Day 1:  Welcome to Rome! Introductory Dolce Vita Tour

After relaxing, you will be picked up by your private guide, who will accompany you on your “Dolce Vita” Tour. You’ll uncover the secrets locked in Bernini’s work, marvel at the Pantheon, the best preserved monument from ancient Rome, 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 almost like a native.

Day 2:  Walk in the Footsteps of the Ancient Romans

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel and accompany you to meet your guide at the Col0sseum, one of the ancient world’s largest structures, where Romans once gathered to watch gladiator games, animal contests, and even reenactments of sea battles. A massive stone amphitheater that 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 religions of ancient Rome as you wander through the ruins of meeting halls and temples, such as that of the Vestal Virgins, who maintained Vesta’s sacred fire and were considered to be almost goddesses. The most ancient Latin text ever found, the Lapis Niger (“black stone”), can also be found in the Forum, in the foundation of a column. Your tour will end on the Capitoline Hill, the smallest and most important of the seven hills of ancient Rome, which offers a wonderful view of the city and the Forum.

Day 3:  Explore The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel and accompany you to meet your guide for this signature Your Own Italy tour of The Vatican Museum 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 these Renaissance 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. After the museum, you’ll visit St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Catholic church in the world, where you can see Michelangelo’s magnificent Pietà, Bernini’s acclaimed altar canopy, and the tombs of the Popes, including that of John Paul II.

Day 4:  Arrival in Florence, Introductory Tour and the Accademia Gallery

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel in Rome and accompany you to the train station for a high-speed train to Florence. You will be met at the train station in Florence by a driver who will accompany you to your hotel for check in. After you relax, your private tour guide will take you on an afternoon tour of the historic center that will include the gothic cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore and the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo’s incomparable David.

Day 5:  Tour of the Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi Gallery

Your guide will take you on a walking tour of the Piazza della Signoria and its many sculptures. The graceful Loggia dei Lanzi houses the famous sculptures of Perseus Holding Medusa’s Head, by Cellini (1554), and the Rape of the Sabine Women, by Giambologna. The tour continues with a private tour of the magnificent Uffizi Gallery, where every piece of art is a Renaissance masterpiece, followed by a glass of prosecco on the terrace overlooking the Piazza della Signoria.

Day 6:  Lunch and Wine Tasting at Villa Machiavelli and Visit to San Gimignano

This relaxing day begins with a drive on picturesque local roads through the 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 rolling hills covered with vineyards and cypresses, 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 sumptuous lunch in the family’s villa. Following this, your driver will take you to the medieval gem of San Gimignano, “city of beautiful towers.” In its heyday, the town boasted 72 towers. Now 14 remain, and, rising above Tuscany’s Elsa Valley, they give the town the appearance of a medieval dream. Your visit begins at the Piazza della Cisterna, Piazza del Duomo Collegiata, and Romanesque cathedral, and continues with a stroll along the ancient pilgrimage road, the Via Francigena. There will also be time to visit shops, browse the lovely Santa Fina pottery and other handmade products, and purchase some saffron, a local culinary specialty.

Day 7:  Departure – Arrivederci !

Italy salutes you with a warm and heartfelt “Arrivederci!” See you again! Now that you’ve travelled with Your Own Italy, you have friends in Your Own Italy.