Umbria
is steeped in history
Welcome to Umbria
Italy’s green heart, Umbria is a land unto itself, the only Italian region that borders neither the sea nor another country. This isolation has kept outside influences at bay and ensured that many of Italy's old-world traditions survive today. Travel here and you’ll still see grandmothers in aprons making pasta by hand and front doors that haven't been locked in centuries.
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5-Day Best of Italy Trip
ItineraryDay 1: Rome- Assisi-Siena- FlorenceStop At: Basilica Papale e Sacro Convento di San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaThe Basilica of San Francesco since 2000 has been included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, together with a series of Franciscan sites in the Umbrian area. The Basilica of San Francesco is the sacred place par excellence of Assisi, since here the remains of the famous saint are preserved and preserved.The Basilica is made up of a complex of immense artistic value, both for its architectural structures and for its precious frescoes and interior decorations, which sees two different buildings blend in harmoniously.Duration: 1 hourStop At: Piazza del Campo, Siena, TuscanySiena, located in the heart of Tuscany and surrounded by hills, is one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Italy.Fulcrum of the city is the famous Piazza del Campo, with its particular shell shape, in which the famous Palio is held. The Palio di Siena is a passionate horse race that takes place every year, in July and August, its origins seem to date back to the seventeenth century.According to legend, Siena was founded by Senio, son of Remus, and in the city there are several statues depicting the legendary Romulus and Remus suckled by the wolf. Piazza del Campo is the central core of Siena since Roman times, which had their Forum here.Duration: 1 hourMeals included: • DinnerAccommodation included: 4* Hotel in FlorenceDay 2: FlorenceStop At: Duomo - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, TuscanyFlorence, the capital of Tuscany, hosts many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of the most famous places is the Duomo, the cathedral with a tiled dome designed by Brunelleschi and Giotto's bell tower. Florence with its museums, palaces and churches houses some of the most important artistic treasures of the world. The most important churches are from Santa Maria Novella and Santa CroceWhen you feel tired of seeing museums and art galleries, go outside and you will discover that in Florence it is also nice to just stroll through the beautiful streets of the historic center. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is an imposing Gothic-style church built on the site where the ancient cathedral of Florence stood, the Church of Santa Reparata, the cathedral was begun at the end of the 13th century by Arnolfo di Cambio, while the beautiful dome was added in the fifteenth century. The facade is covered with pink, white and green marbles.Duration: 45 minutesStop At: Piazza della Signoria, Florence, TuscanyPiazza della Signoria has been at the center of Florence's political life since the 14th century. The Piazza has seen the realization of important historical events and great triumphs, such as the return of the Medici in 1530. The famous sculptures located in Piazza della Signoria have references to the political affairs of Florence, with some contrasts. The David (the original is in the Accademia Gallery) was built by Michelangelo and positioned in front of the Palazzo Vecchio to symbolize the power of the Florentine Republic in contrast to the tyranny of the Medici. The Neptune (1575) of Ammannati recalls the maritime ambitions of the Medici.Duration: 1 hourStop At: Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence, TuscanySanta Croce, rebuilt for the Franciscan order in 1294 by Arnolfo di Cambio, is the burial place of the great and powerful of Florence: Michelangelo, Rossini, Macchiavelli and the Pisan Galileo Galilei, who was condemned by the Inquisition and who, therefore, he could not have a Christian burial until 1737, or 95 years after his death. There is also a memorial to Dante, but his sarcophagus is empty (he was buried in Ravenna, after his exile from Florence).Duration: 45 minutesMeals included: • Breakfast • LunchAccommodation included: 4* Hotel in FlorenceDay 3: Florence-Bologna-Padua-VeniceStop At: Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, Province of Bologna, Emilia-RomagnaPiazza del Nettuno Founded in 1565 with the aim of highlighting the statue of Neptune to which it owes its name, the square was the result of a work that saw the enlargement of the space existing between the Palazzo del Comune and the Palazzo del Podestà through the demolition of one block of buildings. The new square would have given a new character to all the surrounding space, joining Piazza Maggiore. Heart of the city, Piazza Maggiore is the result of centuries-old transformations that enriched it gradually with important buildings: the Basilica of San Petronio, the Palazzo dei Notai, the Palazzo d’Accursio, the Palazzo del Podestà and the Palazzo dei Banchi.Duration: 1 hourStop At: Basilica di San Petronio, Bologna, Province of Bologna, Emilia-RomagnaThe Basilica of San Petronio is the main church of Bologna: it dominates the Piazza Maggiore and, although it is largely unfinished, it is one of the largest churches in Europe. Its imposing size makes it the fourth largest church in Italy.Duration: 40 minutesStop At: The Basilica of St. AnthonyThe Basilica of Sant'Antonio, known as "Il Santo", is the most important religious center of the city, and a destination for thousands of pilgrims who invade the city every year, and in particular on June 13, feast of the Saint the famous procession. The large building has a complex fusion of styles in its complex structure: Romanesque elements in the bell-shaped façade, Gothic in the ambulatory with the seven chapels, Byzantine in the eight domes covered in lead and Moorish in the two slender and slender bell towers.Duration: 45 minutesMeals included: • Breakfast • DinnerAccommodation included: 4* Hotel in Mestre (Tourist Superior)4* Hotel in Venice Island (First Category)Day 4: VeniceStop At: Piazza San Marco, VenetoElegant, precious, inimitable, fun, romantic: this is Venice, a gem of the Venetian and Italian tourist scene, where churches, palaces, ancient bridges, monuments and squares tell the artistic and cultural liveliness that marked and still marks the history of this city. The heart of Venice is the splendid Piazza San Marco, the most elegant living room in Europe, surrounded by works of unquestionable value: the imposing bell tower and the Basilica with its five portals and the decorations of marble and mosaics that anticipate the magnificence and interior riches; the Palazzo Ducale, symbol of the golden age of the Serenissima; the Torre dei Mori, better known as the Clock Tower, for the engineering masterpiece that has marked the time of Venice for centuries; the Napoleonic Wing, where the Correr Museum is located.Duration: 3 hoursStop At: Ponte dei Sospiri, VenetoFrom the Bridge of Sighs legend emerges that the name, at the time of the Serenissima, would have been attributed to the fact that crossing it the prisoners sighed because they were aware of the fact that it would be the last time that, before being imprisoned, they would see the outside world .Duration: 35 minutesMeals included: • BreakfastAccommodation included: 4* Hotel in Mestre (Tourist Superior)4* Hotel in Venice Island (First Category)Day 5: Vemice-Montepulciano (Wine region)- RomeStop At: Piazza Grande a Montepulciano, Montepulciano, TuscanyMontepulciano, famous for the wine to which it gives its name, stands on a hill 600 meters above sea level: from this height it is easy to get lost with the look between the green Tuscan hills, the cultivation of olive trees and vineyards and the cypress trees that mark pleasantly the whole landscape. From the Tower of the Renaissance Palace of Montepulciano the view reaches the Sibillini Mountains and the CimoneDuration: 50 minutesMeals included: • Breakfast • LunchNo accommodation included on this day.
Taste of Italy Food Tour to Chianti and Umbria from Rome
Start your experience with a pickup from your Rome hotel or meet your guide in the city center and board your air-conditioned coach. Listen to interesting facts about the Italians’ famous love of food and enjoy the views as you head north into lush, southern Tuscany.Arrive in Cortona and enjoy a walk through the heart of this walled hill town, which is little changed since medieval times. Admire the ocher-colored houses that line the cobbled lanes and piazzas and listen as your guide recounts its history and recent surge in popularity for featuring in 'Under the Tuscan Sun', American writer Frances Mayes’ tales of life in Tuscany in the 1990s. Perhaps enjoy some free time to look around the picture-postcard streets independently and maybe visit the 19th-century Cathedral of St Margaret (Basilica di Santa Margherita), perched on the hilltop.Continue along the banks of Lake Trasimeno in Umbria, and stop for lunch at an authentic farmhouse restaurant. Enjoy a tempting 4-course of regional dishes, washed down with drinks (own expense). Please see the Itinerary for a sample menu.With your appetite sated, drive through the rolling Chianti countryside to the charming hilltop town of Montepulciano, known for its ruby-red Vino di Nobile and Rosso di Montepulciano wines, produced here since early medieval times. Visit one of the town’s oldest rock-cut wine cellars and hear how the region’s wines are produced as you run your palate by some of the varieties.After your wine sampling, return to Rome, where your tour ends with a drop-off at your hotel or a choice of points in the center.
Small Group Tour of Assisi
ItineraryThis is a typical itinerary for this productStop At: Centro Storico, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaMeet the guide at 10:30am and visit the old Roman ruins of the local amphitheater, which was reused in the Middle Ages as a quarry for stones to build local houses. You will see how the amphitheater was turned into a private neighborhood. From there, the view toward the Rocca Maggiore medieval castle is one of the best in the city.Through narrow alleys and medieval squares you will reach Saint Rufino’s Cathedral and Saint Claire's Basilica. From there, you will get to the main city square, Piazza del Comune. At the square you will see one of the best-preserved Roman temples in Italy – Minerva's temple – which is surrounded by imposing medieval government buildings.The tour will then head down to the Basilica of Saint Francis which is world-famous for its 13th-14th century frescoes by the best painters of Italy at that time. Among those, the most famous is Giotto.Come to Assisi and explore with a guide the history, art,and local traditions of one of the most famous hill towns of Italy.Duration: 3 hoursPass By: Cattedrale di San Rufino, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaAssisi Cathedral, dedicated to San Rufino (Rufinus of Assisi) is a major church in Assisi.Stop At: Chiesa Nuova, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaChiesa Nuova.The Chiesa Nuova is a church in Assisi, Italy, built in 1615 on the site of the presumed birthplace of St. Francis, the house of Pietro di Bernardone. It was then called Chiesa Nuova because it was the last church to be built in Assisi at that time.Duration: 30 minutesStop At: Basilica di Santa Chiara, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaThe Basilica of St. Clare of Assisi, realized with the typical pink stone extracted from the quarry of the Subasio mountain, contains precious frescos dating back to the period from the XIIth to the XIVth century.In the chapel on the right, along the unique nave of St. Clare of Assisi, finishing in transept and polygonal apse, you can admire the Crucifix which, according to tradition, would have invited St. Francesco in the church of St. Damiano in order to "reset up the Church"Duration: 30 minutesStop At: Basilica Superiore di San Francesco d' Assisi, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaIf the solemn and dark lower basilica invites penance and silence, the upper church soars into the sky, airy and bright.In a Gothic style with French influences, the nave has four bays, cross vaulting, and a polygonal transept and apse.Duration: 30 minutesStop At: Basilica Papale e Sacro Convento di San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaRecognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the basilica of St. Francis was built under the direction of Brother Elias, vicar general and architect of the order, starting in 1228, just two years after the saint's death, as a place designed to receive his remains.Duration: 30 minutesStop At: Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaThe Temple of Minerva is an ancient Roman building in Assisi, Umbria, central Italy. It currently houses a church, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, built in 1539 and renovated in Baroque style in the 17th century.Duration: 15 minutes
Tiber River Evening Cruise with 4-Course Dinner in Rome
Make your own way to Sant'Angelo Bridge which is close to one of the oldest and most distinctive monuments in the entire city, Castel Sant’Angelo. Board the boat for your stylish dinner cruise on the Tiber River in Rome. As your boat slips away from land, sip your welcome cocktail and sample the delicious assorted canapés as you marvel at some of Rome’s famous sights by night. From 2018 season, beside the standard gourmet menu that rotate during the season, we have decided to propose you some special Italian Regional Menus, to let you discover some of the most famous typical recipes coming from Sicily, Umbria, Lazio and Apulia. Take a minute and have a look to the Sicilian's wonderful choice: Fresh cheese, Sicilian pesto bruschetta, sun-dried tomatoes, Pachino cherry tomatoes, seafood salad in oilFlan of Anelletti (typical Palermo’s pasta in delicious seasoning with “sarde” fish, wild fennel, sage, pine nut, raisin)Palermo typical breaded and pan-seared swordfish Vegetables couscousSeasonal sliced fruitsSicilian Cannolo dessertNow all that you have to do it's to take a seat at your table out on deck or in the lower saloon of the boat (weather dependent), and listen to live musicians playing well-known international hits and dinner music as you admire unparalleled views of Rome’s twinkling skyline. Pass by the great Palace of Justice, Vatican City and the famous St Peter’s Basilica and enjoy a sumptuous, freshly prepared 4-course dinner served by your waiting staff. Finish your cruise experience with a cool mineral water and a strong Italian coffee. Your cruise concludes back at Sant'Angelo Bridge.
Assisi Private Walking Tour
ItineraryThis is a typical itinerary for this productStop At: Basilica Papale e Sacro Convento di San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaThe Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in central Italy, where Saint Francis was born and diedDuration: 45 minutesStop At: Basilica Superiore di San Francesco d' Assisi, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaThis bright and spacious basilica consists of a single four-bay nave with cross-vaulted ceiling bordered with patterns of crosses and leaves, a transept and a polygonal apse. The four ribbed vaults are decorated alternately with golden stars on a blue background and paintings. Duration: 45 minutesStop At: Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaThe Temple of Minerva is an ancient Roman building. It currently houses a church, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, built in 1539 and renovated in Baroque style in the 17th century.The temple was built in the 1st century by will of Gnaeus Caesius and Titus Caesius Priscus, who were two of the city's quattuorviri and also financed the construction. Duration: 30 minutesStop At: Chiesa Nuova, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaErected in 1615 on the remains of a building believed to be the home of St. Francis. The building’s architecture design is from the Renaissance period. The façade, built of brick, is divided by four pillars supporting a Doric entablature, with attic gable, above which rises a hemispherical dome. Duration: 20 minutesStop At: Basilica di Santa Chiara, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaThe Basilica of Saint Clare is a church dedicated to and contains the remains of Saint Clare of Assisi, a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi and founder of the Order of Poor Ladies, known today as the Order of Saint Clare.Duration: 20 minutesPass By: Umbria Con Me Day Tours, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaOfficial Assisi Tour Guides
Assisi and Basilica di San Francesco Full-Day Tour from Rome
ItineraryThis is a typical itinerary for this productStop At: Basilica di Santa Chiara, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaThe building is characterized by the execution of the whole body with pink and white bands of Subasio stone and majestic climbing arches supporting the two sides of the church. The interior is structured like the upper Church of St. Francis with a single nave ending in a transept with a polygonal apse. Here too a gallery goes around the perimeter, however, contrary to St. Francis, at the height of the capitals of the pillars.Duration: 2 hoursStop At: Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli - Porziuncola, Assisi, Province of Perugia, UmbriaThe Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels is a church, of Roman Catholic rite, located in Assisi, in the hamlet of the same name. It was built on a project by Galeazzo Alessi and with interventions by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola starting from the second half of the sixteenth century.Duration: 1 hourStop At: Carrani Tours, Rome, LazioCarrani ToursDuration: 1 hourStop At: Gray Line - I Love Rome, Rome, LazioGray Line- I love Rome, LazioDuration: 20 minutes