This delightful, relaxing tour begins when your driver-guide picks you up at your hotel in Florence and takes the picturesque roads through the world-famous Chianti region, lying between Florence and Siena and bordered on the east by the Chianti Mountains and the west by the Elsa River. This wine region boasts delightful vistas framing vine-covered rolling hills and ever-present cypresses, along with an unhurried pace of life and charming villages. You’ll visit the celebrated Machiavelli winery for a tour of the vineyard and a sampling of several different types of local wine, followed by a...
Your guide will pick you up at your hotel and will take you on a truly fascinating tour where you'll find out how a great empire falls and then reemerges in a different form of the "dark ages": the period between the demise of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Italian Renaissance. The church of San Clemente is a twelfth century church built on the remains of a fifth century church built on the remains of a Mithraic temple and other Roman structures (perhaps the Roman mint that is reputed to have been located in this area). The layers of buildings are amazingly intact and contain...
Your guide and private driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a tour that will take you back to ancient times. First stop, the medieval basilica of San Clemente. This Catholic church dedicated to Pope Clement I, is built atop a Romanesque church, which was built atop numerous ancient edifices, including a temple to the god Mithras. The past becomes tangible as you walk backwards in time while descending underground layer by historical layer. Your guide and driver will then take you to the nearby Catacombs. A maze of quarries and tunnels, the catacombs are ancient...
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a journey back in time. At the Colosseum, one of the largest structures of the ancient world, Romans once gathered to watch gladiator games, animal contests, and even reenactments of sea battles. A massive stone amphitheater which seated an estimated 60,000 spectators, it was built in only eight years. Your guide will tell you about its design and construction, political purposes, fighters (both willing and unwilling), and eventual demise as an arena. At the Imperial Roman Forum, you will hear about the myths and...
Your guide will meet you at your accommodations and accompany you to meet your driver. This region was, for most of its history, an independent republic, beginning life at the close of the Roman Empire as an outpost of refugees fleeing barbarian invaders; by the early Renaissance, thanks to some strategic looting and a location at the head of the Adriatic Sea, it had become an independent "republic" and one of the richest and most powerful cities in Europe. It did not become part of Italy until the 19th century. This tour begins with the beautiful 16th to 18th century villas along the Brenta...
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a walk that will take you to two illustrious Roman noble residences: the Villa Farnesina and the Palazzo Spada. The Villa Farnesina is considered one of the noblest and most harmonious creations of Italian Renaissance. Designed by Baldassare Peruzzi and frescoed by Raphael, and Peruzzi himself, it is located in the Trastevere ("across the Tiber") neighborhood, an area of wonderful small restaurants, workshops, and side streets. The Palazzo Spada, near Rome's historical center, boasts Borromini’s famous trompe l’oeil...
Before reaching Ravenna, your guide will show you Chioggia, an old fishing city with the canals and bridges of Venice but without its palaces and crowds. Moving back in time, you will tour Pomposa Abbey, an important Benedictine spiritual center near Ferrara begun in the late 800s in a simple Romanesque style; its lack of ornamentation and minimal later additions make it an excellent example of the transition from classical to medieval architecture. Finally, in the Neonian baptistery and St. Apollinare Nuovo Church in Ravenna you will confront the splendor of the Byzantine Empire of the fifth...
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to the Vatican for this enchanting stroll through the galleries of The Vatican Museums after dark! On select Friday evenings you can enjoy ancient sculptures, iconic paintings, and centuries of history brought to life by your private guide, and in the former palaces of the Pope you'll have the opportunity to view sculptures from antiquity that inspired Michelangelo almost 2,000 years later. You'll view the fantastic frescoes in the Raphael Rooms and the Borgia Apartments, named after the private chambers of Borgia Pope...
Your guide will meet you at your accommodations to discover the osterie (taverns) of Venice’s historical center. The beauty of Venice becomes ever more compelling when savored with local wine and cichetti (small appetizers) in some of the city’s most typical osterie. One glass of wine and one cichetto at each stop is included in the tour.
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations for this signature Your Own Italy tour of The Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. The art of The Vatican is among the most recognizable in the world. In leading you through the museums, your guide will convey the tantalizing background of the masterpieces, the geniuses who created them, and the powers who commissioned them. In the Sistine Chapel, below the largest and most renowned fresco in the world, your tour guide will explain the intriguing history of this work and the hidden messages Michelangelo painted into it...
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations for a delightful tour to discover the Eternal City in the footsteps of Michelangelo the painter, the sculptor, and the architect. Your guide will explain the history and context of his art as well as anecdotes about his life. The tour begins at Porta Pia, a gate to Rome that was one of the genius's last works. The second destination, the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, is a masterful architectural reorganization of an ancient bathhouse into a church. A walk down some cobblestone streets leads to the church of San Pietro in Vincoli,...
Your guide will meet you at your accommodations and accompany you on an enchanting tour of the Eternal City. Rome is an entirely different place at night: it glows in the warmth of amber streetlights and shimmers with the golden flames of candles on cafe tables. The stones of ruins and bricks of piazzas take on a surreal and breathtaking quality in the evening that can only be described as romantic. The leisurely late stroll will include many of the most important sights in the city, such as the Pantheon, the Capitoline Hill, the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona.
Your guide and driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a tour to visit the three great patriarchal basilicas of Rome. The Basilica of St. John Lateran, the oldest and most important, has been set aside for use by the Pope as his own parish. The famous church is topped with impressive statues along the outer face and full of beauty inside. The main walls are covered in beautiful frescos from the Renaissance age and the main nave, restored four centuries ago, will leave you in awe! Built between 422-432 under the instruction of Pope Celestine the 1st, the lovely...
Your guide will pick you up at your hotel to enjoy Rome's lovely morning atmosphere. The Campo dei Fiori was once a field of flowers but was paved in 1456 by papal order and became a site of public executions, including that of Giordano Bruno, the Italian philosopher burnt at the stake for heresy in 1600. Today it is a lively morning market and evening gathering place. Towards the river is the former Jewish ghetto with the breathtaking ruins of Octavia’s Porticus, a monumental marble embellished by columns and flanked by temples to Juno and Jupiter, constructed by Augustus Caesar in honor of...
Guide will meet you at your accommodations. The city of Venice houses world-class art from the medieval period through the late 18th century. However, hidden within its labyrinth of alleys and canals there is also a rich contemporary art scene. With the first Biennale of 1895 the city opened itself to new trends of the Secession and later European avant-garde movements, attracting artists, collectors, and gallery owners form around the world. The permanent collections and temporary exhibitions of the Peggy Guggenheim collection, Punta della Dogana, and Palazzo Grassi are must-see stops for...
Your guide will pick you up at your hotel for a delightful tour exploring Baroque Rome through the life and work of architect and sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini, a man who helped reshape the city in the 1600s. Beginning in Rome’s central historical district and the seat of the Italian government, you will visit San Lorenzo in Lucina and Sant’Andrea delle Fratte churches, where Bernini and his rival Borromini lived while in Rome. At the Piazza Barberini you will see Bernini’s Fontana del Tritone, sculpted by him in 1642, and, in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria the highlight of the tour...
Your guide will meet you at your accommodations. The collections in these museums are among Venice's greatest, ranging from Byzantine and Gothic paintings through Renaissance masters to contemporary art. The opulent, marble-faced Baroque palazzo of the Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, on the Grand Canal, houses art works and objects of 18th century Venice, including paintings by Pietro Longhi, Canaletto, and Francesco Guardi; a collection of Murano glass; and furnishings from an antique Venetian pharmacy, including majolica canisters containing 18th century remedies. A boat will take you to the...
Your guide will meet you at your accommodations for a journey through winding streets, small squares, and picturesque bridges to the ghettos vecchio, novo, and novissimo (old, new, and newest). The Venetian word “ghetto” referred to its officially-mandated Jewish enclosure, a 16th century mixture of imposed ordinances, lively everyday life, and generally tolerant cosmopolitanism. The Cannaregio area’s open air markets are where Venetians do their food shopping, and the tour will include a break with a before-meal cocktail spritz and a cicheto (Venetian hors d’oeuvres) at a popular Jewish...
Your private driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa where you will meet your guide. You’ll visit the splendid Cathedral complex comprised of the Duomo, completed in 1092, the marble Baptistery, a majestic circular-plan Romanesque building completed in 1153, and the Leaning Tower - one of the most beautiful and famous bell towers in the world. With a reserved ticket, you can reach the top of the tower for a truly memorable experience. Your driver will then take you to the nearby town Tuscan town of Lucca, known for its cobblestone...
Vicenza and Verona are small cities, but between them is archeological, architectural, and artistic evidence of just about every significant period in Italy's history. In Vicenza, the emphasis is on the elegant and extremely influential work of sixteenth century architect Andrea Palladio, whose rediscovery of the building styles of the ancient Greeks and Roman changed the appearance of Europe forever and greatly affected construction design in the New World, as well. The city's beautiful historical center and environs boast numerous Palladio buildings, including his Olympic Theater and Villa...
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a walking tour of the main sites of this Renaissance city. The tour will begin at the Piazza della Repubblica with its Column of Abundance which marked the point where the Roman roads, the "cardus" and "decumanus maximi," met. At the cathedral complex in the Piazza del Duomo is the magnificent Gothic cathedral designed by Arnolfo di Cambio and inaugurated in 1436 when its first-of-its-kind dome designed by Fillippo Brunelleschi was added. Also in the piazza is the cathedral baptistery used as the main church until the...
The glory of the Medici family began in the first half of the fifteenth century under the leadership of Cosimo de' Medici. Despite being expelled from the city twice, the family returned each time more determined than before to leave legacies of their absolute power in the form of the visual image. The tour begins at the San Marco Monastery and Museum, housing the world's largest collection of the works of Fra Angelico, an early Renaissance painter whose talent Vasari described as "rare and perfect." The monastery was nurtured by Lorenzo the Magnificent, and its magnificent library contains...
Your guide will pick you up at your hotel and will accompany you to your private boat. You'll speed along the Venetian Lagoon to two islands famous for their handicrafts and architecture. Known for its glassware shops and factories, Murano boasts a long and still-thriving glass tradition dating back to 1291, when artisans moved their kilns from the old city center. Exploring the island on foot, you will visit a museum dedicated to the art of glass and watch a skill glassblowers at their craft; view the splendor of Murano’s palaces and Veneto-Byzantine style churches, some with mosaics and...
Your guide will meet you between the square columns in Piazza San Marco to begin your tour at St. Mark’s Basilica. Begun about 1,000 years ago, the basilica has a strong Byzantine flavor due to Venice’s trade with the east. From there you will visit the Doge’s Palace, the residence and office of the head of state (a position neither hereditary nor elective), which today houses artistic, architectural, and historical treasures from Venice’s glorious past, and, finally, you will cross the Bridge of Sighs.
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to the Accademia Gallery where you will marvel at the original sculpture of Davide by Michelangelo as well as his sculptures of St. Matthew and the Prisoners. The tour will continue in the nearby Museum dell’ Opera which contains sculptures from the Florence Cathedral, among which is Michelangelo’s Florence Pieta’ with a bearded figure assumed to be a self-portrait. The Museum also boasts the original panels of Ghiberti’s Baptistry doors, as well as Donatello's rare wooden sculpture of Mary Magdalene the Penitent, from 1453...
Your driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to Ancient Ostia where you will meet your guide. The archeological site offers much of what a tour of Pompeii offers, in a more accessible form to those based in Rome. Founded in the 4th century BC and abandoned around AD 900, Ostia, thanks to its location as a port close to the capital, was once an important Roman city, inhabited by over 100,000 people. Its main street, the Decumanus Maximus (main street), with its ancient houses, taverns, the Baths of Neptune, Taberna of Forunatus, Roman theater, Thermoplum of Diana (a...
If you must see Pompeii - and you must - but had not intended on venturing further south than Rome, let Your Own Italy handle the logistics. You will be driven in a private car directly from your accommodations to the world’s most well-preserved ancient town, Pompeii where your private guide will be waiting for you. Your guide will lead you through its wealthy dwellings, whose residents enjoyed vivid wall frescoes and airy courtyards, as well as the more plebeian residences, whose inhabitants ate on the go, groomed at public baths, and attended the 500-person amphitheater in the shadow of the...
Your guide will meet you at your accommodations and will accompany you on your “Dolce Vita” Tour. You’ll uncover the secrets locked in Bernini’s work, marvel at the Pantheon (ancient Rome's best-preserved monument), toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain to ensure your return to the Eternal City, and simply enjoy Rome’s charming streets in a leisurely Italian fashion. By the end of the tour, you will realize that your guide has not only shown you around Rome, but has taught you how to get around Rome as if you were a native.
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and take you on a tour where the past becomes tangible as you walk backwards in time while descending underground layer by historical layer. The medieval Basilica of San Clemente, a Catholic church dedicated to Pope Clement I, is built atop a Romanesque church, which was built atop numerous ancient edifices, including a temple to the god Mithras. Afterwards, you'll imagine how the ancient Romans lived while visiting the Roman houses on the Celian Hill. Recently restored and re-opened to the public, the ancient homes offer a glimpse into what...
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to the Borghese Gallery where you will marvel at masterpieces by Titian, Caravaggio, Raphael, and Bernini that made the Borghese family the premier collectors of their day. Their former suburban palace turned private museum is now one of the most important, and certainly one of the most elegant, museums in Rome. Handed over to the Italian state in 1902, the present-day museum covers two floors, with sculptures on the ground floor and paintings on the upper. During the visit, your guide will explain the social, political, and...
Your guide will pick you up at your hotel and accompany you to the Vatican for this signature Your Own Italy tour. After visiting the stunning Gallery of Tapestries, Gallery of Maps, and Raphael rooms, you will enter the magnificent helical Bramante Staircase, commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1512 and designed by Donato Bramante as an entrance to the Papal apartments that could also accommodate horses. The Niccolina Chapel, a private chapel of the Pope, is closed to most visitors and decorated with delicate frescoes by the early Renaissance master Fra Angelico. In the Sistine Chapel are the...
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to the Vatican for this delightful early morning tour. A buffet breakfast will be served outdoors in the Vatican's famous Pinecone Courtyard while The Vatican Museums are still closed to the public. Following your meal, you will tour galleries of sculptures, paintings and tapestries before entering the Sistine Chapel to contemplate its masterpieces at your own pace, far from the noise of crowds. You’ll walk through enchanting gardens that lead to a side entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica. Among the great works to admire in the...
The San Lorenzo market is comprised of two separate markets, but your tour will concentrate on the Central Market ("mercato centrale"), a two-level indoor food market with fresh local produce on the ground floor and restaurants and gourmet shops upstairs. On the other side of town, the slightly smaller market of Sant' Ambrogio retains more of a local flavor. With both outdoor and indoor stalls, it is a colorful place to get a taste of Florentine life any time of year. At both markets, you will enjoy tastings of olive oils, balsamic vinegars, cheeses, meats, and other local delicacies, and...
Your driver will pick you up at your accommodations and take you directly to Rome's train station to board the high-speed train to Florence, where your tour guide will be waiting for you. Among the sights you'll see before lunch are the Piazza della Signoria and its beautiful outdoor sculptures, symbols of the rise of municipal power, and the Piazza della Repubblica, originally the old Roman forum and later the site of the main markets and Jewish ghetto. The tour will continue to the Piazza del Duomo, the location of the cathedral complex, which includes the Baptistery, Giotto's Campanile,...
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to the Piazza della Signoria where you will admire some of the iconic artworks of Florence including a copy of Michelangelo’s David and sculptures by Cellini and Giambologna. Your guide will describe the rise of the Medici, originally modest wool merchants, to prominence, tremendous wealth and influence. The tour will continue at the adjacent Uffizi Gallery built in 1560 for Cosimo I de'Medici to accommodate the offices of the Florentine magistrates, hence the name “uffizi,” or offices. Cosimo planned to display a series of...
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a lively tour of Jewish Rome. Ancient Rome, like contemporary New York City, was a sprawling area of diverse people trying to live and do business together. They were Greek, North African, Sicilian . . . and Jewish, many of whom went to Rome to work but ended up settling among their compatriots, building homes, raising families, and becoming vital parts of the Roman community for centuries. Jews have lived in Rome more or less continuously for over two millennia, making Rome’s Jewish community among the oldest in the...
Your guide will meet you at your hotel and accompany you to Piazza San Marco where your tour will begin with a walk around the square, with special attention to the outside of St. Mark’s Basilica, its Byzantine mosaic renditions of scenes from the life of Christ, and the history of the relics within the basilica. From there you will pass through narrow streets and small squares to La Fenice, Venice’s great opera house. Your tour ends with a private gondola ride.
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations for a spectacular exploration of Baroque Rome through the life and art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, a painter whose work basically defines the Baroque era. Beginning in the iconic Piazza del Popolo, you will visit the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, which, in addition to housing Caravaggio’s “Conversion of Saint Paul” and “Crucifixion of St. Peter,” houses the spectacular Chigi chapel, designed by Raphael and embellished by Bernini. At the church of San Luigi dei Francesi, in Piazza Navona, are Caravaggio's paintings depicting the...
Your driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to Tivoli, a historic hill town lying east of Rome in the breathtaking Monte Tiburtini hills. Your guide will meet you at the Villa d’Este, a former Benedictine convent considered to be one of the most enchanting villas of the late Renaissance period. You'll discover how the building was created as a lavish home for the son of Lucretia Borgia, that scandalous Italian duchess who created so much drama in 15th century Italy. The famous Fountain of Neptune is only one of the villa’s 500 fountains; its other outdoor delights...
Your private driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a delightful day trip in the heart of Tuscany. You’ll meet your guide upon arrival in Siena and visit the Cathedral, completed in 1263 and among the most exquisite in Tuscany, flaunting a bold, ornate Romanesque style and housing an incredible inlaid marble mosaic floor crafted by more than 40 artists over a period of 200 years. On your way to the main square, Piazza del Campo, your guide will describe how Siena is made up of 17 “contrade” or neighborhoods which are represented by playful mascots, such as the...
