North Italian lake and Tuscany Garden Tour
8 Days / 7 Nights
Day 1: Milan
Arrive in Milan. Transfer to hotel. Dinner and Overnight.
Day 2: Milan - Como
Breakfast in hotel. Departure for Como, to visit this charming city known
for its breathtaking views of the lake and mountains and for its fine quality
silk. Lunch in a typical restaurant on the lake. After lunch, visit the Villa
Carlotta, a baroque style house built in the 18th century by Marquis Giorgio
Clerici which is famous for its beautiful terrace garden. It is named for Carlotta
of Prussia, who in 1843, received the villa as a wedding present. Visit the
gardens of Villa Melzi, an elegant Neo-classical building, that was the
summer residence of Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Vice-President of the Italian Republic
during the Napoleonic period. It was built between 1801-1810 and is surrounded
by wonderful gardens decorated with classical statues and also contains very
old and exotic plants. Transfer to Milan. Dinner on own.
Day 3: Milan - Bergamo- Franciacorta
Breakfast in hotel. Depart for Bergamo and stop at Villa Gromo. The
owner will show you this 18th century building, the form of a 7, surrounded
by a large English-style garden and the interior with its elegant rooms decorated
with frescoes by various 18th century painters. Visit Bergamo for a tour of
the "Citta Alta" including its famous Piazza Vecchia and the Capella
del Coleoni, a private church decorated with precious marbles. Visit the Academia
Carrara, which houses a collection of 15th-18th century art including works
by Mantegna, Bellini, and Lotto. Lunch in a typical restaurant. Departure for
Villa Terzi, built in the 18th century and surrounded by a terraced Italian
style garden. Inside the villa there are many rococo frescoes. Visit the Castello
di Bornato, where you will be received by its owner. The castle, a medieval
building, was redone in the 16th century and contains beautiful frescoes and
is surrounded by a garden designed in the 17th century. In the cellars of the
castle you can taste the Franciacorta wine, a typical Lombard wine, accompanied
with hor d'oevres. You will also be able to buy oil and wine produced by the
castle's farm. Transfer to Milan. Dinner on own.
Day 4: Milan - Florence
Breakfast in hotel. Shopping and lunch in Milan before leaving for Florence.
Arrive in Florence and check in to hotel. Dinner in a typical Tuscan restaurant,
located in the hills just outside of Florence where you can eat a famous "fiorentina"
steak and other Tuscan dishes. Transfer to hotel.
Day 5: Florence
Breakfast in hotel. Walking tour of Florence with English-speaking guide,
who will explain the history of this unique city, showing you its most famous
monuments and also its less well known sights. Afternoon free for shopping.
Dinner on own.
We start from the Florence eternal masterpiece: Michelangelo's David and visit
a few of his other works in the Academy of Fine Arts Museum. Onward to the Cathedral
with the famous Dome by Brunelleschi and the gold Paradise door of the Baptistry.
From there we continue to Piazza Signoria, the political heart of Florence since
the 1300's when Florence was considered the richest city in Europe. We are beckoned
to Ponte Vecchio, the bridge which attracts so much curiosity not only to its
unique charming appearance but also to the fabulous jewelry shops lining the
bridge. We finish at Santa Croce Church, one of the most important in Florence
containing the tombs of the most famous Florentine citizens.
Free time for Lunch.
During the afternoon we will visit the Boboli and Bardini Gardens:
Boboli Garden, one of the most important garden architects in Florence in the
16th century was Niccolò di Raffaello, called “Tribolo”.
He planned the garden in Villa di Castello (1540) and Boboli garden behind the
Pitti family palace which Cosimo the 1st has bought to have a new residence
in the town. The garden was and is a classic example of Italian Style Garden,
even if it was changed and enriched in the centuries. With 45 thousand sqm this
is not only a garden but an open museum, with statues, fountains and a theatre.
In spring you can see the rose garden, it is a collection of ancient rose trees
and have a look also at the lemon house. Climb up to the border with Forte Belvedere
Garden, in spring, your hard work will be rewarded both with the view of a wonderful
garden full of peonies and a panorama on the city. There is a little bar in
this part of the garden where you can rest and have a coffee or an ice-cream
or a drink.
Continue to a recent restored Bardini Garden.
The garden is attached o Boboli garden, it is located among the left side of
Arno river, the hill of Montecuccoli and the ancient medieval walls and it is
an amazing view over Florence.
The garden was originally a loom of the Mozzi Villa (which is still now at the
entrance of the garden) in 1700 it was enlarged and enriched with fountains
with mosaics. In 19th century the garden was enlarged again in Victorian style.
Now, after many years disagreement for the inheritance and after the intervention
of the Minister of Cultural Heritage, and after a five years restoration, the
garden has again its original look and its original richness of plants: A large
baroque flight of steps, six fountains with mosaics, all with rose borders.
In the green theatre you can visit a bed of azaleas and also admire, camellias
and many different flowers. In the agricultural part, there are fruit trees,
a tunnel of wisteria and a collection of hydrangeas.
Dinner and Overnight
Day 6: Poggio a Caiano – Vinci - Pistoia
Breakfast in hotel and depart for Poggio a Caiano, where one of the most beautiful
Medici Villas is located. This is a 15th century jewel designed by Giuliano
da Sangallo for Lorenzo de' Medici and was completed during the Pontificate
of Leo X (of the Medici family) in the 16th century. Outside the villa is a
reproduction of a classic temple decorated with glazed "terracotta"
made by the famous Della Robbia family. Visit to Leonardo da Vinci's house
and the Castello dei Conti Guidi a Vinci, a 13th century castle which
also has a museum of Leonardo's inventions and designs. Lunch in a typical restaurant.
After lunch, depart for Pistoia, an old town that faces the Appennino mountains.
Visit the world famous Villa Garzoni gardens, built in the 17th century,
with its many fountains, jeux d'eau, flowerbeds, statues, flights of steps,
grottos, theatres, ponds, etc. Return to Florence. Evening free. Dinner on own.
Day 7: Lucca
Breakfast in hotel. Depart for Lucca. Visit to the Villa Reale di Marlia,
originally built by Napoleon's sister, Elisa Bonaparte. The gardens are world
famous, particularly the open-air theatre formed by its decorative edges. Visit
the Villa Grabau, built in the 16th century. This villa has been lived
in continually since the early 1800s by the Grabau, originally from Northern
Germany. Lunch in the villa. After lunch, a tour of Lucca, a medieval walled
town with a wonderful Romanesque dome. Visit Villa Torrigiani, built
in 16th century by Muzio Oddi, with its gardens that are famous for its magnificent
cypress trees. The Duchess. Transfer to Florence. Dinner on own.
Day 8: Departure
Breakfast in hotel and departure.
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