Yes, we have a weakness for hilltop picnics in Italy. It's not just the way sun-warmed formaggio

pairs with a hunk of crusty bread. And it's more than how the sweeping expanse before you, cross-hatched with vineyards, glows in the Tuscan sun. It's the utter serenity, the sense that the world can happen without us, that brings us back again and again to the heart of this amazing country. If you love the idea of Italy too much to limit yourself to one region here is your answer. This journey begins in southern Tuscany…wanders into rustic Umbria…and winds up with an insider's glimpse of life in Rome. Beginning as we do near Siena, it's a compact journey that still manages to incorporate breathtaking art treasures, rural walks, photogenic hilltowns, evocative Etruscan tombs and memorable dining (in magnificent ristorantes and on hilltops).