Tuscany culture holiday, tailor-made

Environment

We contribute to the preservation of old buildings by promoting visits to those attractions that have been restored and are maintained with the purpose of safeguarding the local cultural heritage. Examples of this are the Wool Museum of Stia and the Badia a Passignano.

The Wool Museum is an example of industrial archaeology located in a wool mill that has produced wool for decades. The building has been restored after years of neglect; roofs and portions of buildings had collapsed, water leaks were damaging the walls, tons of waste material were piled and rotting inside and outside the buildings and vegetation had invaded large portions of the plants, entering inside them and destroying even their finishes. An architectural intervention took place to recover the main buildings, the walls and finishes have been preserved as they were; mainly cleaning and maintenance works were carried out, even if the collapsed covers were rebuilt and new facilities and systems were made. A visit to the Wool Museum is a journey in the history of the art of wool and of the entire area that has benefited for years of the wool production.

The Badia a Passignano is an ancient abbey where a few monks still live. It houses treasures of priceless value, among them the “Last Supper”, frescoed by Domenico Ghirlandaio in 1476-77 on the refectory wall. Non-profit organizations and prosperous local entrepreneurs have been financing the restoration of the fresco, travellers can support the preservation of the building and of its treasures by visiting the abbey and spreading word of its beauty.

In our daily activities, we separate plastic, paper, glass, tins and organic waste in different waste bins that are collected separately becoming part of the recycle system. We want to raise awareness among the visitors of Florence regarding the separate collection of waste. The municipality of Florence has been pursuing a differentiated collection policy for waste recycling and approximately 60% of the waste is collected according to the recycle principles. Unfortunately, the city centre is the area that has the lowest rate of separate collection and that is the area with more tourists and businesses that cater to their needs. Hotels, shops and restaurants in the centre have to make the biggest effort but we raise awareness among our customers to enable them to contribute to and support the waste recycling policy

Community

We are a local company and we cooperate with local businesses and professionals. The guides who will accompany you when visiting the Badia a Passignano or the craftsmen’s workshops in Florence are local professionals passionate about their work who will share unique details and stories which you cannot find on guidebooks. Tours by private car are also provided by local companies, the drivers are friendly and happy to show you around. Hiring local people means that your spend will impact directly on the local community. We establish partnerships with local suppliers because in this way we are directly supporting the local economy and people, helping to preserve the sights for future visitors.

We sustain the survival of ancient art and crafts by including visits to craftsmen’s workshops in our itineraries. Your visit will provide an extra income to the artisans thus helping them to keep their jobs and to continue their businesses. You can also contribute by buying the items they make, the choice is wide and varied and it will surely meet anyone interests. You can meet a goldsmith and learn the cornerstone of his work, a tailor or a milliner and various other crafts are just ready to be explored. Whatever is your passion you will support crafts and traditions that truly embody the spirit of the world famous Made in Italy