Contact:
Daniele S. Longo
Chief Marketing Officer
Monteverdi Tuscany
(513) 579-0015

The Villas at Monteverdi to Open 2012 Season with its First Delegation
to Italy

Discovering Italy for Business or Pleasure: 2012 Monteverdi Wine Festival Tour

(CINCINNATI, Ohio, February 21, 2012) – The Villas at Monteverdi announced today the opening of its 2012 season of operation with the 2012 Monteverdi Wine Festival Tour. Started as a trip to Italy during the Benvenuto Brunello, Preview Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and Collection Chianti Classico wine festivals, the Monteverdi Wine Festival Tours have evolved into an opportunity to visit Tuscany, connect with local producers and potential business partners, and learn about Italian culture, business behaviors and market expectations.

“We are looking forward to welcoming our guests at The Villas at Monteverdi with a unique Italian wine experience. Guests will enjoy our luxury accommodations, as well as wine tastings, vineyard tours and authentic Tuscan meals prepared by our private chef,” said Mike A. Cioffi, CEO of The Villas at Monteverdi. “Our 2012 program was designed to maximize each participant’s exposure to Tuscany’s amazing wine industry by learning from the producers themselves as well as industry expert Kathy Merchant, IWS, and Cortona native, Marco Molesini, whose family’s wine shop has been operating since 1937.”

The Monteverdi Wine Festival Tour will be held at The Villas at Monteverdi, Castiglioncello del Trinoro (SI), Italy, February 25^th-March 3^rd, 2012. During the trip, guests will attend Benvenuto Brunello events hosted in Montalcino (Siena), visit local restaurants and vineyards, meet with representatives of the Food and Beverage Industry, and tour Florence and other architectural gems of Tuscany.

The Villas at Monteverdi, located in the Medieval village of Castiglioncello del Trinoro, Tuscany, are luxury retreats available for weekly rental. The private residences are breathtakingly beautiful stone structures built on foundations that date to the 11th century –each retrofitted with European-style design and 21st-century amenities. For more information, please visit www.monteverdituscany.com

For me, a fundamental goal in my travels is to have meaningful contact with local people. When an opportunity in this regard presents itself, I jump on it. Driving by a random cheese festival in Sicily? Stop the car. Get out. Eat cheese. Experience it. Hiking through England’s Lake District and popping into a pub for a drink? Don’t sit at a table. Sit at the bar, where people hang out to talk. Dinnertime in Mostar, Bosnia? Don’t go to the touristy riverside places again. Turn away from the cutesy Old Town and head out to “The Boulevard” — the front line of the recent sectarian troubles — and be the first American tourist to eat at a new local eatery. Talk with the owner about how Muslims and Croats are now (tentatively) coexisting in peace. Connecting with people is what enlivens your travel experience. Read More

Referred by: Marnie Black, PR Contributor, Monteverdi Tuscany
Source: R. Steves, Huffington Post – Travel 02/17/2012

Italian and foreign guests visit the Val d’Orcia in winter time.

Source: Turismo in Toscana, www.turismo.intoscana.it

International Business Development Executive to support Global Expansion Strategies, Market Planning and Tourist Destination Growth

(CINCINNATI, Ohio, February 12, 2012) – The Villas at Monteverdi today announced the hiring of Daniele S. Longo as its new Chief Marketing Officer.

Mr. Longo has spent his career building and shaping international brand and business development strategies for Chambers of Commerce, working closely with Embassies and foreign trade offices (including Brazil, China, Russia, India and Canada), cultivating international business relationships, counseling small business owners and entrepreneurs in designing start-up business plans and solving business challenges, and managing global business practices for international companies.

“I am excited in joining the Monteverdi brand and working closely with the executive team in defining luxury hospitality experiences in the global market. I am particularly thrilled to be part of an organization that promotes one of the most unique destinations in the world, Tuscany, Italy, given my Italian heritage,” said Longo.

Prior to joining Monteverdi, he worked for the Chamber of Commerce and Procter and Gamble in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

“We are very pleased to welcome Daniele to the Monteverdi team. His talent and experience make him uniquely situated to position Monteverdi as a leader in the highly competitive Italian luxury hospitality market,” said Mike A. Cioffi, CEO of The Villas at Monteverdi.

Mr. Longo holds an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from Northern Kentucky University, a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino (Turin, Italy), a license in Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano (Milan, Italy), and an Institute of Management certification from University of Arizona.

The Villas at Monteverdi, located in the Medieval village of Castiglioncello del Trinoro, Tuscany, are luxury retreats available for weekly rental. The private residences are breathtakingly beautiful stone structures built on foundations that date to the 11th century –each retrofitted with European-style design and 21st-century amenities. For more information, please visit www.monteverdituscany.com.

Hire State of Being

“Become the lord or lady of your very own expertly restored estate by renting out an entire Tuscan property, from an ancient hilltop village to a sprawling, majestic castle.”
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MONTEVERDI TUSCANY

“STING, TONY BLAIR, ANTONIO BANDARAS… HACE TANTOS ANOS QUE LAS IDILICAS COLINAS DE CHIANTI SIRVEN DE REFUGIO A LOS PRIVILEGIADOS QUE CASI HAN MUERTO DE ‘GLAMOUR’.”
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Muri Antichi

“MURI ANTICHI si trova a Castiglioncello del Trinoro, antico borgo che fino al secondo Dopoguerra, prima di essere abbandonato seguendo il destino di molte campagne toscane, era assai popolato (nel villaggio si contavano ben cinque chiese).”
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Respecting the Tuscan Land

“VAL D’ORCIA, ITALY — Castiglioncello del Trinoro, a medieval
village in the heart of Tuscany set amid the pine woods of the Val
d’Orcia, was once a thriving farming community.”
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Tuscany

“With it’s medieval monuments and sunflower filled landscapes, Tuscany has long been a perennial favorite with Italiophiles. Now with some glam new openings, the region looks set to be thrust firmly in the jetsetters’ spotlight again.” Full Story »