In Florence our accommodation is at Strozzi Palace Hotel. A 4 star hotel situated in the heart of Florence city center in an elegant 19th century building.

It is in a prime location, a short walk from the Duomo, the Uffizi museum and Via Tornabuoni, the hotel is perfect for visiting the most significant sights in the city.

Each room is elegantly decorated with high quality furnishing, rich tapestries and fine fixtures, and offers amenities such as satellite TV, air conditioning, direct phone access, PC Internet outlet, electronic safe, electronic key, and minibar

Sun 13 June 2010     Florence                                                   O'night Florence  B D
The tour begins at 4pm at our hotel in the centre of Florence. We will have an orientation walk around the area, including Piazza della Signoria, the Straw Markets, and Ponte Vecchio. Welcome dinner in a favourite spot near our hotel.

Mon 14 June                     Bargello                                              O'night Florence   B
There will be a guided visit of the Bargello sculpture museum containing works by Michelangelo, Donatello and Verrocchio, and then we stroll on to the magnificent Piazza of the Duomo of Florence.  

Tue 15 June                    Florence Pitti & Brancacci                   O'night Florence  B
This morning we visit the famous portrait gallery in the Pitti Palace containing stunning works by Raphael, Titian, and Van Dyck, followed by a walk to the Carmelite church containing the Brancacci chapel where you will have be given a description of the Masaccio frescoes of the life of Saint Peter. The afternoon is at leisure

Wed 16 June         San Marco                                                       O'night Florence     B
The former monastery of San Marco contains amongst its many rooms the superb Annunciation by Fra Angelico. The afternoon is at leisure for you to explore the fascinating shopping opportunities.

Thu 17 June            San Lorenzo and the Medici Palace             O'night Florence     B
Accompanied gallery visits to the church of San Lorenzo with its extraordinary marble inlay work and the sculptures by Michelangelo for the Medici tombs of 'Dawn & Dusk, Night & Day' with their reflection on life, death and the space in between, as well as the Medici-Riccardi chapel with its fresco cycle by Benozzo Gozzoli of the Journey of the Magi. Afternoon at leisure.

Fri 18 June              Siena                                                          O'night Arezzo    B D
The Duomo in Siena is a great Gothic building filled with treasures by Pisano, Donatello and Michelangelo as well as the frescoes by Pinturicchio which are the focus of our visit today. The Piccolomini library houses precious illuminated choir books and the frescoes Pinturicchio painted  between 1502 and 1507, representing Rafael and himself in several of them. The scenes depict ten events from the secular and religious career of Pope Pius II and the masterpiece is full of striking detail and the visual impact is stunning. In the middle of the library is the famous statue Three Graces, a Roman copy of a Greek original which alone makes the visit worthwhile.

Sat 19 June              Arezzo  & San Sepolcro                               O'night Arezzo   B D
To  his contemporaries Piero della Francesca was known as a mathematician and geometer as well as an artist, though now he is chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting was characterized by its serene humanism and its use of geometric forms, particularly in relation to perspective and foreshortening. Most of his work was produced in Arezzo, though he was probably influenced by Sienese artists working in San Sepolcro during his youth. His cycle of frescoes depicting the Legend of the True Cross is generally considered among his masterworks and those of Renaissance painting in general.

Sun 20 June            Transfer to Umbria via Cortona                                               D
We will stop at Cortona on the way to view the town and the works of Signorelli and Fra Angelico, arriving at our accommodation in Montefalco in the late afternoon to begin the Art Cities Tour in Umbria.