The Tuscan Line
Prato · Carrara · San Miniato
Wool, marble and leather: a mill archive, a quarry bench and a shoemaker's table.
From€2,480
Dates
Slow trains.Three stops.
Five-day journeys on Italy's regional lines, twelve travellers at a time, with a weaver, a carver or a shoemaker waiting at every stop.
Every line runs the same way
We leave Florence on a Monday morning by regional train. Three towns, a day and a half in each, a working studio opened for us at every one, family-run rooms and long dinners. Back on platform three on Friday afternoon.
- Twelve seats
- One carriage section booked for the group. Never a coach.
- One host
- A Florentine who rides with you from the first platform to the last.
- Three studios
- A morning at the bench with the person who works there.
The Tuscan line
Florence to Prato, Carrara and San Miniato, and back to Florence. Each stop opens when the train gets there.
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Stop 1 · Monday 09:41
Prato
The wool mill. Old coats have been carded and re-spun here since 1890; Elena opens the carding room and an archive of forty thousand swatches kept in shoe boxes.
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Stop 2 · Tuesday 14:20
Carrara
The quarry and the bench. Up to the Colonnata faces by jeep, then down to Marco's studio, where you rough out a small block of your own.
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Stop 3 · Thursday 10:05
San Miniato
The leather bench. Giulia makes twenty pairs of shoes a year; you trace, cut and edge a card wallet that goes home in your pocket.
Four lines for 2027
Every line runs Monday to Friday from Florence. Prices are per person sharing a room, trains, rooms and studios included.
The Umbrian Line
Deruta · Montefalco · Spello
A majolica workshop, a family cellar of Sagrantino and the flower painters of Spello.
From€2,390
Dates
The Riviera Line
Camogli · Chiavari · Manarola
A sail loft, the chair makers of Chiavari and a vineyard terraced into the cliff.
From€2,650
Dates
The Langhe Line
Alba · Barolo · Bra
A cooper's yard, a hazelnut roaster and the cheese caves under Bra's old town.
From€2,720
DatesWho waits at each stop
Not guides: people at work, who let twelve strangers into the room for a morning and keep working while they explain.
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Elena Mati
Mill archivist · Prato
“Every swatch in here was cut from a coat somebody wore out. I can tell you whose.”
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Marco Bertozzi
Stone carver · Carrara
“The block tells you where it wants to split. I just listen a little faster than most.”
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Giulia Ferro
Shoemaker · San Miniato
“A pair takes me forty hours. You will see the first four, and they are the important ones.”
A day on the line
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Platform three
Coffee standing at the station bar, then the regional train out of Santa Maria Novella. Seats facing each other, the hills in the window, your host reading out the stops.
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Inside the studio
Three hours at the bench with your hands on the material, one hour of questions, then lunch at the long table under the pergola.
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The town at dinner
A trattoria your host has known for twenty years, a walk back through the lanes, and nobody has to drive.
Departures 2027
Seven departures, twelve seats each. A deposit of 20% holds yours; the rest is due sixty days before the train.
| Line | Dates | Seats left | Per person | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscan | 12–16 April | 4 of 12 | €2,480 | Reserve |
| Umbrian | 3–7 May | 7 of 12 | €2,390 | Reserve |
| Riviera | 24–28 May | 2 of 12 | €2,650 | Reserve |
| Tuscan | 14–18 June | 9 of 12 | €2,480 | Reserve |
| Langhe | 13–17 September | 6 of 12 | €2,720 | Reserve |
| Umbrian | 4–8 October | 12 of 12 | €2,390 | Reserve |
| Langhe | 18–22 October | 5 of 12 | €2,720 | Reserve |
Need other dates? Groups of eight or more can have any line on their own dates.
One ticket covers it
One price from the Monday platform to the Friday platform. The stub lists what stays with you.
Covered
- Every train, with seats reserved together
- Four nights in family-run rooms, private bathroom
- Three studio mornings and the materials you use
- Eight meals with wine: four lunches, four dinners
- Your host, from Florence back to Florence
- Luggage carried between hotels by van
From €2,390 per person sharing · single room +€340
Not covered
- Getting to Florence
- Travel insurance
- Two free evenings
- Anything you buy from the makers
Before you book
The questions people ask us on the phone, answered the way we answer them there.
How fit do I need to be?
Walks stay under five kilometres a day, mostly on cobbles and some steps. The Carrara quarry is reached by jeep.
What happens to my luggage?
One case each travels by van between hotels, so on the train you only carry a day bag.
Can I come on my own?
About half our travellers do. A single room costs €340 more and we never pair strangers.
What if a train is late or cancelled?
Your host rebooks on the spot. For strike days we keep a minibus and driver on call.
Are the studios step-free?
Two of the three on each line are. Call us before booking and we will tell you exactly what to expect.
How do I pay, and can I cancel?
A 20% deposit holds a seat and the rest is due sixty days before departure. Until then you can cancel for a full refund.
Hire the whole carriage
A family birthday, a team, a choir on tour: any line on dates you choose, for eight to twenty people, with the same hosts and makers.
Plan a private lineAsk for a seat
Tell us the line and the month. We answer within one working day with what is free.
- Office
- Via Esempio 1
50100 Firenze, Italy - Hours
- Monday to Friday
9:30–18:00 - Phone
- +39 055 000 0000
