Walking Tour in La Tuscia - Tuscany / Lazio/Umbria
(7 days/6 nights - $2,340 AUD per person)

Pitigliano view

This walking tour in Tuscany can be personalised to meet your interests and travel dates.
Walking through rolling farmlands, beautiful forests and tranquil rural villages where you won't see another tourist, this Hidden Italy special starts with a transfer in a private vehicle from either Florence or Rome Fiumincino airport, taking you through La Tuscia (pronounced Toosha), the Roman name for an extraordinary area which includes the southern border of Tuscany, the Lakes district of northern Lazio and the south-west corner of Umbria.

La Tuscia is dramatically beautiful, set in the volcanic centre of the peninsula which is characterised by rolling downs of black soil, deep basalt canyons, mountain ranges and crater lakes. It has been inhabited since prehistoric times and is one of the cradles of Italian civilisation: six centuries BC it was the heart of the Etruscan Federation and, in the Renaissance, it was the stronghold of the Orsini and Farnese, two of the great papal dynasties. La Tuscia retains many of the glories of its rich past. If you are looking for a truly off-the-beaten walk, this is the one for you!

The walk starts in the 'three lost villages of Tuscany', finishing at the spectacular Umbrian town of Orvieto, following paths that pass cross the heart of ancient Etruria. On the way you'll pass through three regions (Tuscany, Lazio and Umbria) crossing oak forests, volcanic lakes and stretches of the original stone road that carried pilgrims, merchants and crusader armies from Papal Rome to northern Italy and the rest of Europe. It finishes at Orvieto, entering via a stretch of the original Roman road, where you'll be able to visit two of Renaissance Italy's masterpieces: the town's spectacular cathedral and Luca Signorelli's impressive16th century frescos of the Last Judgment, which are in the cathedral.

"We arrived home in Australia this morning after the wonderful experience of the La Tuscia walk. We had a marvellous time and only really appreciated how good it actually was to be in "hidden Italy" among the Etruscans and off the beaten path after we had visited the more usual destinations the following week. It was a beautiful walk at just the right level of difficulty for us and always most interesting. You've done a great job of preparing a very special holiday experience."
AS, 2009

What's included in this walk?

• six nights accommodation
• all breakfasts and dinners
• recommendations for lunch
• reading lists and historical and cultural notes
• maps and detailed walking instructions
• daily transfers of baggage between hotels
• pick-up from Rome airport or Florence and transfer to Pitigliano on Day 1
• 24 hour backup from local manager

How hard are the walks?

Grade 3 Walk - Good paths, orientation requires more experience, several walks longer than 15 kms, some longer climbs.

What's the accommodation like?

Tour Cost:

AUD $2,340 per person (single supplement for a double room for single use $350) (approx US $2,100, SS $300 - subject to daily exchange rates) AUD $2,040 per person (with 'No Dinners' Option)

Pitigliano, Tuscany	Walkers approaching Orvieto
'The Dying Village'	Lake Bolsena, Lazio
Orvieto Cathedral, Umbria	First Communion, Pitigliano

The La Tuscia Walk Itinerary

View a Print Friendly Version of this Itinerary

Day		Transfer from either Rome Fiumincino Airport or Florence to Pitigliano, the beginning of the tour, in a private car (approximately a two hour drive). Pitigliano is spectacularly located on basalt cliffs above the Lente River. On the border between Tuscany and the Papal States, the town had considerable strategic importance during the Renaissance and was a haven for outcasts from Rome. It's dominated by a 16th century castle and a Medici aquaduct.
Day		The first leg is a short but extraordinary walk from Pitigliano to atiny neighboring town, following an Etruscan path carved out of living rock three thousand years ago. You will have time in the afternoon (or the following morning) to walk down to the valleys surrounding the village to explore the well-marked Etruscan sites. (8 kms, 3 hrs)
Day		The next leg of the walk is to another extraordinary neighbouring town, founded at the same time as Pitigliano and with an equally extraordinary location, perched on volcanic cliffs above a river, staying in a hotel situated in the town's medieval fortress. (11 kms, 3 hrs)
Day		After a morning exploring town, the next walk is to charming farming town following a shaded stream and a route that originally joined landlocked Orvieto with the coast, visiting on the way the ruins of a very interesting abandoned medieval town, swallowed up by forests centuries ago. (11 kms, 2.5 hrs)
Day		Today you walk to Lake Bolsena via a sleepy country town, leaving Tuscany and crossing into Lazio. The walk finishes on the shores of the lake at a tiny trattoria shaded by willows were you'll be able to have lunch. You will be picked up from here by our driver Luigi and taken around the lake to your accommodation in a 4-star hotel on the lakeshore. (15 kms, 4 hrs).
Day		Walk from Lake Bolsena to the marvellous town of Orvieto following for much of the way the original route of a branch of the medieval Via Francigena. On the way you will pass through forest, past an Etruscan excavation and a rock that was miraculously split to allow a medieval procession carrying a relic of Christ's blood to reach Orvieto before picking up a paved section of the Roman road which will take you into Orvieto. (18 kms, 5 hrs)
Day		Breakfast in your hotel. Orvieto station is on the main Rome/Florence line and you will be able to continue your holiday from there.

Contact Us

For more information on this tour or to make a booking, please get in touch with us.