ROMANTICA ITALIA

Day 1: Arrival / Lake Garda

Day 2: from Lake Garda to Verona

Day 3: Brenta's River Villas

Day 4: from Verona to Ravenna

Day 5: Ravenna

Day 6: from Ravenna to Recanati

Day 7: from Recanati to Florence

Day 8: Florence

Day 9: Departure from Florence

Day 1: ARRIVAL / LAKE GARDA

Arrival in Italy. Transfer by private coach or van or car hire to start your journey following the footsteps of important writers and poets who have been so impressed by Italy to impress also their works with the feelings they got by the gentle italian landscape, italian art and culture and that have deeply impressed italian literature.
First thrilling exploration of Italian literature will take you to the Garda lake shores, in Gardone Riviera, on the western side of the lake. Here you will visit the house of one of the most emblematic writers and poets in Italian XIX century, an artist who affected life style for many decades.
His "inimitable life" of the poet-soldier and his exploits during the First World War are still nowadays legendary. The “Vittoriale degli Italiani” of Gabriele d’Annunzio is a complex of buildings, streets, squares, an open-air theater, gardens and waterways erected between 1921 and 1938.
In the intentions of the poet, the stay in Garda was therefore to last only a few weeks to complete the drafting of his latest novel, but today we know that this house become his last and definitive home. The Vittoriale extends for about nine hectares on the hills of Gardone Riviera in a panoramic position overlooking the lake; the visit is an initiatory journey among symbolic presences that recall the sacred value of the house.
Overnight in the Garda lake area.

Day 2: from LAKE GARDA to VERONA

Second step of your exciting yourney is Verona, scene of the struggle between Capuleti and Montecchi’s in Sheakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Verona itself is a very romantic town and is the perfect set for the most romantic and dreadful love affair of literature.
Undoubtedly the first destination is the house of Juliet, visited by thousands of tourists every year. This is the Stallo del Cappello, an old tower house dating back to c.1200-1300. According to tradition this was the house of the Capuleti Family, the family of Shakespeare's heroine.
After Juliet's house you should visit her beloved's home, located in a secluded alley in Verona's historic center, not far from the Scaliger Tombs. This rustic brick castle used to belong to the Montecchi family; it features the typical Ghibelline swallowtail battlements. Currently the building is privately owned, but can still be seen from the outside.
Our tour of the legendary sites as narrated by Shakespeare will end at the famous Scaliger Tombs, a masterpiece of the Italian Gothic. On top of this mausoleum to Verona's storied nobility from the Middle Ages are these same figures riding: Cangrande, Mastino II and Cansignorio. 
The second part of our tour follows the Medieval walls that surround the city of Verona, begun during the Middle Ages under the bloody tyranny of Ezzelino Romano. Along the walls you can see the bronze bust of William Shakespeare and a plaque citing Romeo's famous pre-exile speech.
The last stop of this romantic tour in the city of Romeo and Juliet is the fairer lover's tomb, identified as being inside the Monastery of San Francesco in Corso. It was the only monastery outside the city walls during the time frame of the tale, and the only one accessible to the exiled Romeo.
The Monastery was built in 1230 on the site where, according to tradition, St. Francis of Assisi dwelt. Here the tragic love story ends in a dark room of the crypt; among the tombstones of monks lies an empty red marble sarcophagus, known as the tomb of Juliet.
Overnight in Hotel in Verona

Day 3: BRENTA'S RIVER VILLAS

Not to miss the most romantic and amazing residences of this area, we have arranged a nice cruise on River Brenta to visit Palladio’s villas. Such a memorable day for visiting Villa Pisani, Villa Wildman and Villa Malcontenta.
The journey is from Padova to Venezia and lasts approximately 10 hours in very comfortable boats on the quiet water of the river. Lunch not included (to be reserved with supplement).
Overnight in Verona.

Day 4: from VERONA to RAVENNA

Departure from Verona to Ravenna, the roman town that was the last house of the Divine Poet, Dante Alighieri.
Due to the exile to which Dante was sentenced after the defeat of his political faction, he left Florence and considered Ravenna the most appropriate place to complete his “Divine Comedy”.
Arrival in the afternoon and time to visit the area of the town dedicated to the poet’s memory. The city perpetuates the memory of the Poet with the programme of talks, readings, exhibitions and concerts of “Settembre Dantesco” and houses his relics and memorabilia inside Dante Museum.
Along with Dante’s Tomb, Quadrarco di Braccioforte and Basilica of San Francesco, the Museum is part of the so-called "Zona del Silenzio" (Area of Silence), that encompasses the places of Dante in Ravenna.
Overnight in Ravenna.

Day 5: RAVENNA

Morning dedicated to the visit of roman heritage of Ravenna, including the Mausoleum of Teodorico and the one of Galla Placidia (sister of the Roman emperor Honorius) preserving amazing Mosaics.
Afternoon at leisure. Dinner in a local restaurant to taste regional delicacies of Romagna: Tortellini, Ham, the Piadina with Squaquerone and more. Ravenna is not only a roman town and the last house of Dante buti t i salso the favourite town of poet Byron in Italy. He lived here for more than 3 years before moving to Pisa and wrote many of the pages of the Don Juan and other masterpieces.
Overnight in Ravenna.

Day 6: from RAVENNA to RECANATI

Departure from Ravenna and arrival in Le Marche for discovering life and poems of the most beloved of the romantics of Italian poets, Giacomo Leopardi.
He was born and lived in the family house of Recanati, a little town on the gentle hills of Marche, a few km from the adriatic coast.
The itinerary includes the visit to the Museum, to the House of Leopardi and the places that so deeply influenced his poems and poetry: the Ermo Colle, the belltower, the house of Silvia and more. Overnight in the area.

Day 7: from RECANATI to FLORENCE

Departure from Recanati to Florence to live an exciting experience on the footsteps of the wonderful english novel Room with a view of Forster!
Arrival in Florence to start the tour on the footsteps of Lucy Honeychurch, Charlotte Bartlett, Mr Emerson and his son and all characters of the novel.
The itinerary they followed is exactly the one that also Forster did according to the legendary guide of that time, the Baedeker, the compass-guide that all English travellers took with them at that time.
Beside the world famous places the characters of the novel discovered during their stay, there is much more to see in Florence. A Journey in Florence is still nowadays a good chance to open to the culture, to the art, to the renaissance and to life just like Lucy did in the novel. Lungarno delle Grazie, Basilica di Santa Croce, Piazza Santissima Annunziata, Piazza della Signoria, Colline di Fiesole are only few of the places you will visit with our guide.
Overnight in Hotel in the center of the town for a nice evening walk along the romantic river banks.

Day 8: FLORENCE

After breakfast visit to the most famous of the museums of Florenze, Uffizi Gallery and later on visit to the tombs of the Medici family, Cappelle Medicee in San Lorenzo Church.
Time at leisure for shopping and to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of this astonishing city.

Day 9: DEPARTURE from FLORENCE

Price from € 680,00 – price varies according to the hotel category and services included.

Rate is valid min 15 pax.

It is possible to extend the stay. Extention has to be requested at reservation.

Supplement for single room on request.

Supplement for private transfer from airport to the hotel and from hotel to the airport.

Supplement for reservation and entrance ticket to Uffizi Gallery.

Accomodation: 8 overnights in hotels in double room in BB basis.

Food: 8 breakfasts, 3 dinners in Restaurant (beverages are not included).

Other Services Included: guide in Gardone (for the visit to Vittoriale), Verona (half day), Ravenna 1 full day), Florence (1 full day), Recanati (half day), full day excursion on the river Brenta Boat (no lunch included).

Price Does Not Include: transfers, city tax, transfers to be quoted according to the number of people, entrance fees to museums and galleries, meals when not mentioned, beverages, tips, and what is not mentioned  in the services included.