Arrive in Venice. For flights arriving in the morning or early afternoon, there is a group coach transfer at 2pm from Venice airport to your hotel in Padua (included in tour price). For those arriving on other days or later flights, please make your own way to Padua. Check in to your hotel in Padua.

In the evening join Lorraine and your fellow travellers for a welcome talk followed by dinner.

(D)

Depart for a full-day tour of the magnificent Renaissance and Baroque villas of the Riviera del Brenta. The villas were once home to noble Venetian families such as the Pisani and the Foscari. Spend a morning cruising from Padua down to Stra, with a visit to the Villa Pisani, decorated with magnificent frescoes which were the final works of Giambattista Tiepolo.

After lunch, continue by coach to the Villa Foscari, known as ‘La Malcontenta’ after a bride who married into the family and found her husband less than satisfactory. Designed by Andrea Palladio, this temple-villa is nestled between weeping willows on the banks of the Brenta. In the afternoon, return to Padua for an evening at leisure.

(BL)

After an introductory talk by Lorraine, enjoy a full-day tour of Padua. Begin at the Cappella degli Scrovegni with a 14th century cycle of frescoes by Giotto and continue to the 13th century Chiesa degli Eremitani (Church of the Hermits), whose convent was once a popular destination for mendicants and pilgrims.

After lunch in a local restaurant, wander through the Palazzo della Ragione, the Duomo and the Baptistery, and see the world’s oldest Anatomical Theatre in the Palazzo del Bo. Continue to the Basilica di Sant’Antonio, which combines elements of Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Byzantine architecture, in front of which stands Donatello’s famous Gattamelata equestrian statue. Return to your hotel for the rest of the afternoon and evening at leisure.

(BL)

Check out from your hotel and drive to Praglia Abbey, a working Benedictine monastery founded in 1080 at the foot of the Euganean Hills and containing works by Giovanni Battista Zelotti and Paolo Veronese.

After lunch, continue to the 17th century Villa Barbarigo in Valsanzibio, girded by a remarkable Baroque garden and water works; enter the Square of Revelations and the 800-year old Ca’ Martinengo Hunting Lodge. Late afternoon arrival in Ferrara, your base for the next three nights. Enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

(BLD)

After a morning talk, take a walking tour of Ferrara. Visit the Duomo, whose 12th century Romanesque façade belies its rich 18th century Late Baroque interior, as well as the Museo del Duomo, located in the former Church of San Romano. Continue to the spectacular edifice of the Castello Estense, the imposing palace-fortress of the Dukes of Ferrara constructed in the late 14th century by Niccolò II d’Este.

This afternoon proceed to the Palazzo Schifanoia, the Este family’s retreat and banqueting house decorated with a series of allegorical frescoes dating from the late 15th century. After exploring the palazzo, return to central Ferrara for an evening at leisure.

(B)

This morning, depart for a full-day tour to Mantua. Surrounded by artificial lakes created in the 12th century to defend the city against the encroachment of the Holy Roman Empire, the city was home to the Gonzaga family who rose to become the Dukes of Mantua in the 16th century. Explore the Gonzaga family’s Palazzo Ducale and the Basilica di Sant’Andrea.

Enjoy free time for lunch in Mantua before continuing to the Palazzo del Te, the Mannerist pleasure palace of the Dukes of Mantua decorated with frescoes of Olympian gods and writhing giants. Return to Ferrara for an evening at leisure.

(B)

After checking out from your hotel in Ferrara, travel to Urbino via the magnificent city of Ravenna, the last capital of the Western Roman Empire and home of some of the great treasures of Byzantine Art. Gaze on the glittering golden mosaics of the Basilica di San Vitale, depicting Emperor Justinian the Great and Empress Theodora, one of the great power couples of history, and wonder at the 5th century mosaic ceiling of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.

After a break for lunch, explore the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare in nearby Classe, before departing for Urbino.

(BD)

After a morning talk, take a guided tour of the Palazzo Ducale, the seat of the Montefeltro dynasty, the Dukes of Urbino. The 15th century palazzo houses one of the world’s greatest collections of Renaissance art, containing works by Raffaello, Tiziano, Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca. It also boasts twin chapels to God and the Muses, and a studiolo (study room) decorated with some of the finest examples of Italian wood inlay work.

Enjoy an afternoon at leisure before joining your tour leader for an aperitivo at a local bar.

(B)

Depart from Urbino and ascend to the Republic of San Marino, the 61 sq km micro-state centred on the three peaks of Mt Titano and surrounded entirely by Italy. Founded by the stonemason St Marinus in 301, independent San Marino has outlasted powerful duchies, kingdoms and empires over the last millennium and a half. Enjoy a guided tour of La Guaita, the oldest of San Marino’s three Medieval towers.

After a break for lunch on your own, enjoy some free time to wander the city and soak up its quaint independent traditions – perhaps obtain a special Sammarinese stamp in your passport!

In the afternoon, drive to Bologna, the capital of Emilia-Romagna, the agricultural and gastronomic heartland of Italy.

(BD)

Join Lorraine for a morning talk before embarking on a walking tour of Bologna. See the imposing Basilica di San Petronio, the largest Gothic church ever constructed, and the Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio, home to a carefully-preserved 18th century wooden Anatomical Theatre. Visit the sanctuary of Santa Maria della Vita, the Quadrilatero, the Medieval market home to jewellers, furriers and meat-curers, and Le Sette Chiese – the complex of Seven Churches – a labyrinth of interlocking ecclesiastical structures, whose architecture spans centuries of Bolognese history and incorporates Romanesque, Lombard and ancient Roman elements.

After lunch, visit the the Pinacoteca Nazionale, housing a collection of altarpieces, Byzantine icons and Renaissance paintings. This evening is at leisure.

(BL)

Spend a day in Modena, in the gastronomic heartland of Italy. Famous for its tortellini, zamponi (stuffed pigs’ trotters) and above all its balsamic vinegar, Modena is a food-lover’s delight. Discover the secrets of traditional balsamic vinegar, made from the crushed and heated skins and seeds of local grapes which are aged in a set of interconnected wooden barrels for at least nine years – although in some cases, more than a quarter of a century! Traditional lunch in Modena, delighting in regional Italian cuisine.

In the afternoon, enjoy a tasting of the area’s famed Prosciutto di Parma before returning to Bologna.

(BL)

This morning visit the Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna (MAMbo), which specialises in modern and contemporary art from the 1940s to the present. In recent years, MAMbo has sharpened its focus on experimental art, something of a rarity in Italy, taking inspiration from the artistic foment of Bologna as a university city.

After a break for lunch, enjoy a private tour of Casa di Giorgio Morandi, the home-atelier where the Bolognese artist lived and worked from 1933 until his death in 1964. Remainder of the afternoon at leisure, until your special farewell dinner with Lorraine and fellow travellers.

(BD)

Tour arrangements conclude with a transfer to Bologna airport for suggested mid-afternoon flights to Australia or New Zealand on Emirates via Dubai. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your travel arrangements, including additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour.

(B)