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We depart for our drive to Cortona, enjoying the beautiful landscape, the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, and Frances Mayes’ villa ‘Bramasole’ ( Under the Tuscan Sun) on the way. Gelateria Dondoli in the Piazza Cisterna is not to be missed for its inventive seasonal flavors.

And the city is famous for its award-winning gelato. Of course, there are lots of places to shop in San Gimignano. Don’t miss the 11th century Collegiata church with its impressive frescoes. But even if you’re not interested in the climb and its views, the museum features 14th century council meeting rooms and a small art museum. If you care to, you can climb up the tallest tower in the town at the Museo Civico. We’ll drive on to San Gimignano, perhaps the most famous of the Tuscan hill towns. Then we’ll relax with a tasting of some of the varieties of wine the farm produces, among them the famous white vernaccia of San Gimingano. We’ll get up close to the famous Chianina cattle, one of the oldest breeds in the world - now an endangered species - as well as to the farm’s rabbits and chickens.

We’ll tour the farm, which makes its own wines, olive oil, honey, saffron and many other products of Tuscany. Readers will be swept along on this engrossing journey retracing the steps of a courageous and brilliant woman.We all drive to a working farm outside of San Gimignano (on the horizon are beautiful views of the town and its many towers). This unique biography is also a journal of the author's travels through contemporary Tuscany as she explores the palaces where Matilda held court, the blood-stained plains on which her soldiers battled, the churches and cathedrals she endowed, and the fortified aeries where she sought refuge. She is best remembered for her role in the conflict between the papacy and the Holy Roman emperor, the climax of which took place at her castle of Canossa. Her personal power was so extraordinary that even centuries after her death she became the first woman to be interred in St. Matilda of Canossa, the "Great Countess," was a remarkable woman. 1046–1115), a woman who loved a pope and was loved by him, successfully defied the Holy Roman Emperor, and changed the map of Europe. Tuscan Countess is a fast-paced and colorful exploration of the life of Matilda of Canossa (c. " marvelous biography peels back layer upon layer of previous myth to render a startling new portrait of the countess.