An itinerary of two weeks in Italy

Arrival and transfer to the hotel. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. Morning private guided walking tour of the Eternal City including the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona with its beautiful neoclassical architecture. Free time for lunch. Afternoon at leisure. Welcome dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. Discover one of the most beautiful sites in the world on the private guided tour of the Vatican Museums, St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Free time for lunch. Afternoon at leisure to pursue your own passions. Overnight.

Breakfast. In the morning travel to Orvieto, perched on a plateau of tufo rock. Enjoy a guided visit to the Duomo, a true gem of Gothic architecture, and admire the Apocalypse fresco cycle by Luca Signorelli. Free time for lunch. After lunch continue to the medieval town of Bevagna. Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. Morning guided tour of Bevagna. Admire the remains of its ancient theatre, the temple, the forum (main square), the Roman baths and its mosaics and the Medieval House of Mastro Cecco. After some free time for lunch we travel to the nearby delightful small hill town of Spello. Time at leisure to explore the labyrinth of floral decorated streets and modern art shops. Don’t miss a visit to the Baglioni Chapel decorated with superb frescoes by the Umbrian Renaissance master Pinturicchio. Return to Bevagna. Overnight.

Breakfast. Meet your local guide in Assisi, home of St Francis, for a private guided morning walking tour, including the Roman remains under the still-standing temple of Minerva, and the Basilica of San Francesco decorated with frescoes by Giotto. Free time for lunch and afternoon at leisure. Return to Bevagna. Overnight.

Breakfast and travel to Perugia, Umbria’s largest town with its very extensive historic centre. Your guided tour includes a walk through the medieval ghost town built in to the foundations of the Papal castle, Palazzo dei Priori, the Collegio del Cambio with frescoes by Pietro Perugino, the Collegio della Mercanzia with its late 14 C wooden interior and the National Gallery of Umbria which hosts one of the richest collections in Italy with works of international renown. The impressive number and variety of artistic works housed in the museum range from paintings on wood, canvas and murals, to sculptures in wood and stone, to goldsmith's art and fabrics, which exemplify the artistic evolution in the territory between the 13th and 19th centuries. Free time for lunch. Continue to Cortona. Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. Full day at leisure. Cortona, birth place of famous artists as Luca Signorelli and Pietro da Cortona. Characterized by its medieval palazzi and small streets Cortona also offers amazing views over and beyond the Valdichiana and to the monte Amiata. Overnight.

Breakfast. Today travel to Siena. Rich in history, art and popular traditions, possibly the best preserved medieval city in Italy, Siena is built on three hills and full of winding alleyways, enclosed within the circle of its massive walls. Free time for lunch. In the afternoon meet your local guide for a private walking tour of the town. Overnight.

Breakfast. Full day at leisure to explore this wonderful town. Don’t miss the superb 14th century Town Hall with its slim Mangia Tower and climb up to the hilltop cathedral. This building is a veritable treasury of the Renaissance, representing the work of over 40 artists - its walls decorated with stripes of black and white marble. Overnight.

Breakfast. Today you will tour the Chianti area. Stop at the Brolio Castle for a guided tour that takes you through history by visiting the 12th century castle including the gardens, the Ricasoli family’s private chapel and unique museum. After this visit to the past, you will visit the ultramodern wine-making facilities and finish the tour with a special wine tasting. Barone Ricasoli is the fourth oldest family in the world, in possession of the same company for 32 generations, and the oldest winery in Italy. Afterwards brief stop in Greve, the chief town of the Chianti Classico wine zone, developed on the flat ground of the Greve valley as the market for the fortified villages, castles and farm houses on the surrounding hilltops. The rebuilt church of Santa Croce, which houses some beautiful paintings of the school of Fra Angelico, stands at the top of the asymmetrical main piazza. Continue to Florence. Overnight.

Breakfast. Pick-up at the hotel by your local guide for a morning walking tour of Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance. Visit the city’s highlights: the Baptistery, Giotto’s bell tower, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore - the Duomo - with its famous dome by Brunelleschi, the picturesque Signoria Square, where you may take the opportunity to admire statues by Cellini, Giambologna and Ammannati before proceeding to the famous Ponte Vecchio and the Santa Croce Church, containing the tombs of illustrious Florentine citizens such as Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli, as well as fascinating works by Giotto and Donatello. Free time for lunch and afternoon at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. Pick up at the hotel by your local guide for a guided tour of Florence’s inspiring Uffizi Gallery, originally a suite of offices, which was first used to display the Medici family’s private art treasures in 1581 – thereby making it the oldest art gallery in the world. Its vast collection includes some of the most revered works of the Italian Renaissance, such as Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, Michelangelo’s The Holy Family, da Vinci’s unfinished Adoration of the Magi, Bellini’s Allegory and Raphael’s Madonna of the Goldfinch. The remainder of the day is yours to explore Florence as you please. Farewell dinner and overnight at the hotel.