In brief:
| 3 nights - Assisi. |
Day 1 Depart from London Stansted on Ryanair to Perugia. A short transfer to the Hotel Fontebella in Assisi for a three-night stay. An evening aperitif at the private home of an art collector, who will describe his collection and accompany guests throughout their stay.
Day 2 A morning tour of Assisi visiting the Basilica of San Francesco. Afternoon visit the 1st-century BC Temple of Minerva, Roman Museum and 14th-century castle Rocca Maggiore.
Day 3 Travel to Siena visiting the Campo, Palazzo Publico, and the Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral. Afternoon travel to San Gimignano, ‘City of the Beautiful Towers’, visiting Collegiate Church and Museo Civico. Afterwards call at the walled hill village of Monteriggioni.
Day 4 Depart from Perugia on Ryanair for a return flight to Stansted, or extend your stay for four extra nights.
Extension – 4 nights
Day 4 Drive to Perugia, visiting the 6th-century church of Sant’Angelo and baroque San Pietro, underground medieval streets below the Rocca Paolina, Piazza IV Novembre, Palazzo dei Priori and Fontana Maggiore, National Gallery of Umbria, a 1st-century mosaic of Orpheus, and Etruscan Arch.
Day 5 A day devoted to Piero della Francesca, visiting Arezzo for his fresco cycle of the Legend of the True Cross, Monterchi for his Pregnant Madonna and Sansepulchro for his Resurrection.
Day 6 An optional escorted journey by public bus to Florence, visiting Santa Maria Novella, Piazza della Signoria, Duomo and Baptistry, Palazzo Medici- Riccardi, Ponte Vecchio and San Marco. Afternoon visit Uffizi Gallery and Accademia - €50 payable locally.
Day 7 Drive along Lake Trasimeno, where Hannibal defeated the Romans in 217 BC, to the hill town of Montepulciano. Afterwards visit Pienza with its Renaissance piazza, palace and cathedral built by the Humanist Pope Pius II.
Day 8 Depart from Perugia on Ryanair for return flight to London Stansted.
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