GREAT HOTELS                SMALL GROUP               LEISURELY PACE                 EXPERT GUIDE

Day Three Tues Sept 27^th  : This morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we meet our expert guide who shows us the old city on foot. We start at the Duomo with its famous “Gates of Paradise” doors and hear about how, in 1401, the city had a competition to choose an artist to decorate the doors. The competition ended in a tie between Brunelleschi and Ghiberti and we learn how the winner was decided. We see the Palazzo Vecchio, once occupied by the Medicis, the Piazza della Signoria  where the " Bonfires of the Vanities" took place under the influence of the puritan Savonarola in 1497 and the Pitti Palace that was built to rival the Medici palazzos. In the afternoon we have a guided visit to the Uffizzi Gallery. The list of renaissance artists associated with Florence is endless: Giotto, Dante, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Fra Lippi, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.   Dinner at restaurant in Florence .

Day Four Wed Sept 28^th  : Today is a full day exploration to the beautiful old town of Lucca. One of Italy's finest medieval treasures, the centre of Lucca is relatively unspoiled and is sprinkled with palazzi, towers and splendid churches. A local guide walks us through the history of the town from the ancient Etruscans, the Romans, feudal families, republican rule, Napoleon’s takeover - he established his sister in Lucca as Queen of Etruria - and, finally, the hero to every resident of Lucca - the great Puccini who worked and composed his famous operas here. Tonight we dine at a restaurant in Florence .

Day Five Thurs Sept 29^th :  We check out of our hotel after breakfast and transfer by private coach to the town of Siena in Tuscany . On the way we visit the village of San Gimignano with its medieval towers. The museums and churches of San Gimignano contain many examples of great Renaissance masterpieces including the Ghirlandaio frescoes. But the town also offers more than renaissance art - it is a treasure-trove of shops, trattorias and gellaterias (ice cream shops whose recipes include wonderful seasonal flavours unique to Italy).  In the afternoon we reach Siena where we check into our exquisite Grand Hotel Continental www.royaldemeure.com which is just a short walk from “Il Campo”, the main square. Formerly a palace, the hotel has been recently restored to include original architectural features such as vaulted ceilings and magnificent frescoes from the 15th century. We have a short rest followed by dinner in the magnificent dining room.

Day Six Fri Sept 30^th : This morning after a leisurely breakfast we explore the town of Siena with an expert guide . This jewel of a town offers art treasures, Renaissance palaces, a Medici fortress, great artistic masterpieces and a maze of fascinating narrow alleyways. We learn why the Siena school of painting is studied all over the world and study the famous 14^th century fresco "Good Government and Bad Government" .
But Siena is not all history and art. The streets are lined with shops which are an Aladdin’s cave of local delicacies and wines. There is the "wine library" which showcases all of Italy's famous wines and has a wine bar for tasting. 

In the afternoon we travel by private bus to explore the Tuscan countryside to the remote Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore which is filled with amazing frescoes depicting the life of St Benedict by the famous Renaissance artists Luca Signorelli and Giovanni Antonio Bazzi ( known as Il Sodoma ). We continue to the beautiful Villa di Geggiano and its gardens.  Tonight we dine at a typical Tuscan restaurant in Siena.

Day Seven Sat Oct 1:  After breakfast today we drive through pretty Tuscan and Umbrian countryside to the amazing town of Assisi, home of St Francis, patron saint of today’s environmental movement in Italy. Strolling through Assisi, a World Heritage Site, we see the San Francisco Basilica filled with artistic masterpieces. Centuries of history have left Assisi a precious heritage made up of churches, palazzi, castles and ruins. A perfectly preserved Roman temple, once to the goddess Minerva, stands in the city's main square. Diner at a  restaurant in Siena .

Day Eight  Sun Oct 2 : After breakfast today we visit some of Tuscany's small towns. This is wine country and we start by visiting Montalcino in the heart of the Brunello wine district. Brunello red wine is some of the best in Italy. Next comes the Abbey of Saint Antimo. This lovely abbey is said to have been founded in the 9th century by Charlemagne when a local hermit miraculously cured his disease-ridden troops. If we time it right, we hear vespers sung and the beauty of the haunting “music “in the magnificent setting is a memory that stays with one forever. Before returning to Siena we stop at Bagno Vignoni to see ancient Roman baths which legend says were inhabited by water nymphs. in the 1400's, Medici princes came here to bath in the restorative hot waters. St Catherine is also said to have bathed here.   Dinner at a restaurant .

  Day Nine Mon Oct 3: After breakfast we visit the medieval town of Pienza. In the midst of the rolling farmland of Tuscany's Val d'Orcia the village of Pienza sits as a testament to on man's ego. At the height of the 15th century Renaissance, humanist Pope Pius II, with the help of architect Bernardo Rossellino, started converting the tiny village where the pope had been born into the ideal Renaissance city.  The "city" began and ended with the new central square and its buildings -- the plan to cover the surrounding area with a grid of streets never materialized because war drained the Pope's coffers and construction stopped. The village of Pienza, however, sat untouched for centuries and retains its remarkable city-size piazza, one of the grandest achievements of Renaissance architecture.

In the afternoon we visit Montepulciano with its medieval streets and Renaissance palaces. The fields surrounding this town produce a violet-scented, orange-speckled ruby wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and it is worth stopping at one of the many wine shops to taste.

Dinner in our hotel dining room .
 
Day Ten Tues Oct 4: After a leisurely breakfast we transfer to the eternal city of Rome to stay at the world famous Savoy Hotel www.savoy.it, The afternoon is free to explore and in the evening we enjoy a farewell dinner with entertainment .

Day Eleven Wed Oct 5: After breakfast we transfer to Rome Airport for the return flight . (Or perhaps spend a few more days in Rome)