ABOUT US
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart” – Confucius
Baccanti came to be in 1999 in London, the brainchild of Filippo Bartolotta, “grapetrotter” with contagious enthusiasm and boundless love for excellent food and wine. Three years later Filippo met Vanessa Held, an entrepreneur and agronomist working in Tuscany. With Vanessa’s initiative the project was transformed in an Italian based tour company specialized in luxury travel and incentive trips built around wine, food, and art as well as team-building and entertainment events. Filippo and Vanessa’s goal? to bring part of the world to Italy to discover the best it has to offer in wine and food and help tailor trips and projects in Italy and beyond.
The undertaking combines Vanessa’s excellent organizational and business skills with Filippo’s creative inspiration and expertise with the incredible, wide-ranging skills of an international team. Le Baccanti Tours organizes leisure travel throughout Italy, crafting dream trips and tailor-made experiences for major partner agencies around the world and for clients the caliber of Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman.
Executive Team
VANESSA HELD
The Architect
FILIPPO BARTOLOTTA
The Wine Guy
COLETTE BEAUMONT
THE PUZZLE
NINA
TRAVEL ADVISOR
“I’m a pleaser. I love helping people and making them happy. One of the highlights of my job is talking to my clients on the phone. Interacting with them on a very personal level gives me insight to plan an experience that even goes beyond my expectations-AND THOSE ARE HIGH!!”
ELENA PONTIL
THE CONDUCTOR
I’m never bored. I don’t understand the concept. There’s so much to do. So many people to meet, so many opportunities to gather together and learn. And when there’s no one around, there’s music.
CAREN
It amazes me how many people tell me how much they would love to experience what I’ve done-change countries, meet extraordinary individuals, find the unusual wherever I go. It amazes me even more that people ask me to create my experiences for them. That’s cool.
ELENA R.
THE MAP
We are in the business of organizing highly personalized travel for many people. This translates into many, many moving parts. There’s no room for error. Nothing can get lost. Thankfully we are an incredible team: resourceful, intelligent, highly structured and 100 percent reliable.
MICHELE
CHEF
What’s on his plate: Ricotta and Spinach Tortelli with Butter and Sage Sauce What’s in his glass: Castello di Ama Chianti Classico
