The "Ballooning in Tuscany" idea started in 1990 when we formed the Discovery Club. The Club exists to promote the sport in the central Tuscany area near Siena, about 50 miles south of Florence. Italians have taken to the idea although most of our members -- English, German, Swiss, American, Canadian, Australian, Japanese -- are foreigners like ourselves who come to Tuscany as tourists, lured by the picture-book landscape, the long hot summers, the food and wine, and of course, for its artistic treasures.

The location of the launch site is an important element of a balloon ride. We are located in an enchanted valley, hidden below Montisi and surrounded by woods and pastures and a truffle reserve. Wild animals wander through our land -- deer, badgers, occasionally wild boar (at night!), and lots of birds -- and our own small-scale farming activities sometimes provide unexpected entertainment in the form of a gang of tiny piglets on the loose or Spike the Rooster and his flock of hens getting in the way of the inflation. From here we rise up out of the valley to get a notion of the direction that we are going to take -- north over the Crete Senesi and Siena, west to the canyons and steep valleys of the calanche, south to Pienza and the Val d'Orcia, or east over the 1000 ft wooded hills and into the Val di Chiana. It is always a gratifying moment to actually catch the wind that is going to take us somewhere.

We fly at dawn (approx. 6.00 am) after meeting in the local bar for a quick coffee. Morning flights are nearly always possible where evening flights are often difficult because the sea breeze (from the Mediterranean 50 miles away) can be quite stiff and sometimes doesn't drop until well after dark! The inflation takes about 30 minutes, and the flight lasts more than an hour. Afterwards we enjoy a splendid champagne breakfast laid out in the field where we land, before loading everything back on to the trailer of the chase vehicle which follows our flight from the launch site. The whole flight, from inflation to return to base, takes about three and a half hours.

The area in which we fly is about 20 miles south of Siena and is called the Crete Senesi, an area of rolling downland with steep valleys, villages on hilltops, and isolated farmhouses and castles. The wine towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino lie to the east and west of us, with Pienza and the Val d'Orcia to the south. There is a wooded range of hills about 5 miles wide and 1000 feet high which separates the Crete Senesi from the flat Valdichiana which runs N-S. This is intensely cultivated in strips but in the end you can always get in somewhere!

We offer you a unique experience of a real Tuscany, an old Tuscany, a Tuscany as yet almost untouched by tourism. Our ballooning experience will leave you with treasured memories to keep Tuscany fresh for you all year! See Tuscany from above, and then we can chat over a champagne breakfast and help you discover more of Tuscany from ground level, from the fields and lanes, from the farmyard and from the kitchen.

Flights are subject to weather conditions, and for safety, we fly only in the calmest of conditions.

Do not hesitate to contact us for any further information: Tel/Fax: +39-0577-845211 Email:

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