Arianna and Friends

A Tuscan team based between Pisa and Volterra

Arianna and Friends is a small tour company in Tuscany, Italy, that runs its own cooking classes, food and wine tours and day activities with a team of local guides, cooks and producers. The footer gives the company as Arianna & Friends Srl, Via Salaiola 50/10 & 50/11, 56030 La Rosa, Terricciola, in the province of Pisa, with phone numbers that also take WhatsApp (+39 348 3352039, +39 334 9167724 and +39 366 5092855), office hours Monday through Friday 9am-6pm, and info@ariannandfriends.com. The company says it is a member of Terre di Pisa.

Its activities are spread over the hills between Florence, Pisa, Livorno, Volterra, Lucca and San Gimignano, the area the car-rental page names as home to "our destinations." The team pages mention places such as Volterra, San Miniato, Palaia and Peccioli, and the wedding page suggests villas "no more than 1.5 hours from our home base in La Rosa."

The founder, Arianna, writes that the idea began while she was a student at the University of Pisa and that her passion for food came from "the delicious food of my mamma and my nonna." The company name, she says, was meant to carry one message: "spend time with us, your Tuscan friends, and you'll feel like part of a family and experience Tuscany in a very authentic way."

Cooking classes, food tours and the people behind them

The homepage menus cover cooking classes and chef services, wine and food tours, day tours and activities, Vespa tours and e-bike tours. Current highlights include a special 2026 Christmas cooking class, a Volterra wine tasting "with views," a day in Siena built around its dolcetti, and packages around Andrea Bocelli's Teatro del Silenzio in 2027, with transfers to the venue. The menus also list pasta experiences, free guided tours for summer 2026, shore excursions from Livorno Harbor, and online products: private live-streamed cooking classes, a virtual wine tour with real Tuscan wine tasting, a Carbonara & Amatriciana day and extra virgin olive oil for sale.

The about page is the richest part of the site, introducing the producers guests meet. Daniele, who set up a truffle business with his family in 2019, and truffle dogs such as Ciro and Giotto lead the hunts, some of them near Palaia. Elena and Elisa grow saffron, herbs and olive oil on a farm between Volterra and San Gimignano. One host describes an organic olive oil production used "in every cooking class," and there is an oil mill with a butcher's shop, an organic cheese farm and a winemaking family. At Rita's farm, the page promises a look at how life was lived in the area "almost 200 years ago." The homepage sums up the food offer with the line "Taste 3,000 years of simple & noble flavors." Home cooks such as Paola lead the kitchen sessions; one cook admits to "limited English" but says guests understand her through body language.

Driving tours, e-bikes and villa services

The driving-tours page offers private tours "in iconic vehicles like the Vespa, Fiat 500, and Ferrari." The Vespa tour is billed "only for experienced drivers." The Fiat 500 tours are combined with a pasta-making class or an extra virgin olive oil tasting at a local oil mill, and the Ferrari options include a "VIP Ferrari Experience and Truffle Adventure." The company also rents a Vespa for a day, rents cars for a full day from the rental station nearest to guests' lodgings, with suggested routes it says avoid heavy truck traffic, and provides private drivers, a baby sitter and accommodation.

The team's guides describe their own seasons and skills. Luca, a tour leader since 2011, says he leads almost all the wine and food tours and cooking classes from March to October, and names truffle, olive oil, e-bike and Vespa tours as his favorites. Cristiano speaks English, Spanish and French, and the drivers on the team are described as speaking good English. Alessandro mentions sommelier training.

For groups staying in a villa, the company offers private chef services, and its wedding page describes small, informal weddings with food cooked by local cooks under a "Celebration Party Formula" for a maximum of 40 guests. Before and after, it offers wine and blind olive oil tastings, e-bike rides, cooking classes, cheese making, pizza parties, painting and massage at the villa. The page is candid about the style: it quotes a bride who asked to "keep it loosy goosy," describes the food as "Nothing fancy or sophisticated," and says the company can connect couples with florists, a DJ or band, and someone to lead a symbolic ceremony, or leave those details to the couple.

Booking

Every activity page carries an enquiry form that asks for dates, the number of adults (18 and over), teenagers (12 to 17) and children (4 to 11), and details of where the guests are staying, and there is a downloadable booking form. Rates are given on request: the car-rental page says "Ask for a quotation," and the wedding page asks couples to write for prices. The footer links to terms and conditions. Requests are answered by a small office team: the about page introduces Consuelo as sales manager and customer care, and another team member who joined in March 2024 describes managing bookings and building tailor-made plans.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The site does not publish prices for classes or tours, nor a duration or group size for most activities, nor a cancellation or refund rule outside the linked terms and conditions. It does not state how many people join a cooking class or whether classes are private or shared, and it does not describe dietary options or access for guests with reduced mobility. The free guided tours for summer 2026 are listed in the menu without dates or meeting points alongside.

Arianna and Friends suits visitors staying in the countryside between Pisa, Volterra and San Gimignano who want a hands-on day with local cooks and producers, a truffle hunt, or a Vespa or Fiat 500 drive, and groups renting a villa who want food and activities brought to them. Travelers who want a fixed price and timetable before they write in, or who are based far from this corner of Tuscany, will find the enquire-first model slower.