Date of Trip: May 13-23, 2024
The land cost includes:
- lodging
- all ground transportation
- breakfast daily
- other meals: welcome dinner, farewell dinner, lunch during a field trip to Carrara
- all tickets (museums, churches, gardens, exhibitions)
- program guide
Most days museum visits and other tours are arranged in the mornings, with afternoons free to explore on your own. There are some exceptions such as the day trip to Carrara.
| Florence, May 13-19: | Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) & Museo dell’Opera del Duomo |
| Uffizi (highlights include medieval & Renaissance painting) | |
| Palazzo Vecchio (old town hall, Donatello’s Judith, Michelangelo’s Victory, Cosimo de’ Medici’s guardaroba, Francesco de’ Medici’s studiolo, many 16th c. frescoes …) | |
| Pitti Palace & Boboli Garden | |
| Museo del Bargello (sculpture and decorative arts) | |
| Accademia (Michelangelo’s David, Slaves, St. Matthew) | |
| Santa Maria del Carmine, Brancacci Chapel (Masccio’s Tribute Money & other frescoes) | |
| Opificio delle Pietre Dure (museum of hard stones) | |
| San Lorenzo (Old Sacristy, New Sacristy, Michelangelo’s Day, Night, Dawn, Dusk) |
| Carrara & Pietrasanta (day trip): | |
| Jeep tour of historic & active marble quarries | |
| Visits to workshops/galleries, open-air sculpture “museum” |
| Venice, May 19-23: | Venice Biennale (three-day pass) |
| Peggy Guggenheim Collection (modern art) | |
| Basilica di San Marco (medieval basilica) | |
| Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace; frescoes by Tintoretto, Veronese, and others) | |
| Accademia (lots of paintings!) | |
| Santa Maria Gloriosa di Frari (paintings by Bellini, Titian, and others; Canova’s monument) | |
| Santa Maria della Salute (Titian, Tintoretto) |
Suggested activities (on your own, during afternoon free time):
| In Florence: | Take a short bus ride to Fiesole to visit the ancient Roman archaeological site |
| Visit the monastery of San Marco to view Fra Angelico’s frescoes | |
| Visit the Museum of Natural History and the Galileo Museum | |
| Take an urban hike along the Arno River path | |
| Explore the Oltrarno neighborhood: artisans’ workshops, art galleries, markets, and restaurants | |
| Explore the Mercato Centrale, the Sant’ Ambrogio market, and the Santo Spirito piazza & market | |
| Visit the botanical garden of the University of Florence | |
| Palazzo Davanzati (medieval/Renaissance house museum) | |
| Palazzo Medici Riccardi (chapel with Benozzo Gozzoli paintings) | |
| Santa Croce | |
| Santa Maria Novella (Masaccio’s Holy Trinity) | |
| Walk up to San Miniato al Monte, a Romanesque church | |
| Take a short trip to Bologna (less than an hour on a fast train, a couple of hours by regular train) to see the University of Bologna, Ulisse Aldrovandi’s collection, and one of the oldest medical theaters in Europe |
| In Venice: | Ride the vaporetto along the Grand Canal |
| Visit the islands of Murano (glass-blowing), Burano (lace-making), and Torcello (archaeological sites) | |
| Walk to the Rialto Bridge, explore the Rialto market | |
| Visit San Giorgio Maggiore church | |
| Browse the Libreria Acqua Alta (bookstore) | |
| Visit the Museo Correr (city museum) | |
| Explore the historic Jewish Ghetto in the Cannaregio neighborhood | |
| Visit the Ca’ d’Oro (15th c. palace) |
| Carrara & Pietrasanta(Day trip): | Jeep tour of historic and active marble quarries |
| Visits to workshops/ galleries, open-air sculpture “museum” |
| Venice, May 19-23 | Venice Biennale (three-day pass) |
| Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Modern art | |
| Basilica di San Marco (medieval basilica) | |
| Palazzo Ducale (doge’s Palace; frescoes by Tintoretto, Veronese, and others) | |
| Accademia (lots of paintings!) | |
| Santa Maria Gloriosa di Frari (paintings by Bellini, Titian, and others; Canova’s monument) | |
| Santa Maria della Salute (Titian, Tintoretto) | |
| Ride the vaporetto along the Grand Canal | |
| Visit the islands of Murano (glass-blowing), Burano (lacemaking), and Torcello (archaeological site) | |
| Walk to the Rialto Bridge, explore the Rialto markeVisit San Giorgio Maggiore Church | |
| Browse the Lireria Acqua Alt (bookstore) | |
| Visit the Musco Corr (city musuem) | |
| Explore the historic Jewish Ghetto in the Cannaregio neighborhood | |
| Visit the Ca’ d”Oro (15th c. palace) | |
| In Florence | Take a short bus ride to Fiesole to visit the ancient Roman archaeological site |
| Visit the monastery of San Marco to view Fra Angwlio’s frescoes | |
| Visit the Museum of Natural History and Galileo Musuem | |
| Take an urban hike along the Arno River path | |
| Explore the Oltrarno neighborhood: artisans workshop, art, galleries, markets and restaurants | |
| Explore the Mercato Centrale, the Sant’ Ambrogio market, and the Santo Spirito piazza and market | |
| visit the botanical garden of the University of Florence | |
| Palazzo Davanzati (medieval/ Renaissance house museum) | |
| Palazzo Medici Riccardi (chapel with Benozzo Gozzoli paintings) | |
| Santa Groce | |
| Santa Maria Novella | |
| Walk up to San Miniato al Monte, a Romanesque church | |
| Take a short trip to Bologna |
