The ultimate road trip around Tuscany, Italy
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Somewhere beyond the medieval citadel of San Gimignano, I shift the Aventador’s paddle gears down to second and wait for the apex-predator roar as the RPM needle spikes furiously. I am not a Car Person, and never knew quite how glorious this would be, driving a real-life Top Trump.
Helen CathcartPart of my prior suspicion of Lamborghinis stemmed from seeing them in West London, where they appear like Siberian tigers trapped among the marbled terraces. In the big city, the gull-wing doors seem absurd; the window to the ludicrously powerful engine like some faintly indecent peephole.
Pictured: room keys at Castello di Casole
Nico SchincoBut here on a warm September day, this immodest future-machine feels right somehow, even on narrow streets watched over by coy Renaissance torsos. Not far from Florence, an old lady waves her handkerchief as if greeting the pink jersey of the Giro d’Italia, and at a roundabout near hilltop Ulignano, a group of children cycle alongside, giving thumbs-ups and approving devil signs.
Toby SkinnerIn Monticiano, a silent little town of thermal waters, rusting Fiat Pandas and war statues, some old boys leave their espressos on Formica tables and come to mutter and point. It’s as if these people are appreciating one of the Big Five, except that in Italy it’s really the Big Three of Lamborghini, Maserati and Ferrari. Rather than envy, there seems to be a collective pride in these marques; their almost sculptural creations, and the very human stories behind them.
Ferruccio Lamborghini was the son of grape farmers who struck it rich making the tractors that fuelled Italy’s post-war agricultural boom. He turned to cars in 1963, and initially produced sleekly curved touring models until a group of engineers went off-piste in 1966 with the muscular Lamborghini Miura, widely considered the world’s first supercar. It was the engineering of speed that always fascinated Ferruccio.
Pictured: the gardens at Villa San Michele
Joee WongAnd for all that his cars became increasingly ostentatious, at heart he remained a country boy, eventually retiring to hunt on his vineyard near the village of Panicale. This is perhaps why the Aventador makes so much sense on a tour of Tuscany. My route is a figure of eight around two Belmond hotels: Villa San Michele, once a Franciscan monastery, in the Fiesole hills overlooking Florence; and Castello di Casole, a 10th-century Etruscan castle with its own medieval hamlet.
Pictured: a view at Villa San Michele
Aya BrackettAt the end of one day, I stop at the Tenuta Torciano winery to hunt truffles with Adolfo Moreno, who looks a bit like Stanley Tucci but with tattoos suggestive of a backstory. Later, we eat Nonna Giachi’s pancotto soup and lasagna with a roll call of Chiantis served by almost as many members of the Giachi clan, who all seem to wear Rolexes and have a list of metaphors linking wine and love-making.
Pictured: Roccia d’Orcia
Helen CathcartIt’s almost too much; a bit Peak Tuscany, like later watching the pinkish sky over the village of Casole d’Elsa from Castello di Casole’s pool. But, then, when you’re behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Aventador, nothing is too much.
Pictured: a bedroom at Castello di Casole
The next morning, it growls down the hotel driveway, lined by tall, narrow cypress trees. I have to press a button so the nose of the low-slung machine can clear the speed bumps. It seems to strain at some invisible leash.
Pictured: the Lamborghini at Castello di Casole
At the end of the lane, we turn towards Florence and I put my foot down, ready for a roar I’ve become oddly addicted to. In this place, in this big beast of a car, it seems like the only proper thing to do.
Ultimate Driving Tours offers a five-day Tuscany Self-Drive from £3,490 per person, including a choice of car, visit to Torciano Vineyard and stays at Belmond Hotels. ultimatedrivingtours.com
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Tyson SadloBalcony at Villa San Michele
Helen CathcartA room at Castello di Casole
Toby SkinnerThe Lamborghini at Castello di Casole
A fireplace at Castello di Casole
Toby SkinnerBar Visconti at Castello di Casole
A bust at Villa San Michele
Tyson SadloCastello di Casole's exterior
Toby SkinnerStatue at Castello di Casole