Vignoni and Pienza.  Bagno Vignoni was the chosen spa of Lorenzo Medici (the Magnificent) and St. Catherine of Siena.  Instead of a central piazza, the town has a central pool filled with hot, sulfurous water that testifies to the areas volcanic origins.  Pienza was the home of Pius II who became Pope in 1458.  As a humanist scholar and philosopher, the Pope wanted to transform his hometown into the model Renaissance city.  Bernardo Rossellini designed the Duomo, papal palace and town hall which were completed in just three years, while plans for the rest of the town never came to fruition.