Top Secret Flea Market Retreat June 1-6th, 2025

There are eight spots available for this retreat. La Fortezza has six guest rooms: two double rooms and four singles. If you are booking for yourself and a friend or family member, please let me know if you’d like to share a room. Single occupancy rooms are first come, first serve. Please note that the property is not ADA-accessible.

• Retreat fees include luxury accommodations for five nights, all meals/snacks/beverages (including wine and cocktails), and the opportunity to mingle with and learn from Annette’s network of flea market shopping experts. Also included are one cooking lesson, pool time, a pizza party, and optional tarot card readings and massages ( for massages, an additional fee applies). Annette has an incredible itinerary planned and will arrange everything, in addition to providing transportation for all off-site shopping and activities. Please note that flights and ground transportation to/from La Fortezza are not included. We recommend that guests rent cars. However, if you choose to hire a car service, we can help you to arrange that. We suggest Sixt Car Rentals

• Please note: Beginning in 2025, visas will be required for all US citizens traveling to Europe. Information can be found on the ETIAS website. Please note the timeline for processing visa applications and plan your travel accordingly.

• Email Gen, our La Fortezza Guest Liasion, for more details and pricing and booking.

  
  

• Itinerary: *Please note this may be subject to some minor changes and additional stops.

  La Fortezza Shopping Retreat 2025

  June 1 - 6, 2025

   

  Sunday 6/1: Arrivals

  3:00 - 6:30 pm - Arrive at The Fortress. Light lunch or snacks available. Enjoy this time to relax,

  shower, nap, and unpack

  6:30 pm - Meet and Greet Aperitivo on the terrace. Cocktails and nibbles will be served

  7:30 pm - Welcome dinner on the terrace

   

  Monday 6/2: Flea Market Crawl

  7:00 am - Breakfast

  8:00 am - Travel off-site with a flea market expert. Experience an authentic Italian private flea

  market, and learn from your guide insider tips for finding the best pieces. Enjoy lunch at a local

  restaurant before returning to La Fortezza.

  3:00 pm - Cooking lesson with Annette, then relax and explore the grounds. *Massages can be

  booked

  6:30 pm - Aperitivo on the terrace, followed by dinner. Eat what we’ve prepared.

   

  Tuesday 6/3: Flea Market Crawl

  7:00 am - Breakfast

  8:00 am - Travel off-site with a flea market expert. Experience an authentic Italian private flea

  market, and learn from your guide insider tips for finding the best pieces. Enjoy lunch at a local

  restaurant before returning to La Fortezza

  3:00 - 6:30 pm - Relaxation, enjoy time by the pool, or explore the grounds and gardens.

  *Massages can be booked

  6:30 pm - Aperitivo on the terrace, followed by dinner

   

  Wednesday 6/4: Exclusive tour and lunch with an antique dealer.

  Leave La Fortezza at 8:00 am

  Breakfast on the road at an Autogrill

  9:30 am - Day 3 shopping - Tour vintage and handmade textile shops. Eat lunch in an antique

  dealer’s stunning showroom

  5:00 pm - Return to La Fortezza

  6:30 pm - Aperitivo on the terrace, followed by dinner

   

  Thursday 6/5: Antiques dealer outside Modena

  Leave La Fortezza at 8:00 am

  Breakfast on the road at an Autogrill

  10:30 am - 12:00 pm – Incredible Showroom of a local antique dealer

  1:00 - 3:00 pm - Lunch - Borgo del Balsamico, tour and shopping

  5:00 pm - Return to La Fortezza

  7:00 pm - Pizza Party!

  
  

  Friday 6/6: Ciao Ciao!

  8:00 am - Breakfast

  10:00 am - Departures

  
  

Build Your Own Experiences.

1 night and up to 4 nights. Create your own retreat experience. Whether it is cooking lessons or foraging and flower arranging with Annette. You can customize your retreat in any way you’d like. Perhaps Bio-Dynamic wine tasting (lunch included), or balsamic vinegar tasting (lunch included), truffle hunting followed by a four-course truffle lunch (lunch included): morning yoga, and a Thai or Shiatzu or Reflexology massage. A private tour of the Carrara marble mines followed by lunch at the top of the mountain. A slow food purveyors tour or wine tasting at the local award-winning winery. Hiking to waterfalls or walking to our vineyard with a glass of vino in hand. Shop at the chic Forte Dei Marmi market, followed by lunch at the sea and an afternoon at the beach. You can participate in our grape harvest. Enjoy cocktail lessons or build the perfect charcuterie board with Annette. You can relax by the pool with a book and play a little bocce ball. It’s your retreat your way. Perfect for birthday and anniversary celebrations, girls' trips, or family holidays. Annette personally curates your entire “La Fortezza Experience” 40 minutes from the seaside, 1 hour and 15 minutes from Parma, 1 and 15 minutes from Lucca. It’s the perfect location to explore.

Gather your family and friends. Groups must be a minimum of 4 people (we can host up to 10 people with couples and shared rooms). Itinerary planning and accommodations, yoga, meals, cocktails, and wine are included. Not included are off-sight meals unless it’s one of our full-day excursions, Bio-Dynamic Wine Tasting and Tour, Balsamic Tasting and Tour, Truffle Hunting, and Coursed Truffle Lunch. Also included is a personalized signed copy of Annette’s cookbook about the region, At the Table of La Fortezza, and a bottle of La Fortezza wine.* Note you are responsible for your Transportation. Annette is happy to suggest a car service for day excursions pricing on request or a rental company. Make La Fortezza in Lunigiana in Tuscany your Italian destination in 2025. We strongly suggest renting a car, giving you more flexibility and better excursion access. We suggest Sixt Car Rentals

Please email us to reserve dates and *Inquire about pricing for your retreat here:

Annette: annettejoseph@mac.com or our customer service liaison: Gen: at genesis.carlina@gmail.com

*Note Your deposit (which is half of the total cost) is due upon reserving and it is NON-REFUNDABLE, NON-TRANSFERABLE. We do however issue credits for other dates.

Select Your Experiences from a Menu of Activities

We have loads of choices and options for excursions and experiences. This is just a sample.

Come cook, eat, drink with me.

You’ll get to know a little known beautiful part of Italy. My special place.

~Annette x