From Renaissance art to rolling vineyards, an inland adventure is now an essential part of a Tuscan superyacht charter.
This article was written by Julia Zaltzman. Photography courtesy of the Resorts.
As Tony Bennett sang so emotively, “It’s the good life to be free and explore the unknown.”
And it’s the dolce vita yachting dream that is so perfectly encapsulated in Tuscany. The Tuscan Coast stretches 500 kilometers from the Versilia Riviera to Monte Argentario. Elba—the largest island of the Tuscan archipelago known for its wildlife, beauty, and adventurous cycling tracks—was made famous when it became Napoleon’s place of exile. But the jewel in the coastline crown is Forte dei Marmi, just over an hour’s drive from the tumbledown houses of Cinque Terre.
Forte dei Marmi’s origins lie in the 16th century, when the ruling Medici family used it to transport marble from mountain to sea, including the white gold stone of Carrara so favored by Michelangelo. Today, the Via Giuseppe Spinetti is a Hamptons-like shrine to international designer boutiques and open-air coffee shops, where sun-kissed children clad in Loro Piana knitwear skip across cleanly swept pedestrianized squares.
Giorgio Armani and Andrea Bocelli own villas in the seaside town. In the 1920s, it was Italian “royalty,” including the Pirellis (of the multinational tire manufacturer) and the Agnellis (of Fiat fame) who descended on Forte dei Marmi during the summer months. Now, Villa Agnelli forms part of Hotel Augustus Lido, one of 15 properties that collectively comprise the Augustus Hotel & Resort, the epicenter of Apple’s 2024 series Disclaimer starring Cate Blanchett.
Further inland, cultural hubs like Florence (home to Michelangelo’s David), Siena (which hosts the biannual Palio di Siena horse race), and Pisa’s leaning tower reside. They’re surrounded by a rising number of remote Tuscan villas offering five-star rural stays to guests wanting to sample Tuscany’s rolling countryside while on a yacht charter, including Nautor’s Swan owner Leonardo Ferragamo’s chic family retreats, Il Boro and Viesca near Florence, and Villa Ardore, a 16th-century Tuscan stone farmhouse tucked into the Chianti hills.
Owned by Americans Christian Scali and Stephen Lewis, Villa Ardore’s gentle restoration was realized by leading Florence architect Massimo Pieratelli, who used local stone and materials to achieve an authentic yet luxurious touch. It’s in the heart of the Chianti Classico region, where Ferretti boss Alberto Galassi’s favorite Antinori winery resides. The dirt road approach to Villa Ardore winds through shaded woods before opening out to cinematic views of the rolling Ruffino vineyard. Church bells peal out across the terracotta rooftops of the historic town of San Gimignano in the distance.
San Gimignano is one of the best preserved medieval towns in the country, largely owing to two thirds of its population being wiped out by the plague in the 13th century. The remaining inhabitants abandoned it for Florence, and it was left empty until its 19th-century restoration. Lying in the west of one of the world’s prime red wine areas, San Gimignano produces only whites. It’s a quaint stop off on any itinerary and a convenient 30-minute hop by helicopter from the yachting hub of Viareggio, itself a gateway for yachts carrying on to Capri or heading north to Santa Margarita.
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