Tuscany Workation Package

Florence is a fantastic city, where the Renaissance lines every cobblestone street and spreads into the famous Tuscany hills. Your Workation representative will meet you at the airport and lead you to your new accommodations at the heart of the historic center that has been pre-screened for the amenities you need to be successful during your Workation experience. 

You can enjoy the remainder of the day getting comfortable with the city. A guide can help introduce you to the best restaurants, neighborhoods, and surprising shops while also explaining the significance of the city’s architecture as you walk. The Duomo stands at the center of the historic city with a rounded brick dome reaching more than 380 feet above the surrounding street. It adds to the historic and dramatic atmosphere created by the white, green, and red marbled facade, in addition to the images of animals and people that decorate the exterior.

Focus:
Create a ritual to help you focus. Integrate it into your morning routine or get started or into your afternoon to help you disconnect and enjoy your Workation.

Suggestion:
Enjoy the view from Piazzale Michelangelo in the evening for a great panorama of the city at sunset.

With a full day to explore the beauty of Florence, you can capture the spirit of the Renaissance and the evolution of artistic imagery in Italy from the Middle Ages to the 18th century with a tour of the famous Uffizi Galleries and Accademia Museum. Start in the Uffizi with a guide to view the famous, infamous, and notable works inside the galleries. 

Even if you’ve seen La Primavera by Botticelli countless times in books or in shows, viewing the painting in person demonstrates the artist’s mastery of light, shading, and texture. The facial features and bodies have a realistic structure detailed with musculature and proportional limbs but also use allegory that combines religious iconography with ancient stories. Visit the Accademia for the opportunity to see Michelangelo’s David. The incredible and iconic figure stands 14 feet tall and features sensational detail in bulging muscles and curled hair as the warrior stares stoically into the distance.

Focus:
Study David for five minutes. Close your eyes. What details can you remember? What sounds do you hear? Allow that combination to become part of the memory.

Suggestion:
Don’t miss the collection of priceless instruments on display in the Accademia Gallery.

Today you can set your ritual that helps you focus on the work mindset. By creating an intentional process that can take you into and out of work, you will set yourself up for success as you settle into the new space. After work, you can take a brief train ride to the famous city of Pisa, known for the infamous Leaning Tower. 

The tower tilts at nearly a four-degree angle. The slender white columns decorating the exterior are typical of the Pisan Gothic architecture you can find along the facade of the beautiful neighboring Cathedral. If you have time, you can climb to the top of the tower’s 294 steps for a worthwhile view that spans Pisa to the banks of the Arno River. 

Focus:
Find a painting that speaks to you in the Pisa Cathedral. Set your timer for four minutes and try to notice all the details you can.

Suggestion:
Pick a restaurant in the historic city to enjoy the ambiance and try typical Tuscan cuisine. 

Start work early and when you have completed your projects for the day, enjoy the scenic train ride to Lucca, a typical Tuscan city surrounded by dramatic stone walls. With remnants of past powerful civilizations scattered across the city, you can find elements from Romans to the Franks, Florentines to the Bourbons. 

You can walk or cycle around the walls and enjoy the park atmosphere that circles the defense system standing nearly 40 feet tall and 98 feet thick. Inside the walls, the atmosphere takes on the coziness of a traditional Tuscan town, especially around the cobblestone streets and passageways leading to Piazza del Mercato. Colorful buildings circle the plaza and restaurants set out tables and chairs beneath the Tuscan sun where you can sip an espresso or enjoy an early dinner before exploring the Guinigi Tower and its crowning holm oaks.  

Focus:
Order a glass of wine in the main square. You can ask the waiter their favorite or order something you have never heard of. Search for the aromas and body to the lingering flavors. What characteristics do you notice?  

Suggestion:
In addition to Tuscany’s great wine, you can enjoy traditional dishes like Tortelli Lucchesi or Matuffi for a taste of the city and region.

Siena is considered one of the crowning cities of Tuscany and once vied for regional power against Florence. After work, the easy train ride to Siena can unveil the beauty and intrigue of the city’s prosperity from the 12th to the 14th centuries captured in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta’s design. The Gothic figure makes a dramatic impression with black, white, and pink marble. Inside, you can find a collection of treasures from artistic masters, including 50 ornate mosaics decorating the floor depicting scenes from biblical and Tuscan iconography. 

Climb to the top of the Torre del Mangia for an incredible view of the pizza, Siena, and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. Once considered the most daring medieval tower, the slender and tall design has stood since the 14th century.

Focus:
Take a look at the different mosaics on display in the cathedral. Which one speaks to you most and why? What images does it show?

Suggestion:
Visit the facade of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. It may not look new or exciting but it is considered one of the oldest standing banks in the world and dates back to 1472.

After you have finished work, you have the remainder of the day to enjoy Florence how you want. Visit the Pitti Palace, walk through the shops and vendors in San Lorenzo, or take part in a cooking class. Tuscan cuisine is famous around the world for its rustic flavors and traditions speaking to the heritage of la cucina povera. You can meet with a local chef to learn the techniques both restaurants and home cooks use daily, beginning with the best way to make pasta. 

During the class, you may learn how to make a number of dishes, such as ribollita or Panzanella but you may also explore the art of making pappardelle noodles and a customary cinghiale ragu. The combination of al dente noodles and rich meat sauce with a hardy tomato base will leave your taste buds salivating for more. 

Focus:
Focus on a sound and smells in the kitchen as you cook. How do the aromas make you feel? How do the sounds encourage your movement? Does it affect your heart rate or breathing?  Does it calm you or make you anxious or can you feel how your body changes as it grows hungry? 

Suggestion:
Don’t forget to take the recipe home with you so you can recreate the dish and your time in Italy after your Workation is done.

What better way to decompress after the work week than a wine tour that can take you to the heart of Tuscan vines and celebrate the start of the weekend? Make a deliberate delineation between work and work’s end on Friday and join a fantastic wine tour that will have you exploring the dimensions of famous regional wines like Chianti Classico, Brunello and Vino Nobile. 

The exploration can take you into the terraced vineyards to visit wineries set inside centuries-old farmhouses and estates. Enjoy the view of the countryside as you take in the iconic images of the sprawling hills and rolling vines. Your guide can pour a wine, explaining the notes of a medium-bodied red from Montepulciano. The crisp acidity and scents of plum and ripe berries can make your mouth water.

Focus:
Put your phone away and do your best to ignore the temptation for photos, selfies, or texting. Breathe in; breathe out, look into the countryside; enjoy the moment.

Suggestion:
If you have time, you should visit San Gimignano, a medieval town known for its numerous preserved towers.

During your final moment in Florence, you can take your time enjoying an espresso, a pastry, and life lingering on the streets of the city. The boutique and luxury shops open their doors late on the weekend but the beauty of the Ponte Vecchio remains steller at all hours of the day. Your Workation representative will meet you at your accommodations and take you to the airport or the train station for the journey home. 

Every Workation package is custom-tailored and can be changed according to your preferences. Take more time to explore Italy with another week in Rome, Venice, or Sicily to enjoy your best Workation trip.

Focus:
What flavor pastry did you get? How does the espresso taste? Who do you notice walking past? Let each detail be another unforgettable moment during your final day on Workation.   

Suggestion:
Florence has a number of hidden midnight bakeries. If you are awake and eager to sample one, they are generally open between 2 to 5 am and service the local bars and restaurants.