Day 1 – To Florence: Fly from London
Heathrow to Florence with British Airways.
Transfer to the Pitti Palace Hotel for 5 nights.
Optional afternoon orientation walk through
the Oltrano district passing through the Piazza
de’ Pitti, an area famous for workshops selling
antiques, masks and murals, leather ware and
food stuffs. Walk by the Church of Santa
Felicita, past the great Pitti Palace, the main
Medici residence from 1550 and on to the
Church di San Felice before returning to the
hotel. Evening welcome dinner. (D)
Day 2 – Florence: This morning, visit Cenacolo
di Santa Apollonia, where the monumental
frescoes by Andrea del Castagno are the last in
Florence to follow the pattern set by Taddeo
Gaddi in Santa Croce, where the two themes
of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion are
depicted together. Continue to the Museo di
San Marco to see the exceptional frescoes by
Fra Angelico. Then visit the Chiostro dello
Scalzo, one of Florence’s undiscovered gems,
which contains works of art by the mannerist
painter Andrea del Sarto. The final visit before
lunch is the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the
first Renaissance building erected in Florence and home to the Medici family for 100 years.
Spend the afternoon at the impressive complex
of San Lorenzo, including a visit to the Princes’
Chapel, built to immortalise the Medici Grand
Dukes of Tuscany and opulently decorated
with granite, jasper, lapis lazuli, coral and
mother-of-pearl. (B)
Day 3 – Florence: Begin today’s walking tour
at Cenacolo di Ognissanti, known for the
large fresco painted in 1488 by Domenico
Ghirlandaio. Continue to Piazza Santa Maria
Novella to visit Florence’s Dominican Basilica,
one of the most walked-past and least-visited
of Florence’s churches, and then see the
adjacent pharmacy, which was opened by the
Dominican friars in 1612, to make remedies
to cure the sick. After lunch, visit the Church
of Santa Trinita, which is extremely rich in
artworks, most of which are displayed within
its chapels. The last stop today is a private
visit of Palazzo Corsini, a baroque-style masterpiece with works of breathtaking beauty
by artists such as Anton Domenico Gabbiani,
Alessandro Gherardini and Pier Dandini. (B)
Day 4 – Florence: Begin today’s sightseeing
at the museum Cenacolo Andrea del Sarto,
which displays important works by Andrea del
Sarto as well as other 16th-century artists, such
as Giorgio Vasari, Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio,
Pontormo and Raffaellino del Garbo. Continue
to the Franciscan church of Santa Croce, one of
the largest churches in Florence. Santa Croce
is unique for the purity of its gothic style and
the works of art that it contains. Proceed to
the Bargello, a former barracks and prison,
which is now an art museum housing a superb
collection of Renaissance sculptures, with
rooms dedicated to the work of Michaelangelo,
Donatello, Verrochio, Giambologna and
Cellini. After a late lunch, make a private visit
to Teatro della Pergola, a small baroque theatre
built in the 1650s. (B)
Day 5 – Florence: Morning visit to the
Uffizi Gallery, containing the world’s richest
collection of Renaissance paintings and
sculpture, including masterpieces by Leonardo,
Michelangelo, Raphael, Perugino, Venice’s
Veronese and countless others. Finish with a
private walk through the famous Corridoio
Vasariano, the elevated walkway that links the
Uffizi Gallery with the royal palaces, which
features many of the Uffizi’s finest selfportraits.
Afternoon at leisure for independent
exploration. Farewell dinner. (B, D)
Day 6 – To London: Day at leisure. Early
evening transfer to Pisa airport for a return
flight to London Heathrow. (B)
Meal Basis: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner, (N) = No Meals
