7 jours vacances équestres sur l’ancienne route médiévale à Sienne, Toscane, Italie

Sunday

Meeting at the Equestrian Tourism Center and guest check-in. At dinner, you will meet your equestrian guides, who will explain the trekking program to you.

Monday

Meeting of the riders at the equestrian center at about 9.30 and departure to reach Monteriggioni. In the first part, the route crosses Pian del Lago, where until the mid-18th century there was a lake (or rather a swamp) called Verano which was completely reclaimed by the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo.

This stretch of the Via Francigena will lead you to the Castello Della Chiocciola with its cylindrical tower which contains a beautiful ‘spiral’ staircase and then to the Castello di Monteriggioni built between 1214 and 1219. After the lunch stop and still on the Via Francigena, we meet Abbadia Isola. “Abbadia” stands for abbey, while “Isola” because it stood on the marshy Lake Verano. After Castel Pietraio we reach the stopping point for this first day.

Tuesday

Departure from the horse stop point to reach the territory of San Gimignano in the Montauto area. This route develops around the Val d’Elsa, a beautiful part of Tuscany between Siena and Florence. Its origins seem to date back to the Etruscan era (9th century BC), but it is thanks to the Via Francigena that the Valdelsa became an important social, political, and economic center. Before returning to the horse stop, we will stop for lunch along one of the Francigena paths just like medieval travelers.

Wednesday

Today, you will ride along the paths of the Montagnola Senese, one of the most interesting areas in southern Tuscany from a naturalistic point of view. It is a hilly area with reliefs of about 500 to 600 m a.s.l. which has been populated since Etruscan and Roman times but has preserved its naturalness. You will meet the remains of the Nagli Chapel from the Romanesque era, the Marmoraia fortified village dating back to the early Middle Ages with its Pieve, and the Borgo di Scorgiano.

Thursday

This part of the journey will take you back to the equestrian center following the paths of the Montagnola Senese, but for a few hours, you will leave the Middle Ages to enter the 1900s. You reach Casa Giubileo which is located on Montemaggio. This is a place to “not forget” because, during the Second World War, it was the scene on March 28, 1944, of one of the most dramatic episodes of the liberation struggle. In this place, you will find hospitality and you can, for those who wish, visit the Rooms of Memory.

Friday

You travel along the Via Francigena to reach the Hermitage of Lecceto built between 1189 and 1223. The church, known since 1223, was rebuilt in 1317 and enlarged in 1344. Continuing, you reach the Hermitage of San Leonardo al Lago. news of the presence of a hermit community dates to the year 1112, but its existence seems to date back before the 12th century.

Along the way, you will find La Piramide, an obelisk in memory of the reclamation of Pian del Lago. After the lunch stop at the fortified village of La Villa, an official stopping point on the Francigena, you return to the equestrian center leaving the Castello della Chiocciola behind you. In the afternoon, there will be a tasting of typical Tuscan wines.

Saturday

Breakfast and departure.

About the holiday

Anyone who wants to take some time for an equestrian experience in Tuscan nature is welcome. S A Ranch is not perfect, but they do what they do with great passion. Arrival on Sunday and departure on Saturday. The journey does not hide any difficulties and is for riders of medium experience. It lasts five days with approximately four to six hours in the saddle per day. In case and if possible, they can modify the gait. A shuttle service will take care of all guests' transfers. The itineraries may vary if circumstances require it.

Lunch stops along the routes and dinners include beverages. The Via Francigena has represented over the centuries, since the early Middle Ages (year 476 to 1000 AD), the route followed by pilgrims from central-northern Europe, to reach Rome, the seat of the Papacy and heart of Christianity. In 2004, this route was declared a “Great European Cultural Itinerary” by the Council of Europe, similar to the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. What is known today as the Via Francigena is the 1800 km route taken by Archbishop Sigerico in the year 990 to return to Canterbury from Rome after meeting Pope John XV.

It is important to know that in addition to the Sigerico route, there are many paths, and variations, used by pilgrims, merchants, and soldiers for convenience, climatic conditions, minor destinations, or to reduce the distances and difficulties of their journeys. Riding on the Via Francigena is like going back in time and becomes an opportunity to discover, with a slow and ancient rhythm, places that have great historical, cultural, and environmental value among the most typical of this part of Tuscany.

The riding school

The horse excites and fascinates, but you have to approach it safely and with the awareness of meeting a different living being than others for many reasons. The idea is that of a classroom where progressive, dedicated, and in-depth learning programs take place that put fun, the safety of the student, and the well-being of the horse first. The goal of the school is not to simplify but to educate to carry out equestrian activities not only “with” the horse but “for” the horse.

The programs and lessons in various styles (English, Western, etc.) developed by qualified personnel, are aimed at learning communication techniques from the ground and the saddle. Understanding the responses or reactions of the horse, getting to know the equipment and its correct use, to then experiencing the emotions of outings in the countryside or other equestrian specialties.