ART HISTORY ALIVE
Art History Alive
Presents
Day to Day Itinerary
for
Tuscany - Rome
This Itinerary is as written for the May 2007 trip, however, it will be reversed for the Fall 2007 trip, with Rome being visited first then onto Tuscany.
All Art History Alive trips begin at our hotel in our destination city. Flights to Europe are usually overnight, so take care to book your tickets so that you arrive in our destination city on the first day of the tour. I would be happy to help you with suggestions on easy ticket purchasing, transfer options from airport to hotel, and will of course supply you with all contact information for our hotel.
Day one: We all congregate at Fiumacino airport in Rome where we will pick up our van and head north into Tuscany. This drive takes approximately two hours but we will stop in Montefiascone for a delicious lunch, we will see two wonderful churches, and have a gorgeous view of Lake Bolsena. From Montefiascone we will travel on to Castello di Proceno for check in.
After a nice shower/rest/nap, or all of the above, we will meet up for a dinner in the neighborhood. You will be tired and will need a good night sleep.
Day two: A late morning departure to visit the three beautiful hilltowns of Sorano, Sovana, and Pittigliano. We will lunch in one of these towns whenever we decide we are hungry. Each has very good food. Along the way, in September, we should see families harvesting their grapes for the years vintage. In May, the bright red (not orange) poppies and yellow broom cover the hillsides. We will visit a wine co-op where the families pool their grapes to stock their own cellars.
Day three: Another late morning departure for the gorgeous little cheese capitol of Pienza, and then on to the queen of hilltowns, Montepulciano. While this picturesque town is famous for its Brunellos for me its the World War II history that makes it haunting. For a riveting account of what happened here I cannot recommend highly enough, War In The Val D'Orcia: An Italian War Diary, 1943-1944.
Day four: Morning departure for the catacombs of Bolsena, then to the most fascinating of all hilltowns, Civita di Bagnoregio. Here we will snack on bruschetta from a fireplace, wash it down with very young wine, all the while sitting in a cave. You'll have to trust us on this one, you'll never forget this little place. From Civita we will go on to an afternoon wine making tour and tasting, overlooking the beautiful town of Orvieto.
Day five: We will say good bye to our Castello and new friends and head for Rome. Late afternoon and evening in this spectacular city. We will walk around the neighborhood of our hotel so that you can get your bearings and begin adjusting to the traffic, and the visual stimulation that will swirl around you. Dinner in one of our favorites.
Day six: We will spend the morning in the Vatican Museum. Here you will see the foremost collection of art in Italy. You will be immersed as it will be all around you, under you, and at the same time, above you. Upon leaving this museum, I feel (and I feel the same sensation when I leave the Louvre in Paris) as though I need some oxygen and definitely some lunch. Lunchtime after the Vatican is a time of decompression and reflection. After this fortification we will visit St. Peter's Basilica. This is huge and spectacular so we will have a second visit later in the week. After 15 years of visiting, I can never get enough of this church.
Day seven: In this one day you will see, feel, smell, and touch, the Catacombs of St. Priscilla. Then on to the world famous Colosseum, and the Roman Forum. Spectacular day!
Day eight: Today we will take a jump back and visit only one outstanding, small museum. The Museo Borghese holds the incredible marble sculptures of Gianlorenzo Bernini. Truly these will take your breath away. Michelangelo created life from stone, but Bernini made it breath. And you will see what I mean in this little museum.
Day nine: This will be our last day in Rome and I have saved this very special visit for today. I will make special arrangements directly with the excavations office of Vatican City, to be a part of a small group tour of the tomb of St. Peter, three levels below the Basilica. En route to the tomb we will walk on 1st century Roman streets only discovered in 1929 and secretly excavated during the Nazi occupation of Rome. Only groups of ten, advance reservations required, no one who suffers with claustrophobia, and no one under the age of 15 can be allowed. I have taken this tour at least 6 times and never tire of it. To me it is the most profound way of stepping back in time in Rome. My clients usually emerge from this tour rather silent. I do too. It penetrates you.
After lunch, for those who want to, we will revisit St. Peter's Basilica. This time as you walk around you will feel as though you, and you alone, have a secret. As you look down into the ornamental grates on the Basilica's floor, you will know, as I do, what is down there.
Day ten: Arrivederci Roma.
This itinerary is very flexible and can be re arranged at any point. Clients can break off at any time for shopping or just some alone time. I try and make it back to the hotel in the late afternoon of a few days so that we can rest if we like before meeting up dinner. From time to time clients might want to have a meal on there own and that is greatly encouraged. I would be happy to recommend restaurants.
Bibliography:
Pre reading will only make your experience more meaningful. The books listed below are great!
Rome is Love Spelled Backwards, by Judith Testa
War in the Val D'Orcia: An Italian War Diary, 1943-1944, by, Iris Origo
A Traveller in Rome, by H.V. Morton
Love And War In The Apennines, by Eric Newby
Home to Italy, by Peter Pezzeli
Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes
A Tuscan Childhood, by Kinta Beevor