Tuscan islands cruise

Check-in on the yacht at 15:00 at the marina in Follonica. We stock up on food and wine, then take a stroll around the town.

In the morning we set off for the islands. First to greet us is Elba — the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago — and its capital, Portoferraio. This little town was once Napoleon’s prison for 9 months. Here we will visit his Villa dei Mulini and walk along the Medici bastions. The cosy town has kept its medieval spirit, which you can feel as you wander through the historic centre. We will have dinner right on the waterfront with a wonderful view of the sea and the town.

After breakfast we sail around the western tip of Elba, stopping for swims, and arrive on the island’s south side at Marina di Campo. We will go for a walk around the town: after the capital, it is Elba’s most developed settlement, full of bars, restaurants, shops and nightclubs. It is also home to the island’s longest sandy beach.

We head towards the mainland, passing close to the island of Montecristo, which is closed to visitors. We will stop for a swim, and in the evening arrive at our mooring in Grosseto and have dinner at the marina.

After an early breakfast we leave straight for Siena, where a tour of one of Italy’s most beautiful cities awaits. On the way back we admire the classic views of the Tuscan hills, and on the return journey we have lunch near Montalcino at the legendary Castello Banfi, a vineyard producing one of Italy’s finest wines — Brunello di Montalcino.

And out to sea once again. We will reach the rocky shores of the island of Giglio. In the days of the Roman Empire the island was a key base in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Julius Caesar mentions it in his “Commentaries on the Gallic War”.

From 1264 the island belonged to the Republic of Pisa, and later the Medici got their hands on it. The island was attacked several times by Muslim pirates, and we will see the surviving watchtowers built to defend it against the Saracens. What made the island attractive to its rulers were its quarries: many of the columns adorning the palaces of Rome were hewn from local granite.

The island is beautiful for its unspoilt nature, white sandy beaches and crystal-clear water. We can stroll around the town or drive a few kilometres to the island’s hilltop centre, which offers breathtaking views of the sea and the island.

In the evening we cross to the mainland at Porto Santo Stefano and have dinner at the marina.

In the morning we set off to explore Orbetello. The town sits in a blue lagoon enclosed on all sides, between the sandbars that link the peninsula to the mainland. The coastal town’s calling card is a lone stone windmill standing in the water, which has survived here since the 16th century. Orbetello’s historic centre is encircled by Etruscan walls dating back to the 5th century BC. They are built from massive irregular stones, which is why they are called Cyclopean. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta towers over the central square. Its main west façade is a characteristic example of 14th-century Tuscan Gothic.

From there we head to the ghost town of Civita di Bagnoregio. Abandoned by its inhabitants in 1695 after an earthquake, the village has survived remarkably well to this day. Every year the town sinks a few centimetres as wind and rain erode the soft ground. Visit this mysterious town while you still can!

Next comes Viterbo, a medieval gem that has preserved a 13th-century Papal Palace, many churches with frescoes, palazzi and a great number of Gothic fountains.

On the way back we will pass through the ancient town of Tarquinia, once an Etruscan city-state and now a small town with a well-preserved historic centre. If we are lucky, we will catch the feast of the Madonna, patron saint of Tarquinia.

We return to Porto San Stefano. From here you can take the train to any of the cities — Rome, Florence, Milan or Siena — and continue discovering Italy. The journey to Rome takes about 4 hours.