Arrive in Venice on suggested flights and make your way to the hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including travel insurance (a condition of travel), accommodation before or after the tour and a room category upgrade.

At 18:00, join your tour leader Genevieve Jacobs and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing at the hotel followed by dinner.

(D)

Depart Venice and travel to Villa Rotonda, a fine example of Renaissance architecture designed by Andrea Palladio. Marvel at its symmetrical design, classical proportions and elegant portico, reflecting the grandeur and architectural innovation of the era.

Continue to Vicenza and witness a few of the elegant Renaissance buildings which earn the entire city a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Check in to the Hotel Villa Michelangelo, a stunning, 18th century Palladian-style villa on the outskirts of Vicenza. Afterwards, explore the vast grounds of Villa Valmarana ai Nani and see how Palladio innovatively applied classical Roman features to contemporary Italian villas. Dinner will be served in the frescoed halls of the villa.

(BD)

This morning, explore Verona, the former Roman settlement where cobblestone streets are lined with medieval pink-hued marble buildings. Embark on a guided walking tour of the town and learn about the fierce history of the Verona Arena and the romantic tales for which the city is best known.

Then, visit Giardino Giusti, an exquisitely restored late-Renaissance garden, whose terraces reveal an extraordinary belvedere (beautiful view) of the surrounding city. Local folklore maintains that lovers who succeed in finding each other through the tight labyrinth of manicured hedges are destined for eternal love.

Return to the hotel for some time at leisure before dinner at a local restaurant.

(BD)

Today, visit Palladio’s Villa Barbaro. A monument to the Venetian bea vita (good life), the villa is now surrounded by a flourishing Prosecco estate where climbing roses, wisteria and bignonia adorn the entrance courtyard in the spring. Trompe l’oeil-style frescoes by Paolo Veronese cover the villa’s walls, while a Palladio-designed nymphaeum featuring a series of exquisitely carved figures frames a natural spring.

In the afternoon, venture beyond the gates of the private Villa Tiepolo Passi for a guided tour through the estate’s expansive grounds. Built in the 17th-century Venetian Baroque style, the grandiose villa looks out over a pristinely manicured Italian garden surrounded by a romantic English park. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon and enjoy the evening at leisure.

(BL)

Check out of the hotel and depart Vicenza for the Monumental Baroque Gardens of Valsanzibio at Villa Barbarigo, set against the lush Euganei Hills. Built between 1665 and 1696, the garden’s heritage is evident not just in the beautiful Baroque statues which adorn the paths, but in the plants themselves: approximately 70% of the botanical specimens were planted in the 1660s, and some are even older.

Enjoy lunch of special local produce on the villa’s patio before continuing to Borgo Vescine, a historic estate located in the Chianti Hills of Tuscany, surrounded by olive trees and vineyards.

(BL)

This morning, travel to Fiesole, in the hills outside Florence. Visit one of the oldest residences belonging to the Medici family, a truly magnificent villa with terraced gardens built by pioneering Renaissance architect Michelozzo in the mid-15th century. The villa is an example of classic palazzo-styling and remains one of the best-preserved Renaissance estates in Italy.

Continue to Peyron Villa and Gardens, a relatively modern estate with sweeping views of Florence. The surrounding woods are rich with cedars, pine trees, poplars, oaks, elms and willow trees.

Afterwards, enjoy a guided tour of Villa Gamberaia, a magnificent 17th-century villa nestled in the hills of Settignano, with a panoramic vista overlooking the Arno Valley.

(B)

Start the day with a private tour of Villa Cetinale, a 17th-century Roman Baroque villa. Originally owned by Fabio Chigi, who became Pope Alexander VII in 1655, the current estate was largely remodelled by the Pope’s nephew, who transformed the house and gardens into a secluded oasis.

Continue to Siena, generally regarded as the best-preserved medieval city in Italy. Wander through this open-air museum of architecture and marvel at the multitude of ancient, Gothic and Baroque-style buildings.

In the afternoon, explore Castello di Celsa, located along the Via Francigena, the ancient pilgrim route running from France to Rome. Shaded by ancient cypress trees and adorned with classical sculptures, the gardens of the castle offer panoramic views of the region.

(B)

This morning, enjoy a leisurely stroll through Certaldo, a charming medieval town of Etruscan-Roman origins and home to the family of Giovanni Boccaccio, author of the Decameron. Marvel at the ancient buildings that have remained untouched by modernity and wander through the local fruit and vegetable market.

Continue to the Guicciardini Strozzi winery for a tour of Villa Cusona’s garden. The Villa is surrounded by Lebanese cedar trees that are two hundred years old while the Italian-style garden features boxwoods, marble basins, statues, lemon and orange trees.

(B)

Check out of the hotel and transfer to La Foce, the historic residence of the Origo family. Situated on the Via Francigena, the villa at La Foce was built as a hospice for pilgrims and merchants passing through in the 15th century. In the 1920s, the residence was adopted by Antonio Origo and his wife, Iris, the well-known English author. Under their direction, the house was restored and the gardens were transformed into an innovative 20th century re-imagining of classic Italian landscape design.

Enjoy a guided tour of the grounds and lunch at the estate’s restaurant before continuing to Park Hotel Villa Grazioli, a historic hotel set in a 16th-century villa surrounded by lush gardens and parklands overlooking the city of Rome.

(BL)

Begin the morning with a visit to the Pontifical Villa of Castel Gandolfo and stroll through the exquisitely manicured grounds of the Pope’s summer residence. This estate is built into the ruins of Emperor Domitian’s country residence, and the ancient remains are beautifully integrated into the elegant landscape under the shade of mighty holm oaks.

After some time at leisure for lunch, continue to Giardini della Landriana, a landscape garden just a few kilometres from the coast. This modern estate features a series of ‘rooms’ spread over 10 hectares, and each showcase a particular botanical feature – from ancient roses to groves of olive trees and more.

This evening, dinner is at a local restaurant.

(BD)

This morning, visit Palazzo Parisi, a 15th century estate in Oliveto which is the childhood home of internationally renowned garden-designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd. Enjoy a guided tour of the gardens before lunch featuring home-made, locally-sourced, authentic Italian food.

In the afternoon, visit Villa d’Este, a 16th-century estate  internationally renowned for its Italian Renaissance garden and its profusion of fountains. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed site features 51 fountains and nymphaeums, all of which are fed by 875 metres of canal and work entirely by gravity.

Return to the hotel in late afternoon and enjoy the evening at leisure.

(BL)

This morning, tour the Gardens of Ninfa, a sprawling landscape garden built over and around the ruins of a medieval town. Bisected by the River Ninfa, the gardens are a lush oasis of biodiversity originally designed by Gelasio Caetani in the 1920s, which is known today as “the world’s most romantic garden”.

This evening, celebrate the conclusion of the tour with a special farewell dinner with Genevieve and fellow tour members at a local restaurant.

(BD)

After breakfast, tour arrangements conclude with an included group transfer to central Rome.

For those returning home today, make your way to Rome Airport for suggested flights to Australia or New Zealand. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including a private airport transfer, additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour and travel insurance (a condition of travel).

(BL)

Note: At time of publication (September 2024), most but not all garden visits were confirmed. Private owners, in particular, are reluctant to commit more than one to two months prior to the visit. Therefore, while we undertake to operate the tour as published, there may be some changes to the itinerary.