Back in time in Siena on the Nature Train
After the success of last year, the Nature Train returns for 2015, in the Terre di Siena. From March 22 to May 31, the Nature Trains bring visitors back in time with the rhythms of a bygone era when travel meant also linger, enjoy the scenery, experiencing a vaguely "surreal" sensation in the carriages of a completely original steam train that will cross the most beautiful landscapes in the province of Siena.
Start soon to book your holiday in Tuscany this spring. A hotel in Siena, would be perfect as a farmhouse in Pienza or in the countryside around Siena. By Nature Train you will have the possibility to explore different routes, all irresistible for the beauty of the local landscapes and also unusual because they offer perspectives that can hardly be enjoyed by other means. Some passages covered by the railroad are, in fact, far from the main roads and are deeply immersed in nature offering a peculiar view of fields and flocks of sheep. Then you will get off in romantic, little stations and walk through paths leading to villages, castles and churches, and - in some cases - stop in a farm for a tasting of typical products, or attend festivals and village markets.
The landscapes of the Terre di Siena are really unique: among hills, rivers and rows of cypress trees, villages and monuments of extraordinary charm intersperse with oak forests, olive groves and vineyards which produce the great Tuscan wines. Thanks to the Nature Train you will have the chance to enjoy landscapes away from the common tourist routes, and, at the same time, fully immerse into the culture, gastronomy and folklore of these special places.
Among the routes offered this year: a path through the vineyards of Brunello to get to the truffle fair of San Giovanni d'Asso (March 22); a special Easter Monday at the Antique Fair in Buonconvento (Monday, April 6th) and a trip to San Quirico d'Orcia for April 25, to explore the fortress and the historic village. Friday May 1, you can participate to Maggiolata in Sant'Angelo a Cinignano with musicians and folk groups among the streets. Also noteworthy is the market of the Crete Senesi in Asciano (May 10) and the Feast of the Train in Torrenieri (May 17) with a fair featuring local specialties and crafts. For the grand finale of Sunday, May 31 the train will travel the path of the Etruscans from Siena to Chiusi where you can go to discover the Market of Porsenna.
Always more in Italy - as in the rest of Europe and all over the world - a new kind of tourism is establishing, a "slow tourism", whose gaze is more attentive to detail and to the suggestions of the landscape. On the other hand is undeniable the thrill of traveling on an ancient carriage driven by a vintage railcar, among steam, whistles and squeaks of an era when travel meant something different from arriving, faster and faster, as soon as possible.
To make even more special this experience of slow tourism and of a return to a more intimate contact with nature, choose to stay in a farmhouse in the countryside of Siena, it will a plunge in the past, capable of giving really unique emotions.
