Meet modern Italy: style, glamour and tradition
2 days in Rome,
2 days in Florence,
1 day in Milan,
2 days in Verona,
1 day in Florence
& 1 day in Venice
OhhItaly! offers you a tailor-made nine days tour that will take you on a spectacular journey through the sights and sounds of Italy, comfortably transferred with\n our luxury Mercedes minivan.
Arrival Airport: LEONARDO DA VINCI
code: FCO
city: ROME LEONARDO DA VINCI-FIUMICINO APT
Departure Airport: MARCO POLO
code: VCE
city: VENICE
DAY 1
Tour of Rome
On DAY1, after the welcome and the check in at the hotel, your English speaking guide will pick you up for start your full day tour of Rome. Visiting Capitoline Hill to enjoy the spectacular panoramic view, of the Roman Forum, ancient Temples, Triumphal-archers, the Senate House, Basilicas and Sacred Way, which surround the old Roman Forum, hub of political, religious and commercial life during republican and imperial days and now forming one of the most historical archaeological complexes in the western world. With our Rome in one day tour, visit the nearby elegant renaissance square modelled by Michelangelo for Pope Paul III and adorned by the bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, father of the infamous Emperor-gladiator Commodus. See the Circus Maximus of Ben Hur fame with its impressive views of the sprawling ruins of the Emperors’ Palaces on Palatine Hill. Your tour continues to visit the Colosseum and hear about the bloody gladiator combats, the wild animal games and astonishing events held there to satiate the 70.000 excited roman spectators. Circle around Piazza Venezia, dominated by the massive looming “Wedding Cake” marble honorary monument erected in 1885 to commemorate King Victor Emmanuel II and drive to the Quirinal Palace, official residence of the Italian President originally built by Popes in the 1580’s as their splendid summer residence. Descend to the cascading waters of the Trevi Fountain, the grandest of Rome’s baroque fountains, still fed by an ancient 19 BC roman aqueduct and toss a coin into its gushing sprays to propitiate a sure return. Stroll by the Spanish Steps, favorite spot of European nobles during the Grand Tour era as well as haunt of poets, writers and painters in the Romantic age. Pass Palazzo Chigi, seat of the government and the nearby Italian Parliament as you make your way to Piazza Navona, most loved meeting place of Romans today and embellished by Bernini’s fountains and the Pamphily Palace. After an inside visit to the awe inspiring Pantheon constructed by Emperor Hadrian in 120 BC, spanned by a solid concrete dome, the largest in the world, enjoy a light lunch in one of the most typical restaurant of Rome downtown. Later you will head to the Vatican City, smallest sovereign state in the world, to visit the immense Papal art collections housed in the Vatican Museums once part of the Papal Palaces and the Sistine Chapel. After admiring the numerous artworks and masterpieces of Raphael and Michelangelo, visit St. Peter’s Basilica and the great baroque Colonnaded Square protected by Swiss Guards.
DAY 2
Vatican City, San Pietro’s square
On DAY2, our chef will pick you up at the Hotel after the breakfast and guide you through the biggest open-air food market in Rome. Once there our Chef will give you some useful tips about Italian cuisine and help you to decide what to cook for lunch. Our classes program will let you replicate traditional dishes of roman and Italian cuisine, you will bring back with you taste of typical Italian food. The cooking class is practical, interactive and will let everybody make and eat his own dishes. In the afternoon you will visit one of the most interesting site of Rome, the Vatican City. This private tour allow you to admire the world-famous Vatican Museums and the St.Peter’s Basilica, avoiding the long queue at the entrance. Enter into this wonderful sanctuary and discover the faith and stories of popes, pilgrims and artists told through the universal language of art. Your English speaking guide will introduce you the spiritual and artistic excellence preserved in the world famous masterpieces of renowned artists such as Michelangelo, Bernini and Raphael. The splendor of Piazza San Pietro’s colonnade, the serenity of the Piet\u00e0, the magnificence of the Dome and the impressive Sistine Chapel testify to humankind’s desire to reach the Divine.
DAY 3
Tuscan heritage
On DAY3, in the morning time, you will be transferred in Florence with our luxury Mercedes minivan (about 3 hours). You will discover one of the most famous winery in the world, Antinori. The visit will start in the “Rinuccio 1180” restaurant overlooking over the hills of Chianti, where Cont’Ugo and Guado al Tasso and the dessert wine Muffato della Sala will accompany your light lunch. The winery tour will be an experience of the architecture, the flavors, and the emotions which will reveal, at the same time, both the full majesty of the cellar and the intensity of the most representative wines. Built entirely with locally sourced materials, respectful of the surrounding environment and preserving with great care the Tuscan landscape, it’s a milestone in the history of the Marchesi Antinori company. The winery has become a place to discover the pleasures of living and breathing wine and to understand its progression: pressing, fermentation and aging – all without interfering with the wine’s quality.
DAY 4
Florence, Uffizi, Pitti Palace
On DAY4, you will discover the city from a different angle! This private tour begins with a visit to the Uffizi Gallery, one of the most famous museums in the world for its extraordinary collections of paintings and ancient statues, including masterpieces such as Botticelli’s Spring (The Uffizi, together with the Vatican Museums in Rome, are the top two most visited museums in Italy). From there your guide will take you through the Vasari Corridor, the Medici’s secret way across the Arno, to the Pitti Palace. Built to allow the Grand Dukes to move safely without escorts, from their private residence to the government palace. It contains a collection of portraits and important collections of paintings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Least but not last “I Giardini Boboli” more than just a “green lung” in Florence, the Boboli gardens are one of the greatest open-air museums in Florence that embraces another site of culture in Florence, the Pitti Palace. The park hosts centuries-old oak trees and sculptures, a spectacular example of “green architecture” which inspired many European Royal gardens, in particular, Versailles.
In the late afternoon you will head to Milan for the night (about 2,5 hours).
DAY 5
MIlan, history and fashion
On DAY5, you will be introduced to Italy’s most stylish city. Stop by the alluring Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping gallery, a 19th century glass vaulted shopping arcade. Visit the medieval Sforza Castle. A grand medieval Castle and fortress, the castle was once seat and residence for the ruling family of Milan and now houses several of the city’s museums and art collections. Next, tour the splendid Duomo, one of the world’s largest, most striking Gothic cathedrals. After visit Milan’s most famous Opera House, the fabulous La Scala theatre. Least but not last Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper, housed at Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan and spotted in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In the afternoon, after a light lunch, you will discover the best fashion studios, the best showrooms of Milan designer, the best boutiques specialized in niche and leading-edge brands; guided by our professional Personal Shopper ready to stimulate you with the most sought-after offers to fulfill your needs. We do not have the ordinary old tour in mind for you, one limited to the top signature brands, but instead we are on a quest to give you a more in-depth experience by introducing you to the thousand faces of trendy Milan. Four hours dedicated to style, you will be taken on a rigorous and personalized journey to discover where innovation and culture cross paths revealing the most seductive side of shopping in Milan.
DAY 6
Lake of Garda
On DAY6, in the morning, you will visit a small jewel suspended in the middle of the lower Lake Garda, the town of Sirmione. The old town is at the northern end of a long and narrow peninsula (exists as an island, since it was isolated from the mainland by a navigable moat, which is exceeded by only one access road, a bridge). Departing from the historic Center, where you will make the first step to admire the Villa Callas where he lived the famous lamented Maria Callas. After you will reach the middle of hike and enjoy a splendid view of the famous Grotte di Catullo, built between the first century BC and the first century A.D. and most magnificent example of this Roman villa in northern Italy. Moving away will stop near the famous spring water of Sirmione, valued for their effective contribution to the maintenance and recovery of physical fitness. To conclude this pleasant excursion you get to Sirmione Castle, passing under the characteristic and picturesque drawbridges for visiting the major point of interest of this little city.
After a light lunch in a typical restaurant in Sirmione you will head to the stunning “Villa Mosconi Bertani” a picturesque estate and grounds dating to the 18th Century in the heart of historic Valpolicella, birthplace of the legendary Valpolicella and Amarone wines and just minutes from Lake Garda. The Villa and its cellars have played a significant role in the history of Veronese winemaking. Today in this same storied location, Gaetano Bertani and his sons continue their three century old family tradition. Tastings at the Villa Mosconi Bertani offer visitors the opportunity to discover and compare a variety of wines with an accompaniment of foods produced in the Verona area. All tastings include a tour of the villa, park and winery. After this sensory experience you can taste some of the most well known italian wines suitably choosen for you.
DAY 7
Verona the house of Romeo and Juliet
On DAY7, your English speaking guide will lead you in one of the most stunning city in Italy with plenty of historic spots to rejuvenate your romantic side, Verona. Let’s start from the famous Arena, symbol of Verona, located in the beautiful Piazza Bra, followed by Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori, characteristic squares surrounded by medieval buildings, Porta Borsari, the ancient Roman gate, St. Anastasia Church a fine example of Italian Gothic architecture, with its impressive interior adorned by Pisanello’s freco and Scaligeri Tombs. After a walk along the Adige riverbank from which you will have the perfect view of the Roman Theater and the Stone bridge, you can live again the timeless love story between Romeo and Juliet, by seeing their houses and the celebrated balcony and you will visit the setting of the two Shakesperian lovers the Basilica of San Zeno, the most beautiful and better preserved examples of Romanesque architecture in the whole of Northern Italy.
DAY 8
Modena, Ferrari museum
On DAY8, in the morning time, you will be transferred with our luxury Mercedes minivan at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello (about 1 hours). “Live the dream” is the claim that welcomes visitors, promising an immersive, unique experience. The Ferrari Museum focuses on Ferrari’s present and future, whilst remaining deeply rooted in the Prancing Horse’s extraordinary history. A permanent exhibition dedicated to Formula 1 and the World Championship, complete with cars and a “pit stop wall” where visitors can gain an understanding of telemetry and pilots’ in-race driving behavior, is flanked by five rooms that host themed exhibitions with wide-ranging appeal. The space dedicated to Enzo Ferrari, rather than a museum in the traditional sense of the word, is a fascinating, exciting event that manages to combine truly unique elements: in the futuristic 2,500 m2 pillar-free hall visitors can get close and personal with the many cars exhibited, but also experience a show that \u2013 through an immersive biopic screened using 19 projectors \u2013 tells Enzo Ferrari’s incredible life story, spanning 90 years, taking them through his various incarnations: from the child who discovered racing at the beginning of 1900 to the pilot, from the manager of Scuderia Ferrari through to the manufacturer with so many triumphs to his credit.
After a light lunch at the official Ferrari restaurant, buckle your belts and live life in the fast lane with our Ferrari driving experiences. It is safe to say that we have all dreamed of testing out the advanced automotive at least once in our lives so we have decided to make those dreams come true. You can choose between a relaxing driving on the hills or an adrenaline race on the F1 track. In addition, you will decide which model of Ferrari you would like to drive and the length of your driving experience.
After this amazing driving experience, you will head to Venice for the night.
DAY 9
Venice
On DAY9, our expert guide will accompany you for a private walkaround tour in Venice. You will start from Correr Museum that will capture your attention from the very beginning with the incredible collections housed within the Correr Museum: a history that spans centuries, ready to amaze visitors with magical and amazing stories about the city. After you will move to the Doge’s Palace Museum, the ancient Doge’s Palace is a true masterpiece of Venetian Gothic architecture. Probably built in the IX century, and transformed over the centuries to achieve the elegant look it has today, the Doge’s Palace was the power and grandeur of the Venetian Republic up to its downfall. If you are visiting Venice, Teatro La Fenice is definitely a must for making your stay in Venice unique. The visit between the stucco and gold of its prestigious venues gives you a backstage secret of the Theater and its stars, tracing its history from its origins to the present day. This fascinating tour will conclude between the ancient walls of St Mark’s Basilica, with a tour of its golden interior. Originally built to house theprecious relics of St. Mark, which had been stolen by two merchants of Venice in Alexandria, Egypt, St Mark’s Basilica assumed the role of a cathedral only in 1807, after keeping for centuries the role of Palatine Museum of the Doge’s Palace.
DAY 10
Departure
On DAY10 our private luxury Mercedes minivan will be available for transfer you to the airport.