Tuscan Legends Tour: The Sword in the Rock & the Black Rooster

Our expert local driver will pick you up at your address and we will drive within the iconic landscape of the Tuscan hills, among vineyards, olive trees and tall cypresses.

The first stop will be at the Abbey of Saint Galgano, that was founded in the valley of the river Merse. 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".

Not far from San Gimignano, we will visit Monteriggioni Castle. In antiquity Monteriggioni was famed as an impregnable fortress and another stop on the Francigena Way. Monteriggioni Castle now is one of the most incredible and representative Tuscan villages of the medieval period. A castle built by the Republic of Siena and a strategic point of control of passages on the Via Francigena. The castle has a spectacular walkway on the walls, where you can see the Chianti valley. If you want, you can visit also the museum of Medieval Weapons located in the Castle. Here you can discover the legend of Captain Zeti who is now a GHOST !

For lunch we will move to a typical family-run Tuscan farm. This agricultural company promotes Italian food and wine culture in the world, their products are organic and genuine. A beautiful Italian experience to learn the best pairings between wine and food, glass etiquette, the secrets of Italian cuisine, Tuscan winemaking techniques and more. We will have lunch with homemade pasta, ham and pecorino cheese, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and.... the best Tuscan wines: Chianti, Vernaccia and Super Tuscan. You can also try 5 types of extra virgin olive oil and 3 types of balsamic vinegar.

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.

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.